Library Facilities: Lewis Music Library: MIT Libraries

Lewis Music Library Home


	Library Facilities



	The Music Library originally functioned as a music lounge when it opened in the Hayden Building (Building 14) in 1950. Over the years, this space evolved into a music library. The library was totally renovated in October 1996 when it was renamed the Rosalind Denny Lewis Music Library. To learn more about Mrs. Lewis, read the library dedication speech by her granddaughter, Rosalind Williams. For more details about the library, see this article and visit the Lewis Music Library Virtual Tour. Also, look at and listen to the Canon, written for the library by MIT music professor John Harbison, which adorns the glass panels surrounding the second floor of the library (music performance by Emmanuel Music, Boston, Craig Smith, Music Director). The popularity of this library is reflected in its door count, which has nearly doubled that of the old library. Study Space The first floor provides an attractive reading room with large study tables. Comfortable seating is also available by the journal lounge area. Quiet study space is provided in the Roy Lamson Conference Room and a small study room on the mezzanine. A photocopier is on the first floor. Audio and Visual Facilities The Bakalar Listening Center, located on the library's mezzanine, features 22 listening carrels containing compact disc players, turntables, cassette tape decks, VCRs, laserdisc, and DVD players. Six additional playback stations are available in a listening lounge area on the mezzanine. A group viewing/listening room is equipped with a VCR, laserdisc, and DVD players. Users may play through music scores at the digital piano located on the first floor. Rules of the House Food, drink, smoking, bicycles, and rollerblades are not permitted in the Library at any time. Visitors from outside the MIT community are asked to register at the desk.