Where to read

Mount Oread offers several study spots

When Renee Quint has a big exam coming, she packs up her studies and drives the meandering country roads that lead to Lone Star Lake southwest of Lawrence.

A friend of the Kansas University senior from Paola showed her the lake shortly after she arrived in Lawrence, and it’s been her study haven ever since.

Kansas University student Sara Jones, Overland Park, found a study spot on the Fraser lawn during a pleasant afternoon.

“Being out there in the middle of nowhere is nice,” Quint said.

Of course, students don’t have to take road trips to find a variety of places suited to their studying needs. Quiet nooks, hidden crannies and wide-open spaces with plenty of background noise pepper KU’s campus and the community that surrounds Mount Oread.

Watson, Anschutz favored

Perhaps the most popular study locations on the hill are the university’s large research libraries, Watson and Anschutz.

Kimiko Tamura, a Japan junior studying astronomy, has found a soothing hideaway on the fourth floor of Watson, where light from the building’s arched gothic windows flood an area decked with cushy chairs and study carrels.

“It’s very calm,” she said during a break from a recent study session. “The space is private.”

During the summer, when campus library hours are abbreviated, Tamura said she sometimes studied down the street in the Kansas Union.

For Eric Allison, Watson was an easy choice during summer session because his classes were next door in Fraser Hall. But during the regular academic year, he tends to gravitate toward Anschutz Library, the New Orleans senior said.

But there are alternatives to the large libraries, said Mary Ann Rasnak, director of KU’s Student Development Center.

Here are a few spots on campus and off the hill where you can catch up on reading or cram for a test:

Watson Library, Kansas University, open 8 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; and noon-midnight Sunday.Anschutz Library, KU, open 8 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday.Moore Reading Room, Smith Hall, KU, call 864-4664 for hours.Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.Kansas Union, KU, open 24 hours.Campanile Hill or other green spaces on the KU campus.South Park, 1141 Mass.Clinton Lake, west of Lawrence, or Lone Star Lake, southwest of Lawrence.Downtown coffee shops: Borders, 700 N.H.; Bourgeois Pig, 6 E. Ninth St.; Henry’s, 11 E. Eighth St.; Java Break, 17 E. Seventh St.; Z’s Espresso Downtown, 10 E. Ninth St.; La Prima Tazza, 638 Mass.; Milton’s Coffee & Wine, 920 Mass.; Starbucks Coffee, 647 Mass.

“Those are just the ones that come to everyone’s mind when you say, ‘Perhaps you should study at the library,'” she said. “Some students find them cold and boring and not welcoming.”

A number of buildings on campus house small reading rooms, like the one for journalism students in Stauffer-Flint Hall.

“Going to one of these smaller spaces can feel a little homier, a little friendlier,” she said. “It’s still a quiet place, still a place where you’re going to have to stay focused on your homework because there’s not a lot of distractions.”

‘Feeling of home’

For students looking for a little more background noise, Rasnak often suggests the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

“I think something that bothers students about studying in academic libraries is that they are so academic. They feel so out of touch,” she said. “A public library sort of approximates that feeling of home.”

Quint takes a different approach when she wants both a relatively quiet space and a few of the comforts of home the sound of a television murmuring in the background, the hum of washers and dryers, the smell of fabric softener. She heads to the Laundromat. There’s nothing like a few loads of laundry to keep a person staked out in one place for several hours.

“I leave my phone at home and none of my friends can find me,” Quint said during a recent excursion to Duds ‘N Suds Laundry, 918 Miss., where she was studying for her African Film and Literature class. “I never tell anybody when I go to the Laundromat.”

She said just about everyone else who frequents the Laundromat usually had books and notebooks in tow as well.

Like Quint, who also finds solace studying in the great outdoors, many KU students in the fall and spring take advantage of the mild weather and the expansive lawns on campus and find a cozy spot in the grass to hit the books. The effectiveness of the “naturalist” approach depends on the nature of the work and the student’s ability to concentrate, Rasnak said.

“Sometimes being outside is fun if you’re reading something and your goal is searching for the big picture. On the other hand, if you have to read, take notes … outside, that’s just a little bit more difficult. You can’t avoid the wind and the bugs that are out there,” she said. “There’s usually many more distractions.”

For students who want to take their studies inside and can work through the hustle and bustle of retail, local coffee shops are popular.

Allison said he usually avoided coffee shops because he always felt obligated to buy something. But once in a while he puts in some study hours at Munchers Bakery, 925 Iowa.

“If I do have to buy something there, it’s cheaper,” he said, noting another perk. “Plus, it’s the best doughnuts in town.”