At Bill Bryson Library, our study spaces include individual and group spaces, study rooms and designated spaces for Postgraduate students.
If you’re leaving your desk for longer than 30 minutes, please take all your personal belongings with you and leave the desk clear for the next person to use.
We do not take any responsibility for items left unattended in the Library and suggest you keep valuable items with you at all times.
The Library provides a range of study environments so you can choose the one most suitable for your needs. Please be considerate of other users and help us maintain the described noise level in each area.
Use the tabs below to find out more about each study zone and where they are in the building.
Suitable for group work and discussions at a normal volume, with moveable wipe boards available for use.
Lidded drinks and cold food are allowed in these areas.
Bookable Group Study Rooms are available and suitable for group work and discussions at a normal volume. (Please note, these rooms are not soundproof.)
Low background noise levels rather than silent. Please keep conversations to a minimum.
You can use our Study Booths on Level 2 (opposite the Help and Information Desk) if you need to speak to participate in an online lecture. Please keep conversation levels low and use headphones.
If you need to work in a group or have a longer conversation, please use the Collaborative Study Area on Level 1 or book a Group Study Room.
Bookable Individual Study Rooms are available on all Levels of the Library for single person use. Please note, they are not soundproof.
This applies to the following areas:
For those of you who prefer to study on your own with no noise around you.
All study spaces in our silent study zone at Bill Bryson Library are bookable.
We ask all our users to be considerate of others and maintain described noise levels in each area of the Library.
If you think others are being too loud or misusing a space, you can contact us through our live chat service between Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm to reach staff based in the building who will be able to investigate the issue. Outside these times, please speak to Library or security staff at our Help and Information Desk on Level 2.
You can choose to chat with us online anonymously but remember to tell us where you are and we’ll aim to get there as soon as possible.
Visit our website for more details on our live chat service and support in the Library.
We have a variety of non-bookable study spaces available throughout our opening times at Bill Bryson Library, including:
The following bookable spaces are available at Bill Bryson Library.
Timeslots for bookable spaces are available Monday-Friday between 8am-10pm and Saturday-Sunday between 9am-10pm - please only sit in these areas if you have pre-booked your space. Outside these times, these spaces are available to use without a booking.
To help you find them when you visit, we’ve included brief information on how to get to them, photo guides, and our floor maps will help you to see where the areas are in the building.
| Type of bookable space | Location | Finding these areas (photo guides) |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet, individual study |
Level 3 |
Bookable area via Main Stairs |
| Silent study | Level 1 West Wing |
|
| PCs and docking stations | Level 1 and Level 3 West Wing |
See Silent Study guides above |
| Postgraduate Research students (Kepier Room) |
Level 4 South Wing |
|
| Individual study rooms | Available on all floors | - |
| Group study rooms | Available on all floors | - |
| Disability Support (DS) study rooms | Level 1 West Wing |
You can book an individual or group study room at Bill Bryson Library through our online Space Booking system. Please be aware that our study rooms are not soundproof and should only be used if you have pre-booked the space.
Booking timeslots and allowances
You can view the details of available timeslots and booking limits for each of the following bookable spaces:
Visit our Space Bookings system to book a study space.
Your study space is allocated by the system, limited to floor level. Our Disability Support rooms are available to students who have an assessed need to access these spaces. Our study space location plans will help you to find your allocated seat before you visit.
You can arrive at any time during your booked timeslot, but we do ask you to leave the study space by the end of your allocated time ready for the next person who has booked.
If you have made a booking and you decide you don’t need it or are unable to attend, please cancel your booking to allow others to make use of it. Simply go to the ‘My Bookings’ tab on the Space Bookings app and cancel your booking.
Visit our Space Bookings system guide for further details.
With swipe-card access, our Postgraduate Room provides dedicated study spaces for all postgraduate and Masters students. There are desk, PC and docking station study spaces, along with study areas for group work, comfortable seating, lockers and access to toilets.
Our Kepier Room is available to Postgraduate Research students and you will need to book a space in this room through our Space Booking system. There is a mixture of desk, PC and docking station study spaces for individual study, and lockers available for use during your time in the Library.
For directions and details of facilities available within the Library, visit our Libraries and Site Information guide.
Current opening times:
From Monday 4 November:
24/7 opening until 10pm on Friday 13 December
Durham University Library
Stockton Road
DURHAM
DH1 3LY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 3042
Fax: +44 (0)191 334 2971
Find out how many free study spaces there currently are at Bill Bryson Library by clicking the link above.
Please review our floor maps to help you to:
You can get in touch through our live chat service or by email, and search our FAQs for answers to your questions.
Keep up to date by following our library social media accounts:
