Howard W. Hunter Law Library

J. Reuben Clark Law School

I, _____________________________________, agree and understand that my occupancy of study carrel #________ is conditioned upon compliance with the terms stated below, and may be terminated at any time, with or without cause. I also agree that I will be financially liable for any damage to the carrel resulting from my occupation of it, and acknowledge that failure to pay for damages may affect the receipt of my law school diploma and/or certification to take the bar exam.

Key Principles

• The primary purposes of the Law Library are to provide resources for legal research and a location for scholarship and study. These purposes are best accomplished in a clean, orderly and quiet environment.
• As a courtesy, the Law Library has made study carrels available to assist students in their academic endeavors.
• Occupancy of a study carrel is a privilege, not an entitlement. Inherent in this privilege are important obligations.

Terms

As a condition of carrel occupancy, I promise to conduct myself in a manner that is in harmony with the primary purposes of a library and bolsters an environment conducive to learning and study. By signing this agreement, I acknowledge that I must abide by the following rules:

By signing this form, I accept all of the terms of this Agreement, including the Carrel Use Policy.

Signed: ___________________________________ Date: _________ 

Students at the J. Reuben Clark Law School are expected to comply with all of the requirements of the BYU Honor Code, the Dress and Grooming Standards, and the standards of conduct established for the legal profession. These include “maintain[ing] the highest standards of honor, integrity, morality, and consideration of others in personal behavior … ‘at all times, in all things and in all places’.” To foster a professional atmosphere, demonstrate respect for others, and protect the Law School’s large financial investment in providing each student with a personal space conducive to study, BYU law students are expected to comply with the following rules:

1. Noise: Noise should be kept to a minimum in the carrel areas and in the library at large. Conversations should be conducted in quiet tones and in locations that do not disturb others.
   1. Group and extended conversations are appropriate only in study rooms, the Rex E. Lee Conversation & Popular Reading Room and outside the library.
   2. Cellular phones should be silenced within the library (alternative ring modes such as vibration are permitted), and all telephone, Skype, Facetime, or other video/web chat conversations should be conducted outside the library or in the Rex E. Lee Conversation Room.
2. Decorations: To maintain a professional atmosphere, avoid physical damage to furnishings (and the expense of refinishing) and for other aesthetic reasons, all carrel decorations should be conducive to “an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (BYU Honor Code.)
   1. Decorations must be kept within the confines of the assigned carrel space. Unoccupied carrels may not be decorated.
   2. Nothing may be stored or displayed on top of or underneath your carrel, on outside carrel walls, or on building walls next to carrels.
   3. The library strongly recommends that decorations not be physically affixed to the carrels, but any decorations a student chooses to affix may only be attached using non-permanent, residueless methods. Students will be billed for any damage or marking to the carrel resulting from the use of any adhesive material (including those claimed to be safe) or other method of attachment.
3. Furnishings: Safety regulations (such as campus and municipal fire codes) prohibit the placing of unauthorized chairs, equipment, or personal furniture in the carrel areas.
   1. Library chairs are provided for each carrel. These chairs may not be replaced without written approval from the Law School Dean of students. Chair cushions may be used to improve personal comfort.
   2. Appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves, personal coolers, hot plates or other electrical devices are absolutely prohibited in the law library carrels. Any appliances found on the premises may be confiscated by library staff without prior notice to the carrel occupant.
   3. Other items (including, but not limited to, sofas, lamps, fans, personal trash cans, etc.) are also prohibited in the carrel areas unless required for ADA, medical or pre-authorized family support needs. All such items must be pre-approved in writing by the Dean of Students.
   4. Library furniture (including, but not limited to, soft-seating and items from the Lee Reading Room) may not be rearranged or moved to the carrel areas.
4. Food and Drink may be consumed by a law student in the library at his/her assigned carrel and under the following conditions:
   1. No food or drink is to be consumed in the stack areas or study rooms at ANY time.
   2. Only law students are allowed to consume food within the law library premises, and then only at the student’s assigned carrel. For this reason, any food or drink carried into the library should be concealed.
   3. Additionally, food or drink consumption should be discreet. (Group festivities of any kind do not meet this condition, and should be moved to the student commons or other similar locations).
   4. Smelly foods of any kind are prohibited in the library.
   5. All evidence of consumption must be cleared afterwards. Cleaning supplies are available at the Circulation Desk. Any drips, crumbs, food residue or trash found at an unattended carrel could result in a fine and/or loss of carrel privileges. Students will be held liable for any damage to library materials, furnishings or premises resulting from the transportation, storage and/or consumption of food or drink.

Penalties (charges will not be waived)

Violations of Food & Drink, Noise, Decoration or Furnishing Policies

1st Time: Warning
2nd Time: Meet with a Library Administrator
Repeated Violations may result in the loss of carrel privileges.

• Be considerate of your fellow students at all times.
• Study rooms are exclusively for the use of groups consisting of two or more law students. Law students may not reserve rooms on behalf of friends or relatives. (NOTE: The authentication program will not permit a study room to be reserved by anyone who is not currently enrolled in a law school course.)
• Using his or her Route Y ID; a law student may reserve a study room on behalf of a group for two 60-minute intervals, or one 90-minute and one 30-minute interval, or one 120 minute interval per day. Whenever possible, study rooms should be scheduled in blocks of no less than 60 minutes, and a minimum of 60 minutes must be left open between reservations in the same room by the same study group.
• Study groups may sign up for only two 2-hour blocks in a single room during the same day (for a maximum of 4 hours/room/day).
• Law students who violate these policies may have their scheduling privileges revoked at the discretion of the SBA leadership and/or the Law Library Administration. After revocation, privileges may only be reinstated as authorized by the Dean of Student Relations.
• Study groups must occupy a room within 15 minutes* of their scheduled reservation, or lose their reservation for that hour. (*This rule does not apply to reservations for TA office hours. TA reservations may not be challenged until ALL study rooms on ALL library floors are otherwise occupied.)
• Unoccupied study rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis to any group of two or more law students.
• No food is allowed in the study rooms.

Note: Room 388 has been designated as a study room. This room does not have a speaker installed. With the door closed, the occupants may not hear library or building announcements.

(Law School and Library staff have the right to enter
any study room at any time and for any reason.)

Contact Information:

For questions about the study room policy or to report monopolization of a study room, contact the SBA by sending a message to “sbaweb -at- law.byu.edu.”

For concerns about how the program is functioning, please contact Dianne Davenport through email.

Maps & Directions