One understandably confusing aspect of library space are the study carrels that are sprinkled throughout the first, second, third, and fourth floors. Some of these are entirely open (nothing is locked or lockable), others have locked cabinets above the desk, while others have locked roll-tops. Why are these different and why are they locked?

These carrels are actually owned and administered by the Graduate Programs Office. Graduate Programs often welcomes international students (and other students pursuing LLMs) who do research-intensive work that requires large amounts of physical book review. These students are provided carrels by Graduate Programs upon request. They don't always fill all the carrels, but the carrels are not available to JD students since the number is so limited. However, we recently implemented a way for Graduate Students to put up a notice when they have a reserved carrel. 

If a carrel has been assigned to a student, there will be a sign on the side of the desk that says "This Carrel has been reserved for the semester. Please find another seat." If that sign is not on the carrel, feel free to sit at the desk.

Hopefully that will ease the confusion and allow JD students to take further advantage of these desks and make it clear when a carrel is not available.