Meeting Rooms

We offer three types of spaces for rental across our locations:

• Con­fer­ence Rooms: small­er rooms; chairs sur­round­ing a fixed table
• Meet­ing Rooms: medi­um-sized rooms; chairs and tables can be moved
• Audi­to­ri­ums: large rooms; fixed sta­di­um seat­ing fac­ing a small stage

We also pro­vide small study rooms to library card­hold­ers on a first-come, first-served basis. Study rooms are free to use.

Please check the Meet­ings Spaces Occu­pan­cy chart for room capacities.

Any­one who:

• has a cur­rent, unblocked DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library card
• meets the eli­gi­bil­i­ty require­ments as defined by the Meet­ing Space Policy
• com­pletes the Meet­ing Space Appli­ca­tion, pays the required fee, and is approved

Our meet­ing spaces are for:

• library-spon­­­sored, library co-spon­­­sored, or local gov­ern­ment pro­grams for the public
• indi­vid­u­als or non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tions offer­ing pub­lic meet­ings or pro­grams that sup­port the Library’s mission

We do not pro­vide spaces for:

• pro­mo­tion of an indi­vid­ual or business
• meet­ings that are not open to the pub­lic and/​or pri­vate events
• events that are pure­ly social, includ­ing but not lim­it­ed to wed­dings, show­ers, or parties
• meet­ings or events that require admis­sion fees, sell a good or ser­vice, or involve the exchange of funds of any kind

For meet­ing and con­fer­ence rooms:

• $20.00 for 4 hours or less
• $35.00 for more than 4 hours

For audi­to­ri­ums:

• $75.00 for 4 hours or less
  
• $100 for more than 4 hours

Fees are non-refund­able and must be paid at the time of appli­ca­tion. We accept cash or check.

To sub­mit an appli­ca­tion, you’ll need to:

1. Read the Meet­ing Space Pol­i­cy to make sure you’re eli­gi­ble and aware of terms and conditions.
2. Print and fill out a Meet­ing Space Appli­ca­tion. Copies of appli­ca­tions are also avail­able at our libraries. Make sure you’ve also got your library card and cash or check for fee payment.
3. Vis­it the loca­tion where you’d like to request the room to sub­mit your appli­ca­tion. We can accept appli­ca­tions up to 3 months in advance and need at least 14 day notice.

The per­son who fills out the appli­ca­tion and is respon­si­ble for the room, must use their own library card to apply, and must be present at the meet­ing. We’ll need to approve your appli­ca­tion, but while approval is pend­ing, we can hold your request­ed date for you. If your appli­ca­tion isn’t approved, we will refund your fee by mail with­in two weeks. 

We are hap­py to dis­cuss dates, poli­cies, pro­ce­dures and equip­ment avail­abil­i­ty with you by tele­phone or in per­son. In addi­tion, you may request a tour of the meet­ing space.

When apply­ing for and using our spaces, you agree to:

• be present for the meeting
• assure atten­dees fol­low library poli­cies, includ­ing the Meet­ing Space Policy
• arrange fur­nish­ings for meet­ing and return them to their orig­i­nal places afterwards
• com­ply with the max­i­mum occu­pan­cy limit 
• com­plete the Meet­ing Space Security/​Exit Checklist
• take pre­cau­tions against dam­age to the meet­ing space
• pro­vide pro­gram infor­ma­tion and detailed direc­tions to attendees

Dam­age to rooms and equip­ment are the respon­si­bil­i­ty of the appli­cant. Signs, ban­ners or posters may not be affixed to walls.

Library staff can­not deliv­er mes­sages to pro­gram par­tic­i­pants. The Library is not respon­si­ble for equip­ment, sup­plies, mate­ri­als or oth­er items owned by the user. Items and sup­plies need­ed by the user must be brought in dur­ing the allot­ted meet­ing time and removed by its end.

Events sched­uled in the meet­ing spaces must begin and end dur­ing library hours. Hours vary by loca­tion. Please check with indi­vid­ual branch­es to ask about availability.

Rooms vary in size and max­i­mum occu­pan­cy as set by the DeKalb Coun­ty Fire Mar­shal Depart­ment. Occu­pan­cy lev­els are list­ed below. 

Avail­abil­i­ty varies by loca­tion, but may include podi­ums, white­boards, or audio­vi­su­al equip­ment. Please check with indi­vid­ual branch­es to ask about and reserve equipment.

The fol­low­ing types of food and drink may be served in meet­ing and con­fer­ence rooms: cof­fee, tea, soda, punch, water, cook­ies, bagels, dough­nuts, fruit, veg­eta­bles, and chips and dip. 

The Library reserves the right to request imme­di­ate removal of food or drink not on this list. Food or drink of any kind are not per­mit­ted in auditoriums.

If you are inter­est­ed in post­ing a fly­er for your event in the library, please sub­mit a copy of the fly­er to the loca­tion where you have booked your meet­ing space. 

In adver­tise­ments, please include the date, time, loca­tion, direc­tions to the library, and con­tact infor­ma­tion for the event spon­sor. The library’s con­tact infor­ma­tion may not be used.

Meet­ing space appli­ca­tion fees are non-refund­able. How­ev­er, if you can­cel at least 48 hours in advance of the event, you may sched­ule anoth­er date with­in the next three months at the orig­i­nal event loca­tion for no addi­tion­al charge. If the event is can­celed by the library due to an emer­gency, the fee will be refund­ed by mail with­in two weeks, unless we are able to assist you in sched­ul­ing anoth­er time.