Fondren Library

Finally I found a quiet and clean library to work at.
It’s right by my house and I’m surprised I haven’t seen it before.
It’s not very crowded and always has tables and computers available.
They can even print things for you for free.

Many nights of anguish, frustration, and if I was lucky, satisfaction have been spent in Fondren. In fact, without this library, my productivity levels would plummet and so would my grades. Fondren has a little something for everyone trying to study.
1^st and 2^nd floor tend to be a little louder than the other floors, and 6^th floor is the dead quiet floor. My personal favorite area to study is 3^rd floor fine arts since it’s so spacious and it’s more aesthetically appealing than studying in a cubicle. Also, Fondren provides a large number of study rooms for 4 hours a time for group studying, but during peak exams, these fill up really fast, so book 1 or 2 days before the day you want the room.
Even during finals period, you’ll find SOMEWHERE to study in Fondren even if it’s not your usual spot. And speaking of finals, the library provides a ton of study breaks during finals, from petting puppies to food and coffee. Additionally, bring a covered canister for your coffee as open container drinks aren’t allowed anymore. All in all, Fondren is a Rice student necessity.

I love the 6^th floor… ambient lighting, quiet, and a good place to meditate whilst looking out on the quad. Otherwise Fondy is a great library with ample study areas, unless it’s finals season…

Not an understatement when I say fondren is like my second home. Pretty solid library with all the necessary amenities like a variety of seating options, modern technology, and a plethora of books. I love how each time I come to the library to search for a new study spot, new ones keep turning up like the iconic study cubby, reservable study rooms, 6^th floor/​quiet floor, etc. there’s a certain location for all your college work needs.
What’s interesting though is that one half of the first floor seems warmer than the other by a considerable temperature difference… Not complaining though. Houston is a temperamental city and I sort of like having the choice of choosing the temperature when obviously fondren can’t allow everyone to control the thermostat.
But be careful! There’s one librarian who’s a stickler for no food/​drink here. Don’t know how they think I’m gonna survive an all-​nighter in the library without coffee…

Others have come commented on the facilities etc., so I will just talk about the collection. It’s quite good, ‘second-​tier’ if you will, not basically complete like a national library but with a good selection in all areas. It was founded at the beginning of the 20^th century, but they have made an effort to acquire older books; but the older book selection is not comprehensive even in English. The arts library is an especial strength, with good selections even in foreign languages (and not just European ones!). There is a special ‘research centre’ in the main building, open on weekday business hours, which houses all the older books and limited editions (of which they have a gorgeous selection). They have fallen prey to the trend of putting ‘less-​used’ books in closed stacks, which means that all sorts of lovely oversize art books and collected works of mathematicians & scientists are not available for browsing. The staff are not terribly competent and items are often reshelved wrongly, so if you can’t find a book where it should be, look around. You can pay $ 100 (‘Friends of Fondren’) to be able to borrow books for a year.

It is a really good place for when you need to buckle down. However, beware of the unfriendly stacks. First floor is by far the best the quiet areas are in front of the Macs. Second floor is also good because it’s a good temperature and allows for a little bit of ambient noise. Sixth floor is only open to students. Sixth floor is the quietest but I haven’t been there since sophomore year because it stresses me out to have everyone around me stressed out.

It’s a nice library that is open to the public, but it’s not really easily accessible. While the library is open all the time for students (or those with a Rice ID) the public hours are more limited. You have to pay for parking or be willing to walk about 10 – 15 minutes to get to the library. There are nice spots around to grab coffee or food which isn’t always true for other public libraries. Overall I like it better than most other libraries I’ve been to, but mostly because there are no kids yelling.

Love the nice study rooms and the carrels. Love the fact that you can find power outlet so easily. The only complaint I have is the freezing AC…

I love Fondren library, it’s been a key to my academic success since I was a young little undergrad at the ripe age of 18. If you’re a Rice student then you either already love this place for all it has to offer or despite it greatly because you know you’re way behind in classes and have a very long night ahead of you.
I’ll review this for those who aren’t part of the Rice community: there are plenty of resources available for guests (you can even register for Friends of Fondren so you can check out books). Be sure you have photo ID with you and enter through the Academic Quad side as the one nearest to the coffeeshop is Rice ID only. You’re able to come into the library up until 10pm and could really stay as long as you’d like, but won’t be allowed reentry if you leave after 10pm. The first floor has a decent amount of guest computers, scanners, and an ATM, there’s free wifi in the entire library. The 3^rd floor has a nice open space to study as well.
Vending machines are on the 4^th floor.
Copy machines are spread throughout the library, guests can purchase print cards that work on the copy machines for copying/​printing.

Fondren is the perfect library for college students: it is open ²⁴⁄₇ (although not for everyone… just the students), and it provides all the resources a student needs to study.
First of all, Fondren is mostly open for Rice students, which makes sense since it is on Rice campus. But if you are a community member, you can always enter through the front with a drivers license. However, there is a curfew as to what time you can get in the library as a community member and how long you can stay (I’m not really sure how they can regulate the latter).
As a student, Fondren is really great. Although it doesn’t have all the books or the largest archive, it has enough for any reading enthusiasts or anyone wanting to research about a particular topic. It has a total of 6 floors that can be divided into four main sections: 1) the main lobby, which is a chill place with all the computers/​printers and a nice place to sit back and study, 2) the second floor, which houses the writing center and some nice study rooms (the largest one is on this floor). It also has a «quiet section», 3) floors 3 – 5, which are all books and usually extremely quiet. So if you want a solitary place to focus, hit up one of the cubicles here!, and 4) Floor 6, aka the ultimate studying floor for those super intense people. It is supposed to be the quietest floor where nobody talks. There is also a nice study room here. you have to have a rice ID to get in though.
Some cons of fondren:
1) Floors 1 – 2 can get really loud and distracting. The social butterflies who aren’t really into studying will be found here…
2) Some computers are REALLY slow… like… REALLY slow.,
3) Not as community friendly at night as other libraries (for understandable security reasons)
4) It makes me feel miserable.
Fondren is a really nice library overall. Maybe it’s not the best one I’ve ever been to, but the fact that it is ²⁴⁄₇ makes it a perfect studying environment for gun-​ho students who REALLY wanna get those A’s. If you are just there for books, it definitely will get you what you want :)

Land of the struggle-​busers… it’s too cold in some places so bring a jacket. 6^th is the place to go for problem sets

I went to Rice for undergrad and have spent many hours studying at this library. I love it!
Pros:
— For visitors, all you need to get in is a driver’s license. They scan it into their system and you’re free to enter within seconds.
— Lots and lots of spacious tables and study cubbies spread from the basement to the fourth floor. Six floor is a private quiet study floor accessible with a Rice ID. Study floors can only be checked out with a Rice ID.
— Huge windows means lots of natural sunlight and views of the beautiful campus
— You can always find a quiet spot to get a ton of work done in the stacks on the third or fourth floor
— Lots of clean bathrooms and water fountains around
— Outdoor area in front of the back entrance is a nice place to work when it’s nice outside
— Brochstein Pavillion or the Coffeehouse in the student center are places to grab snacks, a quick meal, and coffee
Cons:
— Parking can be a pain; I usually park at the Hermann Park parking lot at Cambridge/​Main and walk over (5 min walk)
— Visitors hours end earlier than the regular library hours (which are ²⁴⁄₇ most days except during finals time) but I doubt they’ll come and find you to kick you out, they just won’t let you enter past a certain time.
–Not a con, but be careful with your belongings and don’t leave things unattended; college libraries are known for places where students wander off from their laptops only to have them stolen while they’re gone
— First and second floor can get noisy later at night