A glorious place to work and nap.

Next in our series of reviews of the library rooms we hate to love: the reading room on the third floor of the Diana center.

So yeah, the Diana reading room is not technically a “library room”. Fine, you win, revoke my blogging license. However, not being in a library is what makes the Diana reading room the best damn study space on this campus.

First off, you don’t need to go through that whole fish-your-ID-out-of-your-backpack ordeal. Anyone can just waltz in, which is why there will occasionally be a weird old guy sitting in one of those orange chairs.  Also, you can nosh on whatever you want. If you don’t have a Starbucks drink from Liz’s place downstairs, you’re a chump. If you don’t mind a few medium-harsh glares, you could even order yourself a late night pizza and indeed, many have. The whole building is just more convenient because there aren’t pesky books everywhere. You can make it from the reading room to the computer lab to the bathroom and back in under a minute. When you gaze through that wall of internal windows that some architect is probably very proud of, the sight of industrious students in the Diana cafe dining room forces you to get back to work.

If you are a bold beautiful woman leader of tomorrow, the Diana reading room is an extra ideal space to study. You’ve got to Lean In hard just to open that stupid door. There are usually no men in the Diana reading room, which contributes to “sisterhood of powerful women” feeling that the Barnard brochures promised, and, if you’re the type who cares, lets you feel better about studying in that outfit which makes you look like a comfortable yet intellectual hobo. When you sit down at one of the red cubicles that make the room look like a mitochondrion, you feel like you are in the powerhouse of the Barnard cell. Well, until you get kicked out at the Diana’s absurdly early 2 am closing time.