Penn Libraries Study Breaks : Virtual Meetups

Take a break from Zoom and meet up at Penn Libraries on Gather.town! Pick your avatar and come by to meet friends in a group study room (no reservations needed!), play games in one of our lounges, explore library workshops and explore other campus student resources in our virtual commons. Check out the Tips & Tricks and enter the WIC Gather space using your @upenn.edu email address via the link below!

Welcome to Gather @ Penn Libraries!

What you'll need to enter Gather:

An active Penn email account with the @upenn.edu domain. You'll be asked to activate login through a magic link sent to your address.

A desktop or laptop computer with a mic & camera (Gather doesn't perform well on mobile devices). Make sure the mic and camera are on and working when entering the space the first time and allow Gather access to both when entering the space. Can't hear? Check your computer volume or sound settings.

A web browser on your computer.  Chrome or Firefox are recommended.

Headphones with a mic will help prevent  feedback.

Living your best life in Gather.town:

Enter the Penn Libraries Gather space through the link at the bottom of this page.

Pick your avatar and login with your first name so people can find & get to know you. Even if you don't use your camera, don't be anonymous!

Move around the space with keyboard arrow keys or WASD keys.

When you get close to other people/avatars on the map, you can talk to them or text chat with them. Chat is on the side of the screen.  The farther away you are from others, the  lower the volume will be until it disappears.

When you get close to special objects on the map they will either change in some way to get your attention, or you'll see a bubble at the bottom of your screen with use instructions. Always click x to activate these special features.

Seats and tables are often arranged to provide private spaces where passersby can't hear the conversation. You'll know you are in a private space when a bubble appears at the bottom of the screen indicating you've entered a private space. Avatars in private spaces will look faded  from outside of those spaces.

Check your mic and camera settings if you are having trouble seeing, hearing or being heard/seen.

Please be friendly and respectful! If others aren't being respectful, you can block them (and they can block you) from further interaction. Click on their avatar from the list, go to the three dots at the top right of the window and select "Block".  They'll be blocked from further interaction with you. As in 3D life, please be respectful and considerate of others.  Users who do not abide by the Community Guidelines standards (below) will be blocked from further use of the Gather space.

We want to hear from you about this space! Send feedback to pennwic1@gmail.com.

Ready to Gather at Penn Libraries? Click the link at the bottom of this page! Want to leave the Gather space? Easy! Just close out the web browser tab.

For more information on navigating through Gather spaces, visit the Gather tutorial.

Statement of Community Participation Guidelines

The Penn Libraries seek to support the educational and scholarly endeavors of the Penn community both locally and wherever students, faculty, and staff may be located around the world. As such, the Libraries support the mission and goals of the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs and the University's Nondiscrimination Statement. Specifically, the spirit present in the statement's preamble calling on the community to tap into our diversity, to strengthen ties across all boundaries, and enrich the intellectual climate to create a more vibrant community. And finally, with particular emphasis, calling on us to foster and nourish diversity especially among students, faculty and staff as part of the central core mission of the University. Penn Libraries seek to create an environment that is welcoming and open to its constituency offering resources of collections and services that are available in accordance with universal accessibility standards, delivered without respect to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected class, world view, political perspective, or purpose. In addition, the Penn Libraries seek to maintain a workplace that fosters respect, and that encourages an environment in which each employee learns from, and thrives on the differences of his or her colleagues at all levels of the institution.

Use of Penn Libraries virtual spaces is contingent upon your acceptance of our community participation guidelines, which can be reviewed here. Behavior not abiding by these guidelines will not be tolerated.