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Michigan State University

Visiting Scholars: Local Travel Information: Welcome

Welcome to the MSU Libraries!

Welcome to the MSU Libraries! For visiting scholars who travel to MSU to use our collections, this guide gathers local travel information, along with suggestions for where to stay and where to eat.

As of December 2022, face masks are no longer required on the MSU campus, except for health care settings. 

Reading room hours

Materials from Murray-Hong Special Collections and non-circulating items from the Turfgrass Information Center are available for use in the Reading Room on the first floor of the Main Library.

The Reading Room is open by appointment only, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. Appointments must be made 5 days in advance. Materials must also be requested through the library catalog 5 days in advance. We are unable to page materials on short notice since half our collection is stored off-campus.

See full information about appointments here.

Clicking MAKE AN APPOINTMENT on that page will take you to bookings.lib.msu.edu.

  • Click NEXT AVAILABLE to go to the earliest day we can have you visit.
  • You may need to use the slider bar to bring the open times (shown in green) into view.
  • Click the box for the hour you want to arrive.
  • Then use the drop-down menu to indicate how long you want to stay. You're welcome to stay the entire 6 hours we are open.

Campus map

MSU Campus Maps

Use the interactive map for walking directions.

Address

The MSU Main Library is at 366 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI  48824 USA.

Phone: 517-355-8700

The Reading Room is located on the first floor of the Main Library, easily visible from both north and south entrances to the building.

Main Library floor plan.

Getting around campus

Visitor parking info. The closest visitor parking to the Main Library is Lot 62W.

Bike rental info. Bikes can be rented by the week. Please check with the bike office about the procedure for returning your bike and having your deposit refunded.

Visas for international travelers

International visiting scholars are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visa, which may have travel limits.

Time zones

Michigan is in the U.S. Eastern time zone. Use the time zone map at timeanddate.com to find out our current time (Detroit is the nearest major city.) Daylight Savings Time will start again on March 11, 2023.

Trivia: what does "M.A.C." Avenue stand for?

M.A.C. = Michigan Agricultural College, MSU's name during most of its first 100 years.

Michigan State University