J Willard Marriott Library

This is a great place to study. There’s WiFi throughout the building, and logging in isn’t an issue even if you aren’t a UofU student. I really like the couch booths on the first floor, but when it gets a little noisy, the silent study rooms is what I prefer most. The restrooms are usually always clean, and I can always get my caffeine fix at the café.

I love reading here. I have a thing for libraries — yeah, I know it’s a little weird. This one makes me giddy.

Reasons why I could/​would live in the Marriott Library:
— Café on the 1^st Floor, fully stocked with a microwave, toaster, warm beverages, cold beverages, pizza, salads, and sandwiches.
— Cozy little study nooks also on 1^st floor, with plenty of outlets.
— Computer Lab on 2^nd Floor. Your choice of Windows or Mac… or if you go the other side of the floor, Linux.
— Reserves Desk on 2^nd Floor. You mean, I don’t have to search through your massive reserves and just request it and pick it up? Yes please.
— Writing Help Center on 2^nd Floor. For those of us who are challenged when it comes to this highly sought after skill.
— Ginormous reading rooms on 3^rd Floor. Shhhh!
— Tons of windows and natural lighting on 3^rd Floor, which, in the past we have been allowed on to write with dry erase markers. But alas, the library has stocked dry erase boards for study groups.
— Tons of space and said white boards for loud (ish) study groups, mainly those who happen to be taking biology and/​or physiology from a certain professor who has the best ever TAs.
— Weird egg looking like chairs that are über comfortable to sleep on, not so efficient to read on, but nice to pretend like you are doing so.
— and finally: Bathrooms. Yes, bathrooms, everywhere you go, you will find a bathroom hidden around the corner. And for those of you who like to study with a nice hot steamin’ mug of jo, this is not a bad perk.
Reasons why I dislike the Library:
— I never get cell service, so I’m not reallly aware that I have missed calls and/​or texts. Not that I was planning on talking in the library, but it’s nice to have some text messages to distract me from studying.
— I don’t know what’s on the floors higher than the 3^rd level, and part of me wonders if I ever will.

I actually haven’t been on campus in about 3 years so it was a nice surprise to come back this year to see the Library completely done. The building itself it very aesthetically pleasing, but the inside has a lot of great spaces. If you are looking for rare books, the 5^th floor is full of them and offers an option to rent books from a different library and have them sent to you. If reading is your thing, (all 2 or 3 of you) then check it out!

What a difference six years can make! Marriott is the main library on campus at the University of Utah. The exterior has been remodeled. It kind of had a venerable look when I attended the school more than a half decade ago. It now looks like it has caught up with the times.
The interior was modern with a computer lab on the first floor. Spent a lot of time here for projects and homework. Now it seems more cozy and even a better place to study, though that lab is gone I see. Perhaps a change of the times given the laptop/​mobile/​Internet world we live in. Still the printed word holds academic resonance and Marriott is the place to gather that material.