Familiarize yourself with the building that's home to Rauner Special Collections Library.
Getting Here
Park
Metered parking spots are available on College Street alongside the east side of the building. See Dartmouth's visitor parking page for more options.
Transit
Advance Transit, the Upper Valley's free public transit system, runs Monday through Saturday. Multiple bus lines stop near our building.
A Note About Your GPS
While the library is called Rauner Special Collections Library, our building is called Webster Hall. There is also a residence hall on campus called Rauner Hall, so make sure your GPS is pointing you towards the right building.
Navigate the Building
Entrances
Both of our public entrances are on Wentworth Avenue, facing the Dartmouth Green. The accessible entrance is just to the left of the main entrance, beside the stairs. Take the elevator up to the first floor to access the reading room.
Study Space
Many people enjoy using our brightly-lit, quiet space to study. You're welcome to study in the reading room as long as you follow our outlined in the Expectations in the Reading Room below. You may also use the mezzanine area, a great space if you want to bring food, drink, and personal belongings with you.
Restrooms
You'll find accessible restrooms for all genders located on the basement level. You can reach them via the elevator or the stairwell, adjacent to the main entrance.
Layout
See our floor guides for the first floor and the mezzanine level.
Accessibility
- Rauner Library offers remote reference and scanning services for those who cannot visit in person.
- Please direct your reference and scanning requests to our reference inbox.
Expectations in the Reading Room
Welcome to the reading room! Discover what you can expect, and other guidelines, when accessing Special Collections materials.
- Except for reference stacks along the perimeter of the reading room, the Special Collections stacks are closed to browsing.
- When your items are brought to you, please follow any special handling instructions we share with you.
- No Special Collections materials may leave the reading room without the permission of the College Archivist or the Special Collections Librarian.
- Please do not mark or alter books, documents, or other items from the collections in any way. We have paper available to use as bookmarks if you need.
- Please keep the existing order of all items in their folders and document boxes. If you think there is a filing error, please do not rearrange items, and instead let our team know.
What to Bring
For the safety of our materials, please leave certain items outside the reading room. Stop by the lockers in the Rauner Library lobby to store your belongings.
Bring with You
- Paper
- Pencils
- Laptops
- Phones
Leave in Your Locker
- Bags (backpacks, computer cases, briefcases, handbags)
- Large coats
- Food
- Beverages
- Pens
Requesting Materials
Requesting Items Online
You can place requests both in advance of your visit and while in our reading room by locating items of interest in either the Libraries online catalog or the Archives & Manuscripts Search tool. Once you find an item you'd like to see, click on the appropriate link in the record to request the item for special collections use. You'll then be routed to our request management application, where you'll be able to submit your request after either logging in or completing a registration process as a first-time user. Feel free to submit multiple requests before or during your visit, but be aware that our staff typically do not retrieve any materials until you have arrived onsite.
Upon Arrival
When you arrive at Rauner Special Collections Library, you'll find the reading room just through the large lobby glass doors. One inside the reading room, check in with our team at the main desk to the left to let them know you've requested materials online in advance. They will ask for your photo ID to keep on file while you look through your requested materials. If you have requested a significant number of items, you may need to indicate which of those you'd like to see first. Our staff will then invite you to take a seat at one of the tables in the reading room while they retrieve your item(s). Once collected, they'll deliver the item(s) to your table.
Please note: the time it takes to retrieve your materials may vary depending on the item’s location in the collections.
We welcome you to touch, carefully turn pages, and take as many photographs as you wish. If there are any special handling considerations for the item(s) requested, we'll be sure to share that information with you. At any point, you may leave the materials in the reading room to step outside.
Questions? Don't hesitate to chat with us at the main desk. We'll assist you as best we can.
When You Finish
When finished, you may either turn your items back in, or you can keep your materials on hold for as long as you need. We'll hold these items under your name. The next time you wish to view the material, simply ask for your hold, and we'll retrieve your item(s).
Remember to visit the main desk to retrieve your photo ID.
