Lauinger Library

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Coordinates: 38°54′23″N, 77°4′20″W

Lauinger Library is Georgetown University's main library
Lauinger Library is Georgetown University's main library

The Joseph Mark Lauinger Library is the main library of Georgetown University and the center of a seven-library system that includes 2.8 million volumes. It holds 1.7 million volumes on six floors and has accommodations for individual and group study on all levels.

Opened on April 6, 1970, the library is named after an alumnus who was killed in the Vietnam War. It holds the Woodstock Theological Center Library, the remnants of the library of Woodstock College and one of the country's leading Catholic theological libraries.

The library affords breathtaking views of the Potomac River and the skyline of neighboring Rosslyn, Virginia, but Georgetown students have long derided the building as an ugly piece of architecture. Designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, the building is supposed to be a brutalist interpretation of Victorian Healy Hall, located adjacent to Lauinger on Georgetown's main quad.

The Students of Georgetown, Inc. [1], also known as "The Corp," operates a coffee shop on the second floor of the building.