New Reading Rooms Open in Firestone Tower

For the first time since Firestone Library opened in 1948, its remote fifth and sixth floors are open to library patrons after renovations added heating, air conditioning, and furniture.The sixth floor reading room is characterized by an opulence foreign to Firestone’s cold attempt at modernity. The floor-to-ceiling lead-paned windows, wood flooring and paneling, and enormous chandelier seem a bit unnecessary for a space with a maximum capacity of eight, but the room is undeniably the most beautiful in the building.The fifth floor is smaller and plainer, but the views are still pleasant. As an added bonus, the fifth floor reading room comes complete with a tempting, alarmed door for roof access.There are, however, a few drawbacks. The newly opened spaces, like Firestone’s elevator banks and emergency exits, are monitored by CCTV. The rooms are also extraordinarily inconvenient: they are only accessible via stair four; not wheelchair accessible; and the nearest bathrooms, print clusters, and stacks are three floors down.According to the Daily Princetonian, the fifth and sixth floors were formerly off-limits to patrons and served as a morbid RBSC storage attic for death masks and faculty office respectively.The reading rooms are, at least for now, entirely without wayfinding, so here is a brief guide on how to get to these new study spaces:

1. From the main stair and elevator banks, head towards the third floor signature reading room.
2. Instead of entering the reading room, look for stair four, which is accessible via a nondescript beige door between the Institute for Advance Study and signature reading rooms.
3. Head up three flights of stairs.

Enjoy these new study spaces!