ATMs
Where is the nearest ATM?
There is a Citibank ATM on the basement level of the Law School outside of the Office of Career Services. Non-Citibank account holders will be charged a $1.50 fee by Citibank for each withdrawal in addition to any fee charged by their own bank. There is also a Citibank mini-branch in the Surgery and Brain Research Pavilion on Ellis Avenue just south of 58th Street.
Carrels
Who can use the carrels?
Carrels on the third through sixth floors of the Library are assigned by the D'Angelo Law Library. Signs reading "This is an Assigned Carrel" are posted near all reserved carrels. The tables in the Wilson Reading Room on the second floor, as well as the tables along the north windows of the third floor and desks located in the middle of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are not assigned, and are available to all students.
How can I reserve a carrel?
Carrel application forms are available at the Circulation Desk. Carrels are assigned on a quarterly basis. Priority is given to students working on one of the law journals, research assistants, and students writing research papers for seminar classes.
Chicago Card
I am a new student. Where do I obtain a Chicago Card?
University of Chicago identification cards are known as "Chicago Cards." To obtain a Chicago Card go to the Identification & Privileges Office in Room 100F of the Regenstien Library (1100 E. 57th Street), just to the left of the turnstiles near the main entrance. The Identification & Privileges Office is generally open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The phone number is 702-8782. No appointment is necessary but you will need to bring an official photo identification such as a driver's license or passport.
Computers
Are there computers that I can use in the Library?
There are personal computers available for student use in the computer labs located on the second floor behind the Reference Desk and on the south side of the third floor next to the Silver Rare Book Room. These computers are reserved for law students and you will need a valid Law School network login password in order to use them. In addition to the computer labs, there are also seven public access computer workstations and two Library catalog stations in the Wilson Reading Room on the second floor that do not require a network password to use. Two additional public access workstations can be found on the east side of the fourth and fifth floors, to the south of the elevators.
I am a new student. How do I log on to the computers in the computer labs and access the University wireless network?
Your initial login name is the first initial of your first name followed by your full last name in lower case (without any spaces). Your initial password is "Changeme!" Upon entering in this information at the login prompt you will be instructed how to create a new password. If you experience difficulty logging on to a Law School computer contact Aaron Binford, the computer lab manager. His office is in the computer lab on the third floor and his phone number is 5-5875. Aaron's e-mail address is abinford@uchicago.edu.
To access the University's wireless network you will need to enter your CNet ID and password. New students can establish a CNet ID and password by visiting cnet.uchicago.edu/ and then clicking the "Create Your CNet Id" link. This can be done from a Law School computer or any other computer with Internet access.
Are there connections to the University computer network in the Library?
Wireless connections to the University network are available throughout the Library building, although signal strength tends to be strongest in the Wilson Reading Room and on the third floor. In addition, there are wired ethernet connections available on the floor by the carrels on the south side of the third floor and by the desks in the middle of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. More information about the Law School's local area computer network can be found here. .
Who do I ask for help if I have trouble with my computer or accessing the University network?
The computer lab manager (Aaron Binford) is available during the day in the computer lab on the third floor to help students with information technology questions. His phone number is 5-5875 and e-mail address is abinford@uchicago.edu. You can also call the Law School's computer help desk at 834-5300. Additional information about the Law School's student computing services is available here.
Copy Center
One of my professors prepared a course pack of photocopied materials that I am supposed to pick up in the Copy Center. Where is that?
The Law School's Copy Center is located in Room K008 on the basement level underneath the Kane Center. It can be reached by following the hallway to the right of Seminar Room E around the corner and then through the set of glass double doors.
How do I get a University e-mail account?
When you establish your CNet ID (at cnet.uchicago.edu/) you will automatically be given a University e-mail account. Your e-mail address will be your CNet ID @uchicago.edu. You can access your University e-mail account from any computer with an Internet connection through cMail, the University's Web-based e-mail system.
I don't want to use my University e-mail account as my primary e-mail account. How do I set up my University e-mail account so that it automatically forwards messages to a different e-mail account?
Detailed information on how to forward messages from your University e-mail account can be found here.
I'm going to be out of town for a few days and unable to check my e-mail. Is there a way to let people who send me e-mails during this period know this?
Information about setting up an auto-reply on your University e-mail account can be found here.
Fax Machines
Where can I fax something?
The Office of Career Services has a fax machine that students can use to send faxes of a reasonable length. The cost is one dollar per page. The Office of Career Services is located on the basement level under the Green Lounge. More substantial fax jobs can be taken to the Kinko's at 1315 E. 57th Street.
Food
Is there any place to eat near the Law School other than the cafe in the Green Lounge?
The Graduate School of Business (on Woodlawn Avenue between 59th Street and 58th Street) is about a ten minute walk from the Law School and has a cafeteria featuring burgers, a make-your-own salad bar, and different daily hot entrees.
The Divinity School Coffee Shop is located in the basement of Swift Hall, in the southwest section of the Main Quadrangle between Ellis and University Avenues and 59th and 60th Streets. It offers coffee, teas, and pre-packaged lunches, and is a little under a ten minute walk from the Law School.
A more complete list of University dining options can be found here. Keep in mind, however, that the University dining halls are aimed at undergraduate students on a meal plan and that some buildings (such as 1155 E. 60th Street) have keycard access systems and are not easily accessible to law students.
Group Study Rooms
How do the group study rooms work?
The Library has four conference rooms (Rooms 401, 410, 601, and 610). Each conference room has nine or ten chairs, but six or fewer people is probably a more comfortable fit. You can reserve a group study room at the Reference Desk.
Lost and Found
Where do I check to see if someone has turned in an item that I lost?
The Circulation Desk has a lost and found. Sometimes people also bring found items to the Dean of Students Office on the fifth floor.
Where is the nearest mailbox?
There is a mailbox in front of the Law School on the 60th Street sidewalk.
Where is the nearest post office?
There is a post office just west of Ellis Avenue at 58th Street, behind the Barnes & Noble Campus Bookstore.
Maps
Where can I find a campus map?
A map of the University of Chicago campus is available at maps.uchicago.edu.
Notaries
Is there someone at the Law School who will notarize a document for me?
Linda Kiser (Assistant to the Dean of Students), and Amy Wahl (Assistant Registrar) are notaries and will notarize bar admissions forms or other law school related documents for law school students. Please contact the Dean of Students Office in advance if you need something notarized. You will need to bring the document to the Dean of Students Office along with a photo ID.
Parking
What's the parking situation around the Law School?
The parking lot behind the Law School is reserved for faculty, staff, and students with valid parking permits Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. At other times no permit is necessary. Street parking along 60th and 61st Streets, University Avenue, Ellis Avenue and the Midway Plaisance is free and open to everyone, but often difficult to find close to the Law School on weekdays during business hours. More information about parking, including how to obtain a parking permit can be found at http://www.law.uchicago.edu/Life/parking.html and http://facilities.uchicago.edu/parking/.
Phones
Is there a pay phone in the Library?
There are no pay phones in the library but there is a pay phone on the basement level of the classroom wing in the locker area underneath the center staircase by Seminar Rooms C and D.
What is the Library's policy on cell phone use?
Please do not use cell phones in the Library except in the stairwells and third floor elevator lobby outside of the bathrooms. Please be considerate of others when using cell phones.
Photocopiers
Where are the copy machines?
There are three photocopiers available for public use in front of the Circulation Desk on the second floor. There are also copy machines in the Reserve Reading Room and in the third floor computer lab. All of these machines accept Copico copy cards and Chicago Cards that have money stored on them. The copier closest to the Circulation Desk also accepts coins and dollar bills.
How much does it cost to make copies using the copy machines?
The cost to use the photocopiers is twelve cents per page using a Copico copy card or Chicago Card, and fifteen cents a page using cash.
Printing
Where are the LexisNexis and Westlaw student printers?
The LexisNexis and Westlaw printers are located in the long narrow room along the east side of the building between the Reserve Reading Room and the east stairwell in front of the Circulation Desk behind the copier machines. Just follow the hallway with the photos of the Supreme Court justices.
How much does it cost to print documents?
Students may print 1200 pages per academic year on Law School printers free of charge. Once this limit has been reached students will be charged five cents per page. If a student runs a negative print balance (i.e., prints more than 1200 pages an academic year) the cost will automatically be added to his or her student account.
LexisNexis and Westlaw printing is free if a LexisNexis or Westlaw printer is used. If you download or e-mail yourself a LexisNexis or Westlaw file and then print it using a Law School printer, however, the print job will be charged to your print account.
How do I print something in the Library if I am not a law student?
There is a PHAROS print station next to the public access computer terminals in the Wilson Reading Room on the second floor that can be used to print documents from the public access terminals. The cost is ten cents per page and you will need a Copico copy card or Chicago Card (with money stored on it). Detailed instructions on how to use the print station are printed on a card next to the PHAROS station, but basically all you need to do is pull-up the document you wish to print on one of the public access machines, select the print command, identify your print job in the pop-up window, insert your Copico card or Chicago Card into the card reader next to the PHAROS machine, and then select your print job from the display on the PHAROS machine. Note that the PHAROS system only allows you to print an entire document, so that if you only wish to print a portion of a document you will need to cut and paste what you want copied into a separate document and then print that document.
How do I print a document from Chalk?
Most documents on Chalk appear as Word or PDF files, or can be printed using your browser's print function. How easily a document can be printed from Chalk, however, will depend on how the professor uploaded the document to Chalk. If you are having trouble printing using your browser's print command try right clicking on the Chalk document and then selecting the "Open as New Window" option. This should enable you to print the document (from the new window) using your browser's print command.
Restrooms
Where are the restrooms?
Restrooms are located directly across from the east elevators on the third through sixth floors of the Library. There are no restrooms on the second floor. Additional restrooms are located on the first floor of the classroom wing across from the student mail folders behind Classroom V, and on the basement level across the hallway from Seminar Room E.
Taxicabs
How can I get a cab?
Chicago taxicabs can be hailed from any city street, but cabs do not generally cruise through the campus. Your best bet is to call one of the larger taxi companies (e.g., Yellow Cab (312-TAXI-CAB (829-4222)), Wolley Cab (877-888-TAXI (888-8294)), or Flash Cab (773) 461-4444) and request a cab, or try to hail one from one of the busier streets near the Law School, such as Cottage Grove Avenue or 57th Street. The Law School receptionist in the administration wing near the west entrance to the Law School will also call cabs for students.
Temperature
Can I have the temperature adjusted if it is too hot or cold where I am studying?
Like most large buildings, the Library is divided into a number of different climate control zones. The north, east, and west zones are each controlled by a single thermostat that regulates the temperature on all six floors of the zone. The south zone (which covers the building's addition) has multiple thermostats spread out over different floors. Because there is a wide variation in what different people consider a comfortable temperature the thermostats are set to keep the building at a temperature range in the middle seventies, although fluctuations occur, particularly near the windows on hot sunny days, and on unusually hot or cold days (e.g., an eighty degree day in early April when the heating system is still in use). Library staff have no control over the building's temperature. Any changes must be made by the Facilities Department who will only make an adjustment if the temperature falls outside of the permitted range, and this will not happen immediately. In short, your best solution if the temperature is making you uncomfortable is probably to simply move to a different area of the Library.
Transportation
What's the best way to get from the Law School to downtown?
Car: Take Ellis Avenue or Woodlawn Avenue to the South Plaisance. Drive east on the Plaisance under the Metra Electric train tracks and past Stony Island Avenue until you reach Cornell Avenue. Take a left on Cornell and proceed north on Cornell as it loops around the Museum of Science and Industry. Cornell will run into Lake Shore Drive (Route 41). Take a left hand turn on to Lake Shore Drive northbound, which will take you along Lake Michigan, past the McCormick Place convention center, Soldier Field, and the Field Museum and into downtown. The Jackson (left exit), Monroe (left exit), and Randolph exits will lead you right into the Loop business district. The Chicago Avenue exit (left exit) will take you to the North Michigan Avenue shopping area. The Fullerton exit will take you into Lincoln Park.
Train: Metra's Electric Line, which terminates downtown at Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue, has stops at both 55th/56th/57th Street and 59th Street in Hyde Park. The 59th Street station (at 59th Street between Blackstone and Stony Island Avenues) is significantly closer to the Law School (a little less than a fifteen minute walk), but the 55th/56th/57th Street station (at 56th Street and Lake Park Avenue) has more frequent service and is still walkable (around twenty minutes from the Law School). A one way fare between Hyde Park and downtown is $2.05 and the trip takes about twenty minutes. Metra train schedules and other information are available here.
Bus:
- The CTA's No. 2 bus (Hyde Park Express) stops in front of the Harris School of Public Policy at 1155 E. 60th Street and then travels north on Lake Shore Drive with stops along State Street in the Loop before heading out to Navy Pier along Wacker Drive and Illinois Street. The No.2 only runs weekdays during rush hours. More details about the No. 2.
- The No. 6 bus (Jackson Park Express) stops near 60th Street and Stony Island Avenue (about a ten minute walk from the Law School) before heading north along Hyde Park Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive to Michigan Avenue through downtown up to Wacker Drive. The No. 6 runs throughout the day seven days a week. More details about the No. 6 bus.
- During evening hours during the academic year you can take the No. 173 bus (Lakeview Express) downtown and up to Lincoln Park. The No. 173 departs from the Reynolds Club at 5:10 p.m. and then every hour on the hour (with additional buses on the half-hour Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 8:30 p.m.) until 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. More details about the No. 173 bus.
- A one way fare on all CTA buses is $1.75. Further CTA information is available here.
El: The Law School is not easily accessible via the El (i.e., the Chicago Transit Authority's elevated train service). The Green Line's Cottage Grove station (at 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue) is the closest El stop and about a ten minute walk from the Law School. A one way fare is $1.75 and the trip from the Cottage Grove station to downtown takes approximately 35 minutes. More details about the Green Line are available here and the CTA's main Web page.
More information on the various ways one can get to downtown from Hyde Park is available here.
Are there buses that I can take to get around the University Campus and Hyde Park?
The CTA's No. 170 bus (Midway) (http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus/170.pdf) travels counter-clockwise around the Midway during weekday rush periods. The Nos. 171 (Hyde Park) and 172 (Kenwood) also serve the area during weekday rush periods, but only during the academic year. Note that, unlike other CTA routes, University of Chicago students can ride the Nos. 170, 171, and 172 buses for free with their University ID. More information about these bus routes.
Is there an easy way to get from the Law School to the downtown suburban train stations?
The Hyde Park area is served by Metra's Electric Line, which runs from the Randolph Street terminal downtown to South Chicago, Blue Island and University Park. Chicago's northern and western suburbs are connected to downtown by other Metra rail lines that depart from different terminals - Union Station and Northwestern Station (Olgivy Transportation Center). During the weekday rush periods there is a shuttle bus that runs between these rail stations and the Goldblatt Building at the University of Chicago Hospital (860 E. 59th Street). Tickets for this shuttle are $2.25 each way and must be purchased in advance at the University Parking Office at 5840 S. Maryland Avenue. More information about the rail shuttle.