Symposium Tours

We will be offering Library Tours on Thursday, April 19 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, as well as optional Campus Tours on Friday, April 20 from 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm. Below are brief descriptions of the tours being offered. For exact times, see the program schedule. You can indicate your preferences for tours via the registration form.

Library tours are concurrent, and last approximately 45 minutes. It is not necessary to register for specific tours. Participants should meet at the main entrance/lobby of the library, unless otherwise noted.

Regenstein Library and Special Collections Research Center
Opening in 1970, the Joseph Regenstein Library holds over 4.5 million print volumes in the humanities and social sciences and also houses the Special Collections Research Center, home to the University of Chicago Library's rare books, archives, and manuscript collections.

The 1st Floor Reading Room of Regenstein and the Special Collections Research Center were both remodeled in 2011. Some of the new features include a new cafe space, a TechBar operated by University ITServices, and a new Special Collections Exhibition Gallery. Regenstein's collections are also in the midst of a year-long reorganization project designed to make our collections easier to use by our patrons.

Mansueto Library (meet in Regenstein lobby)

The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library opened to users in May 2011. It combines a stunning glass-domed reading room, state-of-the-art preservation laboratories, and an underground automated storage and retrieval system capable of housing 3.5 million volumes and retrieving them for patrons within minutes.

The Mansueto Library and the University of Chicago have been recognized with the American Institute of Architects' Distinguished Building Citation of Merit and a Chicago Architecture Foundation Patron of the Year award.

D'Angelo Law Library

The D'Angelo Law Library houses 700,000 volumes and is the centerpiece of the Law School's Laird Bell Quadrangle, a group of buildings of architectural distinction designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s. The design reflects the central importance of the Library in the Law School program and provides faculty and student users easy access to Library materials essential to the Law School's goals. The books are located at the Library's center; faculty offices surround the bookstacks with student study tables and carrels adjacent to them.

The Library underwent a major renovation in 1987 in which an extension expanded the building forty-five feet to the south. A second major renovation was concluded in 2008.

Crerar Library

The John Crerar Library is home to more than 1.4 million volumes in the biological, medical and physical sciences as well as collections in general science and the philosophy and history of science, medicine, and technology. The current building opened in 1984, as the result of the merger of the John Crerar Library, a public research library established in Chicago in 1894, with the University of Chicago Library.

Crerar includes the Kathleen A. Zar Room, a technology-equipped teaching space, with stereoscopic projection equipment, creating a cutting-edge, 3-D learning environment used recently for a Virtual Anatomy course.

Campus tours are optional activities offered during the break between morning and afternoon sessions. All campus tours will depart from the Regenstein lobby at 12:30 pm. University of Chicago Library staff will lead groups to their destinations.

Tour 1: Reva and David Logan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts

Visit the University's newest addition to campus, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts. Slated to open in Spring 2012, the Center will provide a state-of-the-art hub for the University's arts programs, with a mixture of spaces including artist studios, performance and rehearsal spaces, classrooms, media labs, and shops. The Center includes an eleven-story, 170-foot tower offering spectacular views that have the added benefit of being accessible via elevator.

Tour 2: Rockefeller Chapel Carillon Tower

According to its website, the Rockefeller Chapel Carillon, "comprising 72 bells and 100 tons of bronze, is the single largest musical instrument ever built." On this tour, you'll have the chance to climb 271 steps of a spiral staircase to the top of the tower, the highest point on campus at 207 feet, where breathtaking views of campus await. Along the way, you'll get to see the inner workings of the carillon, including the "playing cabin" where the carillonneur performs. Not for the claustrophibic or the easily winded.

Tour 3: Campus Walking Tour

Learn about the University's fascinating architecture and history while strolling through the historic main quadrangles, led by library staff with expert knowledge. For a sneak peak, view the University's official campus slideshow.

Tour 4: Bookstore Crawl (self-guided; see insert in registration packet)

Browse local gems like the Seminary Co-op, Powell's, and O'Gara's to search for that hard-to-find volume or stumble upon a surprising new discovery.