Duke University Libraries – Perkins

One of the main student libraries on Duke’s campus, Perkins is a great place to work, complete with a café and multiple floors of study room in both Perkins and Bostock, its neighboring sister library. There is a niche for every person’s studying preferences, for people who prefer natural light or don’t mind fluorescence, background noise or total silence, reclining chairs, computers, or just a good old-​fashioned desk.
The book selection is very comprehensive, and if there is something that is not available on campus, books can be requested from NC State and UNC, arriving within two days. And in addition to borrowing books, the online databases have access to many things, and the librarians and OIT staff are all super helpful. Not a huge fan of the food selection in the café, but that’s a Unilocal review for another day.

Perkins library has a coffee shop called «The Perk» (get it?). One caveat if studying at Perkins is that there is poor WIFI reception in some parts of the library so choose your study area carefully.

What’s not to love about Perkins? Poor mobile service in the Link (and zero service for T-​mobile everywhere, but that’s not Duke’s fault), but that’s it. I love Perkins, and I’m stunned that there are no reviews for it.
As a former Duke student who forgot her alumni card at home, I learned what it meant to be a guest of the library. Perkins is public, which means that anyone can walk in during its normal hours WITHOUT a Dukecard. All guests can go to the circulation desk to request an hour of computer access on any of the computers on the first floor with red tape across the top of the monitor. This is only valid once a day, and requires photo ID. (Alums, on the other hand, can use ALL computers with unlimited access … if they have their IDs. Whoops).
The different floors and rooms have varying environments to suit your study needs — the Gothic Reading Room or Carpenter Reading Room if you want an old-​school, classic feel, or purple ergonomic reclining chairs and floor-​to-​ceiling dry-​erase boards in the Link for modern and high-​tech. The first-​fourth floors all have normal large tables to study on and bookshelves around you to remind you that you’re in a library. There are private cubicles and desks for dual screen access, and study rooms of varying sizes.
Perkins, I miss you tremendously now that I’ve graduated. Really, you don’t know what you have til you’re gone :(