All building entries described are the A.D.A. accessible entrances.
1408 West Gregory Dr.
Urbana, IL 61801
The Library (commonly referred to as the Main or Graduate Library) is located southwest of the Quadrangle. It is bounded by Gregory Drive to the south and Armory Avenue to the north. The Undergraduate library is east and Sixth Street and a parking lot is to the west. The Library is not specifically for Graduates, but students and faculty often use this name Main or Graduate to differentiate from the Undergraduate Library. The Library houses several divisional libraries. For complete listing visit the University Library System Home Page. The primary volume for the Main Graduate library is contained in the Stacks. Stacks are 7 stories of book storage. This map will not guide you through the stacks, however will give directions to the circulation desk for making book requests and retrieval.
The Graduate Library is between two bus stops. An accessible entrance is not easy to find. There are two primary entrances with stairs. Both are on the same axis as Wright Street. Descriptions for the entrance off Armory Avenue will be given first, next for entrance off Gregory Drive to the south, and following will be a lengthy description of the route to access by wheelchair, using the ramp entrance on the east side of the building.
First to understand is that there are two major bus stops near the Library. One major bus stop is at the intersection of Armory and Wright Streets. This is a one-way street ultimately heading north. All buses, MTD, Campus and the Rehabilitation buses stop here. The second stop is on Gregory Drive, at the south entrance to the building. Buses may stop on the north side of the street if they are heading west. If heading east, you should exit the bus and cross the street.
At the Armory and Wright Street intersection you will exit the bus facing south. Take caution crossing the bike path, and go south and a bit east so you can walk up 3 steps. Now you are on a very wide sidewalk in the east-west direction, and need to cross the sidewalk still heading south. Turn east and follow the low brick wall with shrubbery until it ends at the stairs. The stairs are in 2 sections. First go up 4 steps, proceed still going south and up 7 more steps to the first set of doors. You will go through a second set of doors and finally arrive at the north end of the library’s main hallway.
Description of the south entrance: at the Gregory Drive bus stop, you are in direct alignment with the south building entrance. Go up 3 steps and through 2 pairs of doors to arrive at the south end of the main hallway. From either of these axial entrances you are 70 feet each from the middle of the hall. The middle is where there is a T-intersection with a hallway going east. Take this east hallway, past the Inter-loan Library desk to the left, past the bank of phones on the right, through an opened set of doors, past the wide and grand stairs on both sides of the hall and after you will find the elevator in a recessed alcove on the left (or north side) of the lobby area you have entered.
Description of accessible entrance: at the Armory and Wright street intersection, and if you are in a wheelchair, you will exit the bus facing south onto a congested area on the bicycle path. Turn east and follow the bike path, turning slightly north, as it will then allow you to ramp up to the main, wide north-south sidewalk. Turn south and after 15 feet it will end at another wide, main sidewalk heading east-west. Turn east (left) and stay on the south side of this sidewalk. Go east, following a line of shrubbery planted within a low brick barrier wall. When the shrubbery ends (careful, not when there is a break in the shrubbery for a bicycle parking area), you will be at the junction of a diagonal sidewalk cutting southeast. Take this sidewalk for 80 feet until it ends at the main north-south sidewalk. Continue due south for 70 feet. You are now in alignment with the middle of the east side of the Library. Turn west and go 20 feet, then jog south slightly so you can begin the ramp up. At the top of the ramp turn left (south). Careful, because you are simply at the top of a small landing. Go west a bit more and south for 20 feet. The middle set of doors on this entry is automated accessible with push-plates. The plates are mounted to a bollard just east of the door. You will enter into a large lobby area. To locate the elevator from here, you should be aware of two major obstructions. In general you will be heading due west, although you should be aware there is a 15 foot display case on your left spanning a good length of this lobby. The next obstruction is a large column up ahead. Just to the right, around this column is the elevator in a recessed alcove.
There is a second elevator servicing all the floors in a more obscure location. There is no tactile signage in this second elevator, and you especially do not want it if you are going to link underground to the Undergraduate Library. This second elevator is nearest the north building entrance. Just after the stairs on the west side of the hall is a recessed entrance to a steep but short ramp. The ramp goes up and at the top, through a doorway on your right is the elevator on the right. This area is very compressed, however this elevator may be the only way to access rooms 33 and 66 in the basement.
The floor plan of the library is a T shape on the basement, first, second and third floors. The fourth floor is a backwards C. The stacks are in a tower compressed on the west side of the building, which leaves the smaller libraries on the north and south wings and on the fourth floor in the west wing.
Accessible restrooms for women are located on the first floor. It is located in a recessed alcove on the south side of the east lobby, just west of the mentioned stairs. It is denoted with tactile signage. The men’s accessible restroom is on the basement level. Exit the main elevator facing south, go 35 feet ahead and down this hall on the right is the restroom.
To use the underground tunnel connecting to the Undergraduate Library: Take the elevator to the basement level, exit the elevator, proceed 18 feet and turn left (east) at the T-intersecting hallway. You will need to go through a pair of glass doors. There is a platform lift of the left side of the hall and a set of 14 stairs down on the right. The tunnel is lined with vending machines on the right side and small tables on the left. Continuing 90 feet will bring you to the lobby area with restrooms and payphones before you may enter the Undergraduate library.
In the Graduate library the circulation desk for the stacks are on the second floor. Exit the main elevator facing south, turn west and straight ahead in the middle of the large room is an information desk. Someone here can help you with your book requests, or provide assistance to any of the other libraries in the building.
Link to Library Image Page
ADA Accessibility Information Home Page
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