Doe & Moffitt Libraries

Doe is a beautiful library, more like a museum almost. Rustic lamps, artistic ceilings, it’s gorgeous. I never studied here as a student, I prefer boring looking libraries so I don’t get distracted.
ADHD, is that you?
Moffitt accompanied me through many late nights of studying before those dreadful finals. I love that they offer door to door shuttles for students in the late hours so we can be safe. Those shuttle drivers were also always super nice.
Recently I took a European friend on a campus tour here and he marveled at how awesome the Berkeley Campus is compared to the cookie cutter and boring looking Stanfurd campus.
Take that, you Tree! Haha!

Love this place it’s comfy and has plenty of tables to study. I come here to avoid the distractions of a café.

THIS REVIEW IS FOR MOFFITT LIBRARY:
For those of you who are musically inclined, has anybody else noticed that the tone the elevator makes in Moffitt when it arrives at a floor is a minor 2^nd? It’s like they deliberately designed it to creep you the fuck out. Not pleasant.
In all seriousness though, Moffitt is a shithole. I’ve only studied here once, and that was when I first came to Cal. It was a weekend and the East Asian Library had just closed for the evening so I had to relocate, and I didn’t know about Main Stacks yet. Studying in Moffitt made me feel very… unacademic. It’s got the same ingeniously hideous architecture that gave us Evans and Wurster, the elevator shafts are constantly annoying you with humming noises reminiscent of dilapidated industrial freezers, people are always talking and giggling like the whole damn place is their living room, etc.
If you’re serious about having a satisfying studying experience, ditch Moffitt for good and make use of one of the many better libraries on campus. East Asian Library, Howison Philosophy Library, Haas, Boalt, just to name a few.

This review is ONLY FOR MOFFITT LIBRARY!
It seems that this library thinks that the only qualification you need to work here is a horrible attitude. Seriously! I think they only hire students that are willing to make whatever situation you are a worst one because they are the most unhelpful staff I’ve ever encountered.
I was at FSM Café and needed to print some pages in the morning so I headed over to Moffitt only to be told that they don’t open until 9 a.m. very rudely by a student sitting at the desk checking his facebook. That’s fine I think, I can wait and I moved to the side, mind you, this was only minutes before 9 a.m. Two minutes pass and another staff person tells me that I can’t wait there by the doors because they are closed, again, not a «sorry you can’t wait here» but a «you have to wait outside.» Fine, whatever, I can wait outside the library, so I move to FSM again.
Just after 9, I pick up my stuff and head over to Moffitt once again. No one is at the desk, so I wait patiently in front of it. A couple of minutes pass and the first staff (the student) who was at the desk comes out from one side and tells me that I still need to wait outside until they open. I politely said, «oh, I thought you guys open at 9» (this was 9:05) to which he rudely replies «yes, but I haven’t opened yet» So now it’s my fault that you haven’t opened yet?
I hate that I have to use this library so much. Rude staff all around.

Study spot of choice.
I’ve been in a lot of campus libraries (both on Berkeley’s campus but also other campus around the US) and this is really pretty nice.
Plenty of table space and most have outlets, during regular hours through most of the semester it’s pretty easy to get a half table to yourself (two spots).
During finals, as one might expect, it gets a little obnoxious and might not be worth the trip out of your house, especially if you’re trying to sit with someone else. My advice would be to show up super early and snag a spot for you and the friend if you can.
Personally, I’m more of a Moffitt person because the chairs are nicer to sit in for long periods and since it requires IDs it feels a little safer.

Really wonderful libraries.
Only downsides are sometimes in main stacks, you will smell the marijuana of some renegade. Also the streaking during finals. Also the just the sheer number of people there during finals.

This is based on my experience with the Doe Library side! I found out about the Doe Library last summer from my American history teacher at Berkeley City College. I knew from the moment I walked in and explored the stacks that I had found nirvana when it comes to finding a quiet place to study. I became an immediate fan, and I found myself coming back for more to study.
I was pleased as heck that my mum, a proud alumna of the UC’s Boalt Hall/​School of Law treated me to a six-​month membership.
The staff is professional and very, very kind! I have nothing but rave reviews and singing the praises of the core staff and student workers. Many of them have graduated and moved on, I wish them the best! To their successors, you have quite a class act to follow and standards to live up to!
I study in the lower levels of Doe, it is so blissfully quiet there that it is almost like being inside a church. Silence is golden and music to my ears
The stacks of books are invaluable resource! I have found many treasures there of useful materials for reports for classes, especially for my history classes. I will be back for my music history, art history, and film history classes.
Doe Library, my study hall away from school and home! Nirvana compared to the heck that is Moffitt!

DOE
Pros:
— I feel studious the moment I walk in. This library is very pretty, and the quiet atmosphere just makes me want to study.
— No ID needed to get in
— Sofas
— Close to Bancroft Library’s bathrooms (one of the rare, cleaner bathrooms on campus)
Cons:
— Can get pretty hot inside on a warm day
— During sunset, you’ll probably need to wear sunglasses if you’re facing the big window (west).
— Sometimes the sofas are taken over by homeless people
— Wooden chairs make your butt numb if you sit for too long
— Closes earlier than Moffitt/​Main Stacks
Moffitt: I personally don’t like studying here. It can get loud and cold. Airbears connection sucks sometimes on crowded nights.

Doe: Very beautiful inside. It feels like the classic old fashion library. Like the mini version of Belle’s library in Beauty and the Beast. There are some comfortable sofa chairs in the reading rooms. No ID required for entry, so you might see hobos chilling in there. The desks are mainly wooden, matched with wooden chairs. Not too comfortable if you plan to sit here the entire day.
Moffitt: Opens until 2am after school has started for a while. You do get reception here unlike Main Stacks. If you REALLY want to get work done, go to Main Stacks. There are cubicles in Moffitt, that are great for private studies. Most of them don’t have access to an outlet, unless you go into the bigger rooms on the 5^th floor. Gotta love it when they’re opened ²⁴⁄₇ during finals week, the empty hours are like 1am til 10am. Otherwise, go early to find seats. I would try to avoid Moffitt during naked runs. Yes, you should see it because it’s a Berkeley thing, but really the stench…

My experience with the «main stacks» has been pretty mixed. During finals, it is the worst place to study and you’re better off staying at home. It’s so crowded there that its disgusting. Imagine a line for an iPad 5 outside an Apple store in NYC and you’ll have a good image of what the main stacks are like during finals.
Other than during finals, Doe and Moffitt are fairly good places to study. 4^th floor on Moffit is probably the most quiet and has private cubicles for individuals which is nice.
There’s a computer lab on the 1^st floor which is convenient for printing, but it’s not a good place to study as in the study area nearby, noise is unregulated.
I would choose the East Asian Library over Doe/​Moffitt anyway, but Doe/​Moffitt are pretty nice libraries.

Do a lot of studying here, especially in Moffitt.

The Doe Library is very beautiful. Outside, it looks like a government building in Washington D.C. Obviously, this library is better than Love Library at San Diego State. It is difficult to move a chair or talk when the library is so quiet.

2^nd largest library in the country. what more do i need to say.

MOFFITT
pros
4^th floor study area
media resources center on the 1^st floor
café right next to the lib
cons
computer lab (during midterm/​final you have to wait +30min)
people talking on their cellphone in the library (especially 4^th floor by the elevator. everyone can hear these crazy morons talk)

biased, undergrad was here, many many many hours of my life confined to Doe or Moffitt. in fact, i sit here in 1^st floor moffit on a computer typing this review. nothing has changed, great place to study.
but why only 4 stars?
i just smashed an ant creeping across my notebook… where did you come from? why are you here? sorry i smashed you…

Two separate reviews for two separate libraries:
MOFFITT: I am only giving a four star rating because Doe is so awesome I didn’t want to punish it for being connected to Moffitt here on Unilocal.If you have any question, EVER, do not ask a Moffitt desk person. they apparently do not answer questions or assist you. Plus, the whole building is old. You are better off going directly to…
DOE: So awesome. Friendly Circ desk employees to help you out — be nice to them, lots of crazy people roll through every day. The stacks are a great place to study, quiet if a little chilly — bring a sweatshirt. Also, the north reading room is a sweet place to study — big vaulted ceilings.

The design of these libraries makes navigation hard, tiring, and cumbersome. The compact stacks save space but make browsing difficult. And the catalog design is an absolute nightmare. Searches take forever, they are often irrelevant, and there’s no way to save your searches. There’s no way to place a hold or recall on books, no way to request books, no way to renew a book without using a command-​line interface. This is 2008 and they make you use a command-​line interface??! And you have to go to the desk just to place a lousy hold?
It’s discouraging to use this library. I think fondly on my undergrad years at UCSD, where the system was fast and easy to use. I also miss the LA Public Library.

I’m actually feeling lots of ill will toward Moffitt right now. I’m trying to listen to the bloody podcasts for my online class, and this isn’t the first, nor I’m sure the last time that the computer is acting up on me.
My biggest issue with the place is the collection of shitty computers that either have iffy network connections or don’t accept headphones and play podcasts for me. The people at the circulation desk could be friendlier, and come on, it wouldn’t kill the security at the front to smile. I’d much rather grab any books I need and study outside than in this joyless place.
Oh, and always wear layers to Moffit because it’s ice ice, baby.

One of the best parts of being a «grown up» is that when I feel like goofing off, the consequences are fairly minor. I do not carry loads of guilt and remorse for NOT writing those 3 papers which are due. I am not in any position to fail a midterm or final (ever again!). And, at least when I was in school, I am not in a negative position for not committing to memory vast numbers of photos on Art History slides… I have, once again, decided to squander some time, as opposed to finances, and today took the ever-​eager terrier, Ed, for an epic journey across town to see the exhibit now on display at Doe Library on campus.
Doe is the place where I used to study as an under graduate while at Cal. I loved the cool marble on hot days. The silence is astounding. The Victorian bathrooms and real phone booths made of oak with built-​in seats make this building a treat all by itself. Currently there is a display of all sorts of fashions worn by Cal students from the 1870’s through contemporary times, along with an amazing photo documentation wall of how the campus itself has evolved. Wow! It is truly worthy of a look, Unilocalers! It’s free, the items are all archived with interesting history, the jewelry alone is worth the hike up there! There is a case with gym uniforms and a bathing costume worn by women in the 1910’s — 1920’s and that is quite something to see! Blue wool! I can’t see winning any water polo matches wearing that, but then I also can’t really stomach another summer of butt cracks & cheeks everywhere, either. There’s something to be said for some old-​fashioned modesty…
Anyway, Doe offers much more than this exhibit, alone. There is also the Morrison Reading Room… big over-​stuffed chairs, Victorian sitting room-​vibe, Classical music selections to listen to on earphones… how much better does it get on a rainy day if you just feel like hanging out with a good book? I love this library. I did way back when, and I continue to love this place now. It has a sense of history in a constantly changing world, and I find it very reassuring… Check this place out next time you are anywhere near campus, tho’ I’d recommend walking or riding a bike. The parking around here continues to go from bad to worse. The librarians still «Sshhhh» you, but you won’t need a «Pass» as a visitor! Worth a look, most definitely!