Spaces at Wardman Library

Wardman Library provides a variety of spaces for meetings, collaboration, and scholarship for the students, staff, and faculty of Whittier College.

Quiet Floor

Wardman Library’s second (i.e., topmost) floor is our designated quiet floor, where we request all patrons to work in silence. The quiet floor has ample seating, long work tables, and individual study carrels. Study carrels provide individuals with private workspaces, all of which are equipped with AC power and desk lights. For patrons who need them, headphones are available for checkout at the Circulation Desk.

Study Rooms (reserve here)

Located on the mezzanine and second floor, Wardman Library’s study rooms are great locations to brainstorm, share ideas, and work in groups. All study rooms have whiteboards, and select study rooms are equipped with HD displays. Dry erase markers and erasers are available for checkout at the Circulation Desk.

Eight of the eleven group study rooms can be reserved ahead of time for use. Visit the room reservation page to request a specific room and times. Reservations can be made for up to three days in advance and for a maximum of four hours. If you reserve a room, you will still need to check out the room card at the Circulation Desk before using the room.

The three remaining group study rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis. Patrons can check out the room card for these rooms for up to four hours.

While patrons may temporarily use a room without checking out a room card OR making a reservation, if another party checks out the room OR makes a reservation, the first group is required to vacate.

Study Room Policies

A group study room may be checked out for up to four hours. The study room checkout card must be returned to the Circulation Desk by the time it is due. Fines are assessed at $1.00 each hour when the checkout card is not returned on time. Study rooms may not be renewed.

Check out is limited to currently enrolled Whittier College students. Whittier College students may use the rooms when not in use, but must vacate the room for users who have checked out the room.
Only current Whittier College IDs may be used to check out study rooms.
Check out cards must be posted on the hook on window. Cards must remain in the window of the study rooms at all times or else the patron forfeits the right to use the study room.
Users cannot leave the Library with study room cards. They are intended to stay in the Library the entire time you have the room checked out.
Users may not move tables and chairs into or remove them from a study room.
Study rooms are not soundproof, conversations can be heard outside the rooms. Users need to maintain a study/work environment that does not disturb others in the Library.
Users are responsible for personal property. Do not leave items unattended. The Library is not liable for loss or damage to personal property.
Study room users are responsible for leaving the room in a neat and orderly condition, including turning off equipment, erasing whiteboards, and disposing of food and drinks.
Disruptive or threatening behavior and vandalism will result in expulsion from a study room and disciplinary action.

Violation of these or other applicable Library or college policies may result in temporary or permanent suspension of access to Library study rooms.

Late Night Study Area

Whittier College students are welcome to study after the Library closes in the Late Night Study Area, located on the ground floor of the Library. The Light Night Study Area is accessible 24 hours a day. Whittier College student IDs are required for entry. PCs, printing, study carrels, couches, rest rooms and vending machines are available in the Late Night Study Area.

To promote a safe and secure environment, Campus Safety regularly patrols the area. Please call Campus Safety (562.907.4211) if you need after-hours assistance.

Digital Liberal Arts (DigLibArts) Center

Whittier’s Digital Liberal Arts (DigLibArts) Center is a collaborative initiative to enhance the liberal arts at Whittier College by empowering faculty, staff, librarians, and students to make full and better use of the digital technologies that are reshaping pedagogical approaches and transforming research throughout the liberal arts. The emerging center is designed to support and inspire faculty and students to integrate digital technologies into their teaching and research and to foster the building of relationships with other liberal arts colleges developing similar initiatives.

The two DigLibArts spaces in the Library, the Collaboratory and Sound Room, are available for reservations. Visit the DigLibArts room reservation page for more information. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance and are subject to approval.

For more information about these spaces, contact Instructional Technologist Sonia Chaidez (ext. 4235).

Faculty Alcove

The Faculty Alcove is located on the first floor of Wardman Library. The Alcove is a space intended for faculty and staff members to visit with colleagues, undertake informal collaboration, conduct interdisciplinary research, and work one-on-one with librarians and library staff. This space also serves as a quiet space within the library for individual reading, research, and small group discussion.

The Alcove is equipped with five workstations (four PCs and one iMac); a multifunction device that offers printing, scanning, photocopying; and two flatbed scanners (one Canon CanoScan 9000F slide/photo scanner and one Epson flatbed document scanner). The workstations include productivity and graphics software such as Microsoft Office and Adobe CS5.

Hours and Use of the Faculty Alcove

The Faculty Alcove is open and accessible all hours that the Library is open to the public, and by appointment when the Library is closed. The Alcove is available to current Whittier College faculty members, adjunct faculty members, instructors, and staff members. Visiting faculty members and special academic or professional guests who are contributing to Whittier College through curricular or collegial projects are welcome to utilize the Alcove. Student workers assisting faculty on special projects will need to be cleared prior to use; students who work in the Alcove without permission may be redirected to find another work place within the library building.

Poets Corner

The Poets Corner is located on Wardman Library’s first floor on the opposite side of the building from the circulation desk, and adjacent to the Faculty Alcove. With a 70-inch, media-ready HD monitor, modular seating for up to sixty people, and space for refreshments, the Poets Corner is a popular venue for visiting poets and lecturers, as well as broadcasting scheduled national and international news events as they happen.

For more information about policies and procedures related to the Poets Corner, contact us (ext. 4247).

Nixon Room

Located in the northeast corner of the Top Floor of Wardman Library and featuring unobstructed views of the Upper and Lower Quads, the Richard M. Nixon Room houses a permanent special collections exhibit that comprises diplomatic gifts presented to Richard and Patricia Nixon during Nixon's tenure as Vice President and then President of the United States. The Nixon Room also serves as an exclusive meeting space, generally for select groups of staff and faculty members, administrators, trustees, and friends of the College.

Inquiries about reserving the Nixon Room as a meeting space or arranging a visit to see the diplomatic gifts exhibition should be directed to Library Staff (ext. 4247).