Carrel desk

Carrel desk

A carrel desk is a small desk (usually) featuring high sides meant to visually isolate its user from any surroundings either partially or totally. They were a predecessor to the more recent cubicle desk.

Description

Carrel desks are most often found in the study spaces of universities or college libraries. Most carrel desks are rectangular in shape. Above the main desktop area there is often a shelf for books. Sometimes the seat is integrated with the carrel desk. Unlike the cubicle desk, carrel desks usually have no file drawers or other facilities. Since the late 1990s, some carrel desk designs provide AC power and Internet connections for students using laptop computers.

Like the school desk, the carrel desk is normally produced and sold in large quantities for an institutional market. They are made to stand alone or to be grouped together, with or without common sides or walls.

The word carrel can also refer to a small isolated 'study room' in public libraries and on university campuses, usually the room has a lockable door which the user is granted the key to on request. Carrels usually contain a desk (not necessarily one described as above), shelving and a lamp. Carrels are generally quite popular on in universities and are therefore usually quickly occupied. This becomes especially true during mid-term examinations and finals. They have the advantage of power for a laptop (and often internet port) as well as generally being quieter than in the main library building. Carrels can also be used to store valuables such as laptops or heavy books to allow the user to travel to lectures etc without hindrance.

ee also

*list of desk forms and types.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Carrel — may refer to:* Armand Carrel (1800–1836), French writer. * Alexis Carrel (1873–1944), French surgeon and biologist. * Carrel, lunar crater named after Alexis Carrel. * Carrel desk, a small high sided desk …   Wikipedia

  • carrel — ► NOUN 1) a small cubicle with a desk for a reader in a library. 2) historical a small enclosure or study in a cloister. ORIGIN apparently related to CAROL(Cf. ↑caroller) in the obsolete sense «a ring or enclosure» …   English terms dictionary

  • carrel — UK [ˈkærəl] / US [ˈkerəl] noun [countable] Word forms carrel : singular carrel plural carrels a small enclosed area in a library, usually containing a desk and a chair for one person to study at …   English dictionary

  • carrel — /kar euhl/, n. 1. Also called cubicle, stall. a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading. 2. a table or desk with three sides extending above the writing surface to serve as partitions, designed… …   Universalium

  • Carrel — /keuh rel , kar euhl/; Fr. /kann rddel /, n. Alexis /euh lek sis/; Fr. /ann lek see /, 1873 1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905 39: Nobel prize 1912. * * * ▪ furniture       cubicle or study for reading and literary work; the word is …   Universalium

  • carrel — car|rel [ˈkærəl] n [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: carol circular dance, ring ; CAROL1] a small enclosed desk for one person to use in a library …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • carrel — car|rel [ kerəl ] noun count a small enclosed area in a library, usually containing a desk and a chair for one person to study at …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • carrel — [ kar(ə)l] noun 1》 a small cubicle with a desk for the use of a reader in a library. 2》 historical a small enclosure or study in a cloister. Origin C16: appar. related to carol in the old sense ring …   English new terms dictionary

  • carrel — noun (C) a small enclosed space with a desk and a light for one person to use in a library …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • carrel — car•rel or car•rell [[t]ˈkær əl[/t]] n. lib fur a cubicle or desk partitioned off for private study in a library • Etymology: 1585–95; var. of ME carole carol …   From formal English to slang

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