{"id":11698,"date":"2026-07-21T20:12:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T01:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/?p=11698"},"modified":"2026-08-02T17:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T22:34:30","slug":"a-perfect-place-to-do-work-how-cherubs-use-northwestern-and-evanstons-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/07\/a-perfect-place-to-do-work-how-cherubs-use-northwestern-and-evanstons-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A perfect place to do work’: How cherubs use Northwestern and Evanston\u2019s libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cherubs spent time writing and learning the trade of journalism in Fisk and Jones Halls and the McCormick Foundation Center. However, many cherubs escaped further onto campus and into downtown Evanston to another popular spot \u2014 libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Northwestern\u2019s campus is home to three libraries, two of which are frequently used by cherubs: Deering and University. Students used these spaces to study, focus and dial in on writing stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just nice,\u201d said Ruthie Gravelle of Columbus, Ohio. \u201cIt feels like you should be doing work. And the university libraries are open and free, and nice looking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Back home, Gravelle frequents libraries with her friends to study and get work done. At cherubs, she studied for the SAT and wrote stories with friends in Deering and University Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both libraries are available to cherubs, but hold striking differences in appearance. University Library is a brutalist-style building, and Deering is collegiate gothic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe University Library is designed really intricately, because outside it looks like books are being pulled off a shelf in a circular manner with windows along the entire building,\u201d Jiayue Zou of McLean, Virginia, said. \u201cIt brings a very calming atmosphere to study.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The University Library was opened in January 1970, while Charles Deering Memorial Library, which served as the University\u2019s main library up until that time, was finished in January 1933.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wooden style on the inside, and it has these stained glass windows, which are really pretty, so it has good ambient lighting,\u201d Zou said. \u201cIt\u2019s the old, retro vibe in Deering Library that really makes you sit down and study in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another Deering regular is Charlie Tobin of Menlo Park, California. Tobin began writing at Deering during the second week of the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my big regrets is that I didn\u2019t work in Deering from the very start,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a perfect library, a perfect place to do work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some more adventurous cherubs ventured off campus to the Evanston Public Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really big \u2014 there\u2019s four or five floors,\u201d said Maddie Shoop-Gardner of San Carlos, California. \u201cI\u2019m someone who needs a really quiet environment to work in, and I was really impressed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fellow cherub Sage Gilliland of Mount Prospect, Illinois, also used Evanston\u2019s library to work, sometimes after grabbing a boba tea from across the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA library is like a signal to my brain,\u201d Gilland said. \u201cIf you just stay in your dorm, it\u2019s going to be a lot easier to get off task than it\u2019s going to be at the library, surrounded by other people who are doing the work that you should be doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students explored different environments and styles of architecture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":11403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[671],"class_list":["post-11698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":671,"user_id":373,"is_guest":0,"slug":"zeller26","display_name":"Owen Zeller","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e12b8da554ba65d7215ae9b59dcb419d022d6624b5621b04e1ef3fa58cb117bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Zeller","first_name":"Owen","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11698"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12935,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11698\/revisions\/12935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11698"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherubs.medill.northwestern.edu\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=11698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}