Van Pelt Carrels

How to reserve a carrel

1. Use our reservation form to search for available carrels.
2. Choose a carrel from the list and click “Book Now.”
3. Agree to the terms and conditions and submit your booking.

4. Library staff will review your request in the order it is received. We will verify your information and then approve the booking. You will receive a confirmation email once the booking is approved.

Storing books in your carrel

To store a book in your carrel, you must bring it to the Van Pelt Library circulation desk and ask that it be checked out to your carrel number. You can then keep it at your carrel for the full semester, but will not be able to take it out of the building. 

The following items cannot be stored in your carrel:

• Books borrowed from other institutions via interlibrary loan, BorrowDirect, and EZ-Borrow
• Books you have not checked out to your carrel number
• Personal items

Staff will remove these items if you leave them behind.

Carrel use

Most carrels are shared by two people, each having an individual shelf for library books. Others may sit at carrels when they are not being used by the carrel holder, but carrel holders have seating priority at their own carrels.

Additional carrels at the Penn Libraries

Carrels are also available in the Albrecht Music Library, Fisher Fine Arts Library, and Penn Museum Library. Learn how to reserve these carrels.