Library facilities are intended to support the educational and research purposes of Brown University and are primarily for the use of those holding current Brown IDs. 

Access for visitors and guests of ID holders is on pause with the exception of some limited access at the John Hay Library and for consortial members. See the Visiting the John Hay Library for information on John Hay Library access and the Consortial Partners section below for more information.

The Library is not offering access cards by purchase at this time.

John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library is located at 10 Prospect Street, “the Rock” houses collections for the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. It is also home to the Library’s Center for Digital Scholarship, Brown University Digital Publications, East Asian Collection, Racial Justice Resource Center, and Vincent J. Wernig Graduate Student Study Room.

Access is limited to current Brown and RISD ID holders and consortial partners. For more information, please see the user categories below which list the types of users who are accorded access.

John Hay Library is located at 20 Prospect Street, “the Hay” promotes research, teaching, and public engagement with Brown’s world-renowned collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, and ephemera.  The Harriette Hemmasi Exhibition Gallery mounts exhibits of the Hay’s holdings around questions of topical interest.

Appointments are required for use of special collections in the Gildor Family Special Collections Reading Room. Please review the John Hay Library’s Visiting information before your visit.

A Carnegie Library, the John Hay Library is open to the public during regular hours.

Sciences Library is located at 201 Thayer Street, “the SciLi” holds materials that support study and research in the fields of medicine, psychology, neuroscience, environmental science, biology, chemistry, geology, physics, engineering, computer science, and pure and applied mathematics.

The Friedman Study Center and the Library’s Geospatial and Social Sciences Data Center (GeoData@SciLi) along with print works in STEM are in the SciLi. Brown’s Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning is also located in the SciLi.

Access is limited to current Brown ID holders and consortial partners. For more information, please see the user categories below which list the types of users who are accorded access.

Virginia Baldwin Orwig Music Library is located at 1 Young Orchard Avenue, Orwig supports the study, creation, and performance of music with extensive collections of scholarly literature, recorded works in a wide variety of audio and video formats, music scores, and the Walter Neiman ‘46 Archive of Sound Recordings.

The collection supports the curriculum of the Music Department and provides material for general use by the Brown community and individuals conducting research in the fields of music or theatre arts and performance studies.

Champlin Memorial Medical Library is located in The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University at 222 Richmond Street, Champlin is an information resource center and study area. It provides online access to the Library’s extensive collection of electronic journals, textbooks, and databases, and contains no on-site physical collections.

Champlin is open only to Alpert Medical School students.

Annmary Brown Memorial is located at 21 Brown Street, the Annmary Brown Memorial displays the art collection acquired by General Rush C. Hawkins and his wife Annmary (née Brown) during their lifetime including exhibits of European and American paintings from the 17th through the 20th centuries, the Cyril and Harriet Mazansky British Sword Collection, as well as personal mementos of Gen. Hawkins, and the Brown family.

Currently closed for renovation.

Library Collection Annex is located four miles from campus, the Annex is a purpose-built facility for high-density storage, supporting regular retrieval and delivery of items to campus. Closed to patrons.

All Brown alumni can obtain an Alumni Library Card for a one-time $25 processing fee. The card provides alumni with certain borrowing privileges and access to library buildings. It may be used for borrowing material held by the Brown University Library only; it does not grant access to online resources for users outside library buildings, or to interlibrary loan services.  

Alumni also have access to the Brown Alumni Library Online, a collection of more than five thousand titles including scholarly journals, business journals, news sources, and archives.

Current Brown faculty, staff and students may request library access for their spouse/partner through our visitor reservation system.

Brown faculty members are able to appoint a proxy borrower who may borrow library items on their behalf. The proxy borrower must be a Brown ID holder. Email rock@brown.edu for more information.

Consortial partners may request a library visit through our visitor reservation system. Please see below for a list of our current partner institutions and services accorded to their members.

RISD

RISD faculty, staff, and students are accorded access and borrowing privileges. A valid institutional ID must be presented at each visit.

SHARES

Faculty, staff, and students from SHARES member institutions will be accorded library access. A valid institutional ID must be presented at each visit.

CRIARL

Faculty and staff from CRIARL member institutions may obtain access and borrowing privileges. A CRIARL card and current institutional ID must be presented at each visit.

BorrowDirect Institutions

Current faculty, staff, and students from BorrowDirect member institutions are accorded access and borrowing privileges at the Brown Library. A valid institutional ID must be presented at each visit.

American Mathematical Society (AMS) Staff

At the request of the Director of the American Mathematical Society, the Library will grant borrowing privileges to select AMS employees. The card may be used for borrowing Brown material only. Other restrictions may apply.

Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS) Members

Current members of the Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS) may request library access and borrowing privileges for material held by the Brown Library. RIMS membership is annual and must be requested each year.

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)

The Library’s U.S. Government Documents Collection is available to all U.S. citizens. Please contact us in advance of your visit with a list of the documents you would like to access so that we may determine if they are available, and to ensure that there will be staff to assist you.