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USC Libraries Policies on Access and Borrowing Privileges

The Library Access and Borrowing Policy explains the privileges and responsibilities of all who borrow and access materials from the USC Libraries.

Room Preservations

The group study rooms in the USC Libraries are intended for current USC students' academic use only. Priority use is given to groups of two or more. If you are alone in a room and the grace period has expired, you may be asked to relocate in order to accommodate a group of two or more.

Faculty and staff members who need space for meetings, teaching or seminars should contact classroom scheduling or their department about finding appropriate spaces to meet their needs.

  • Reservations have priority. If you are using a room and do not have a valid reservation, you must leave when asked by a group that has a valid reservation. To make a reservation, use the online system at libcal.usc.edu. Reservations can be made up to 7 days in advance and you must have a valid USC e-mail address. Upon selecting available reservation times, you will be sent an e-mail to confirm your reservation. You must click the link in that e-mail within 30 minutes to confirm and complete the reservation process.
  • On any calendar day, you may reserve a maximum of two hours. If you wish or need to reserve space in multiple rooms, please note that you are limited to a total of 2 hours across all of your reservations for that day. If you attempt to exceed these limits, your reservations may be canceled, and your time slots will be available to other groups. Each group member can make a separate reservation, but please be considerate of other users and reserve no more time than you will actually need.
  • Upon confirming your reservation, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Save this e-mail as it will be used to settle disputes about who has reserved and has permission to use the room. You will have a ten minute grace period for your reservation. If your group is not present within ten minutes of the start of your reserved time, you will lose the remainder of that hour of your reservation, and another group may use the space for the rest of the hour. If you leave a room unoccupied after the grace period has expired, another group may take the room.

For information on library spaces and for access to space reservations check the USC Libraries Spaces Overview.