McKeldin Library is a massive building with so much to offer, but it can be overwhelming trying to find the floors you need. I will be guiding you through the most useful floors in this helpful university resource while hopefully answering any questions you may have, like “Can I take one of the nap pods home with me?” or “How do I get to the 5th floor?”

10. Floor 3, The Weakened Floor

This floor doesn’t really have much to offer. All it has is a grad student lounge, a few bookshelves, and some open study carrels. It doesn’t help that this is the second-smallest floor (after Floor 5) and can’t even be accessed from some staircases!

9. Floor 6, The Backup Floor

This floor is just a worse version of Floor 7. It has some classrooms, I guess, but so does literally every building at this school. Honestly, the only benefit of Floor 6 is that it might have space if none of the other floors do.

8. Floor 7, The Silent Floor

Here at UMD, we like to say that the higher in the library you go, the quieter it gets. This is evident on the 7th floor, where you can even hear your own breathing! If you need a truly quiet study space, this is a great place to be.

7. Floor 8, The Silenced Floor

This floor is like Floor 7 on steroids (if steroids made you quieter). To access Floor 8, you just need to press every button in any of the main elevators at the same time. Once the elevator doors open, you will enter a massive room with smooth, white, soundproof floors and walls. This room even has neon white lights across the ceiling to prevent you from being distracted by your own shadows! This would be the perfect distraction-free study environment if only you were allowed to enter with anything aside from an all-white outfit. Some students say studying on this floor is torture, but I think it’s easiest to lock in on an assignment while you’re locked in a sensory deprivation chamber!

6. Floor B, The Buried Floor

People don’t go to this floor a lot, but it’s really not that bad! This mostly contains offices for Digital Services and Technologies staff, but it also has other fun features like storage and the only water fountain with a green filter status. Another cool aspect of this floor is that it has the most elevator access! That’s right, it has all 4 of the main building elevators as well as 3 additional ones that can only go down to floor SB.

5. Floor SB, The Forgotten Floor

After taking an elevator from Floor B to Floor SB, you’ll probably feel that the energy around you is different. There’s just something magical about this floor, and I’ve never been able to quite place it. Maybe it has something to do with the fae wandering the halls or the leprechauns working on their business homework (the assignments are always just them coloring in a rainbow).

4. Floor 2, The People’s Floor

If you’re in a study group, trying to get energized by productive people around you, or just want to hang out with friends while pretending to be productive, then Floor 2 is perfect for you! Between the Terrapin Learning Commons and reservable group study rooms, this floor has some of the best vibes for studying! The floor even has a tech desk if you ever need a spare laptop or charger!

3. Floor 4, The Navigator’s Floor

You might be wondering why this floor, which has only a few carrels and a lot of offices, is ranked so highly, but there’s a very simple reason for that: maps. Everyone loves maps, and this floor has a whole lot of them!

2. Floor H, The Accursed Floor

This is the only floor, aside from Floor 5, that cannot be accessed via elevator. To get to this floor, you have to find the hidden staircase on Floor SB, located in the “Magicks Closet.” After going down roughly 19 trillion steps, you will reach floor H, which contains rows of “torture carrels” (all of which have already been reserved by the souls of the damned) and only one office labeled “Dr. Lucifer.” Enter his office, and you will feel his bellowing voice vibrate through your bones: “Ye who seek The Forbidden Floor/Shall feel the wrath of none before/The demons here shall end your quest/so you may have your final rest.” Chilling stuff.

1. Floor 1, but specifically the room with the nap pods

Floor 1 has a lot to offer, but there’s one thing that puts this floor above the rest: the nap pods. Upon entering the library, simply turn right and walk until you reach the last room to see these glorious white orbs. Lay down in one of them, turn it on, and have an experience like no other. These nap pods will grant you a rest peaceful enough to sense the knowledge of the universe flowing through you and the wisdom of eras past passing over you until you wake with the energy to accomplish all of your goals. Oh, and also the realization that the real Floor 5 was the friends we made along the way.

Image Credits: Kenlynn Ingham