Now that you’re an official Hopkins student, you’ll probably be spending quite a bit of time in Brody Learning Commons or the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSE).
These enormous, interconnected buildings are full of resources and take some time to get used to. This guide will help you sift through everything the library has to offer and give you tips on how to survive all those long nights spent studying.
Brody Terrace
This is the outdoor patio between Brody and MSE. The tables with built-in sun umbrellas make it the perfect spot to eat lunch and get some work done on a nice day. Student groups hold fundraisers here all the time, and sometimes you might get lucky and score a free t-shirt, sticker or water bottle.
Brody Café
The one-stop refueling station for everyone spending their day in the library. I recommend the Jamaican meat pie if you need something to tide you over until dinner, the black bottom muffin if you’re looking to indulge and the Jitter Machine drink if you’re preparing for an all-nighter.
The café is also a great place for group or individual study, with plenty of natural light and the pleasant aroma of coffee.
Librarians
MSE is staffed with dozens of data consultants, archivists, research specialists and more.
Student Engagement and Information Fluency Librarian Shannon Simpson encourages students to drop by the Research Consultation Office with any questions.
“Being able to analyze information for the things you need and determine if and how you might use something is not that easy,” she wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We know that all of this information can be overwhelming and we will happily take the time to help you figure things out as many times as it takes. Just ask!”
Heidi Herr, librarian for English and Philosophy and outreach librarian for Special Collections, also enjoys helping students, along with the many other aspects of her job.
“I get to do traditional librarian responsibilities, like selecting academic resources for English and Philosophy studies and helping students craft research strategies, while at the same time [I] have the freedom to create student engagement projects, like hosting our annual edible book festival, Read It and Eat It,” she wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Library Resources
The library’s film collection contains a vast number of titles that aren’t available on most streaming services.
If MSE doesn’t carry the book you’re looking for, you can search BorrowDirect, a network of libraries from the nation’s top universities, including Harvard, Stanford and MIT and have materials delivered to Hopkins.
Research
Tackling a major research project or paper can seem overwhelming at first, but MSE is full of resources to help you every step of the way. Librarians like Simpson offer one-on-one research support.
“We’ll talk all about their projects and I help them come up with new avenues to explore or different ways to focus their research,” Simpson wrote. “I helped one student with a Public Health paper on HIV in Ghana... It was all really talking through this neat research project and then really thinking about what he needed... until we were able to find a really cool source that was perfect for his paper.”
Another library-sponsored paid research program, Freshman Fellows, selects four freshmen to engage in a year-long research project. The fellows are given access to MSE Special Collections and are mentored by curatorial staff.
“I had the best time this past year mentoring a student in the Freshman Fellows program,” Herr wrote. “The student explored all things pertaining to the corset, the Dress Reform movement and 19th century feminism... her research has directly impacted the type of materials we acquire in Special Collections, making our collection landscape more diverse and connecting it with issues that are still relevant today!”
M-level
Next level down is M-level, a jack-of-all trades section of MSE with couches, group tables and individual desks and cubicles. It’s not silent, but it’s usually pretty easy to stay focused. The circulation desk and one of the printing rooms are on this level, as well as a weird metal sculpture that’s fun to stare at while you’re pretending to do work.
A-level
Another flight of stairs down is A-level, a major group study space with big tables. Once I was in here with the rest of the News & Features team around 1 a.m. and someone gave us a cake. Like an actual, full-size, mostly-intact cake. We had no forks so we had to eat it with our hands, but it’s one of my favorite memories from freshman year.
Brody Atrium
The quintessential group study space at Hopkins. This space is home to the most comfortable chairs on campus, along with whiteboards, TV monitors and tables that make it the perfect collaborative environment. Unlike MSE, Brody is open 24/7, so if you’re staying past 3 a.m. this room is probably where you’ll find yourself.
Group Study Rooms
Interspersed throughout both buildings are dozens of smaller rooms that can be reserved online for group study sessions. You can’t reserve them more than 24 hours in advance, and they fill up quickly, so plan ahead.
B-level
Just below the Brody Atrium, this level consists of individual cubicles located within stacks on stacks of books. It’s silent, but not deathly silent, which makes it a great place to settle in and get some intense, hard-core studying done. Make sure to come early if you want to find a good space, especially during finals week. (Actually, that goes for everywhere in the building.)
C- and D-level
Silent, isolated dungeon rooms. Just don’t go down here. It’s not worth it.
