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Frequently Asked Questions
Directions to Bender Library
American University is located at 4400 Massachusetts Avenue (at Nebraska Ave.) in upper Northwest, Washington, DC. Bender Library is located close to the intersection of Nebraska Ave. and New Mexico Ave. The School of International Service building is between Bender Library and Nebraska Avenue.
Mailing Address:
American University Library
4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC, 20016-8046
Telephone: (202) 885-3232
From Downtown D.C.
Take Massachusetts Avenue going in the northwest direction. After crossing Wisconsin Avenue, the next major intersection is Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues at Ward Circle - this is a corner of American University. Go left on Nebraska Avenue. At the next light (Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues), the Library will be immediately to your right. A large commuter lot off of Nebraska Avenue (the entrance is on New Mexico Avenue) allows visitors to pay for parking by the hour.
From East or Northeast of the Beltway (I-495)
Take I-495 North or West (The Beltway), depending where you get on, and follow it past both sections of I-270. Exit at River Road and turn right. Follow River Road until it ends at Wisconsin Avenue. Turn Right on Wisconsin Avenue and after a few blocks, turn right on Nebraska Avenue. Follow Nebraska Avenue past Ward Circle - this is a corner of American University. At the next light (Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues), turn left on to New Mexico Avenue. The large commuter lot entrance is on New Mexico Avenue. Visitors can pay for parking by the hour.
From West of the Beltway (I-495)
If coming from Virginia, take I-495 North (The Beltway) across the Potomac River. Exit at River Road and turn right. Follow River Road until it ends at Wisconsin Avenue. Turn Right on Wisconsin Avenue and after a few blocks, turn right on Nebraska Avenue. Follow Nebraska Avenue past Ward Circle - this is a corner of American University. At the next light (Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues), turn left on to New Mexico Avenue. The large commuter lot entrance is on New Mexico Avenue. Visitors can pay for parking by the hour.
If coming from Maryland, follow I-270 to I-495 South (The Beltway). Exit at River Road and turn right. Follow River Road until it ends at Wisconsin Avenue. Turn Right on Wisconsin and after a few blocks, turn right on Nebraska Avenue. Follow Nebraska Avenue past Ward Circle - this is a corner of American University. At the next light (Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues), turn left on to New Mexico Avenue. The large commuter lot entrance is on New Mexico Avenue. Visitors can pay for parking by the hour.
From South of the Beltway (I-495)
Take I-95 NORTH to I-395 NORTH (Exit 170A). Take I-395 NORTH to 14TH ST. Go Northeast on 14TH ST to Massachusetts Avenue. Left (Northwest) on Massachusetts Avenue for about four miles. After crossing Wisconsin Avenue, the next major intersection is Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues at Ward Circle - this is a corner of American University. Go left on Nebraska. At the next light (Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues), turn left on to New Mexico Avenue. The large commuter lot entrance is on New Mexico Avenue. Visitors can pay for parking by the hour.
Via Metro
American University is located 2/3 mile from the Tenleytown/AU stop on the DC Metro's Red Line. Leaving the station on the East Side of Wisconsin Avenue (left at the top of the escalators), there is an AU shuttle bus that stops adjacent to the city bus stop by the Sears Home Appliance Showroom. If one wishes to walk to the University from the Metro stop, walk south on Wisconsin Ave. a couple blocks to Nebraska Ave. and take a right. Walk down Nebraska Ave. to Ward Circle, cross the circle and continue down Nebraska until the light at New Mexico Ave. The Library will be on your right, just beyond the School of International Service building.
Facility Locations
Anderson Computing Complex
Located on the lower level of the Anderson Residence Hall (entrance is outside toward Centennial Hall parking garage). The Anderson
Computing Complex has over 160 Windows
and Mac computers. The ACC has five
classrooms available by reservation for all academic departments.
Archives and Special Collections
Located on the third floor overlooking the Quad. The entrance is located next to the third floor elevator doors.
Career Center Resource Library - Partner Collection
The Career Center Resource Library has approximately 350 books and periodicals for any member of the American University community to use in the office. A copier, computers, and free printing are provided for this collection, which is located in the Career Center, 5th Floor Butler Pavilion.
Curriculum Materials Center
Room #312 on the third floor. Located at the back of the building on the McKinley Hall side.
GLBTA Resource Center - Partner Collection
The GLBTA Resource Center has a large collection of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
literature, including books, magazines, and DVDs
that are available to be checked out to any American University
student, staff, or faculty member or used in the office if they are
non-circulating items.
Library Classrooms
The Third Floor Classroom (Room 306) is used for library research instruction, library events and campus meetings. This classroom is located at the back, left-hand side of the third floor (near the School of International Service building).
The Training and Events Room is located on the library's first floor past the reference offices and near the first floor group study rooms. This space is used for library walk-in classes and library events.
The Electronic Classroom is located on the library's lower level just in front of the Media Services entrance. This classroom is used for library research instruction. When it is not in use as a classroom, it is an open computer lab.
The Anderson Computing Complex has five electronic classrooms that are used for library instruction. These classrooms are also available by reservation for all academic departments.
Media
Services
Located on the lower level of Bender Library toward the back of the building. The collections comprise over 13,000 items, including DVDs, VHS tapes and other multimedia, as well as archives for select WAMU broadcasts.
The Digital Media Studio (DMS) is a section of Media Services devoted to providing users with access to equipment, applications, and workspace for development of projects and presentations. Media Services has six high end Apple Mac G5 computers for audiovisual editing and graphic design work.
The Library Media Classroom is located in this department. Its entrance is located between the windowed office and the media reference bookshelves.
Music
Library
Located
in the Katzen Arts Center. The Music Library provides a collection of over 15,000 scores including historical sheet music, 7,000 compact discs, 15,000 LP recordings, and selected reference works.
Pence Law Library
The Pence Law Library is located in American University's Washington College of Law at 4801 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
Newspapers, Magazines and Journals
Current Periodicals and newspapers are organized alphabetically in the Current Periodical Reading Room on Bender Library's lower level, adjoining
the Mud Box Cafe. Many older periodicals and newspapers
are available on microfiche or microfilm and these also are located on the lower level. Check the ALADIN catalog for the exact location of a given title. The library holds many online subscriptions to popular and scholarly periodicals. Ask for help to access online subscriptions at the Reference Desk.
Parking
A large commuter lot across Nebraska Avenue from the library (the entrance is on New Mexico Ave) allows visitors to pay for parking by the hour. There are also a few one- to two-hour street parking spaces available on New Mexico Avenue and other nearby streets. All other campus lots are by permit only. To purchase a parking permit, contact American University Parking Operations (Public Safety) 202-885-3111.
Photocopy Facilities
The Library's Copy Center is located on the lower level adjoining the Reserves Desk. There are self-service copy machines located on the lower level. One of these doubles as a scanner. Laptops, laptop locks, and headphones also can be checked out at the Copy Center.
Change
Available only in the Copy Center. A $5 dollar bill is the largest denomination that will be changed.
Public Telephones
Pay phones are available in the front lower level stairwell. A campus phone is available in the lobby. A TTY/TDD-equipped phone is available in the front lower level stairwell.
Reserve Materials
Located at the Reserves Desk on the lower level. Reserves is located in between the Copy Center and the Current Periodical Reading Room.
Restrooms
Public restrooms are located in the Lower Level lobby and in the Reserves/24-Hour Study Room. There are also restrooms located at the back of the building on the second and third floors.
Stairs
There are two stairwells in Bender Library - one set immediately to the left inside the first floor lobby and another set at the back of the library (on the first floor, the back stairwell entrance is located behind the reference collection.)
Study Rooms
There are group study rooms located on the first floor and at the back of the library on the second and third floors. There is also a graduate study room on the third floor. Study rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Quiet Study
The second floor of the library is quiet study with the exception of the group study rooms. At the back on the right hand side, the group study room is restricted to no computers.
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