Students looking to use one of the more than 30 study rooms in the Gelman Library can now reserve space ahead of time, after the study room reservation system was launched Thursday.

The system, which was scheduled to launch in February, allows students in groups of two or more to reserve a study room for a two-hour time frame per day. Reservations for a study room can be placed two weeks in advance.

While a reservation is not necessary to use a study room, David Bietila, a University librarian who helped design the system, said students are encouraged to utilize the reservation system. 

“Students can still walk into a room but if someone reserved it they would have priority,” Bietila said. “We encourage students to print out their receipt.”

Bietila said the library staff hopes that the rooms will not need policing and that a receipt for a room reservation will solve any disputes.

“Our hope is that this system will create a fair distribution of study rooms, and prevent small groups from monopolizing rooms all day,” Bietila said.

A focus group will be put together after the system has been in place for a few months to determine what is and is not working with the reservation system and process.

“It’s going to be an ongoing development,” Bietila said. “We definitely think there will be refinements we want to do to see how students use it.”