Study Space & Carrels

Members of the University of Toronto community (with an active T-Card) are welcome to use the open study space and carrels at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library. 

Photo of study spaces

Carrels

Eligibility: University of Toronto graduate students, faculty members and visiting scholars with T-Cards. T-Card is required to request for a carrel.

Carrel Assignment

  1. Carrels in the East Asian Library are open space without locked cabinets. They are intended for students/researchers to keep certain amount of library items for easy access for their study/research. 
  2. Carrel seating is open to any library user when it is not occupied.
  3. Carrel hours are the same as library hours.
  4. Carrels are assigned on a first come first serve basis, and on a term basis.  When carrels are in high demand, eligible graduate students from the East Asian Studies Department will be considered first.

Requesting a Carrel 

  1. Fill out the Carrel Request Form at the East Asian Library Loan Services desk or submit the form online. 
  2. You may choose a preferred carrel (if available). If you have no preference, you will be notified of your carrel by email.  

Renewing a Carrel

  1. After the end of a term, books kept in all carrels will be removed. 
  2. If you wish to keep using the books kept in your carrel, please submit a carrel request for the same carrel# before a term ends. 

Books to be Kept at a Carrel 

  1. Bring books you want to keep at your carrel to the Loan Services Desk and ask the staff to check them out to the carrel account.
  2. Insert Carrel Checkout slips into each library book kept in carrels. 
  3. Books kept in a carrel are to be used in the library ONLY. When other users request any carrel items, library staff will remove the items from the carrel. 
  4. Reference materials and current periodicals are NOT to be kept for carrel use. 
  5. Library staff will remove non-carrel library items (not inserted with the Carrel Checkout slip) from each carrel every day before the Library closes. 
  6. Do not leave any personal items or books charged to personal library accounts in carrels. The East Asian Library is not responsible for the loss of or damage to personal belongings stored in the carrel.
  7. Materials charged to a carrel that a user wishes to take out of the library must be brought to the East Asian Library Loan Services desk and charged to your personal library account BEFORE they can removed from the library.

Returning Books Kept in a Carrel

Please return any books that don't need to be kept at your carrel to the East Asian Library Loan Services desk for proper discharge.