Request A Virtual Meeting Room

REQUEST A VIRTUAL MEETING ROOM

The City Library is now offering virtual meeting space. Zoom virtual meetings can accommodate a maximum of 300 people and are available to individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses. We will help you set up your virtual meetings and provide tech support. To request your virtual meeting space, fill out the form below.

Virtual Meeting Room availabiliity:
Mon–Thu · 10am–8pm
Fri–Sat · 10am–6pm

If you have any questions, please review our Virtual Meeting Room FAQ page or contact Events Services at reservations@slcpl.org.

Meeting Process

Submit online application
Submit the virtual meeting room application and please allow up to 2 business days for the processing of your application. Please note that the first 15 minutes of your meeting will be used to transfer hosting to the designated participant and to review meeting features. Please schedule your event start time with this in mind.
Receive event information from Events Services staff
The Library will finalize your reservation and email you the event information. This information includes a link and phone numbers that all participants will use to join the event.
Share event information with attendees
Share the event information with all participants by email or other online platform. Please note that it is best practice to only share event links and phone numbers with participants that you know, in order to prevent unintended guests from joining your event.
Participate in practice session
If preferred, the Library can arrange a practice session on a day prior to your meeting. The session is intended for the host, co-hosts, and presenters to learn about Zoom meeting features, practice using them, and to ask questions. Please note that your meeting may not have a person in each of these roles or all roles may be filled by one person.
Join event
There are four ways to join a Zoom event. The first is with a browser, the second is with the desktop client, the third is with a tablet or phone app, and the fourth is to dial-in by phone for audio only. The desktop client provides the most functionality. Long distance charges may apply when dialing-in by phone.
Receive hosting
As mentioned previously, the first 15 minutes of the reservation will be used to transfer hosting to the designated participant. This is also an opportunity to ask final questions and to make final arrangements between the host, co-hosts, and presenters. After hosting has been transferred, Library staff will leave the event and it is the hosts responsibility to manage the event
Assign co-hosts
It is often beneficial to have co-hosts help facilitate a meeting. While the host is leading the meeting, co-hosts can answer participant questions and monitor the waiting room, audio/video, chat, screen sharing, breakout rooms, polls, etc. Arrange to have as many co-hosts as you need to make sure your meeting runs smoothly.
Explain meeting best practices
Start each meeting by reminding participants about relevant best practices, which may include some of the following:
- Make sure that you are close enough to your microphone that it can pick up your voice.
- Look at your webcam, not at the screen.
- Avoid moving yourself or your camera frequently.
- Turn off your camera if you need to take care of business outside of the meeting.
- Keep your background clear of distractions.
- When using chat, use private messages for side conversations.
- When screen sharing, if you are referring to something on the screen, describe where your cursor is going or what it is that you are referring to.
Additionally, the host should remind participants about which features are available to them; inform participants how they should get the host or co-host's attention (raise hand, private chat, public chat, etc.); and notify participants if the meeting is being recorded.
End event
Any participant can leave the event by clicking the “Leave” button. When the host leaves the meeting, they can choose to end the event for all participants or to have the meeting continue and assign the host role to another participant.

Meeting Guidelines

What may be done with this service?
SLCPL will provide access to a Virtual Meeting Room via the Zoom Video Conferencing service for up to two hours. Inside the room, participants can video chat, text chat, share screens, share files, and conduct voting with up to 300 people. The features available for a particular event will be determined by the Library and event host. Examples of virtual events might be a Meetup, a business meeting, a speaker/presentation with slides, a study group, a religious gathering, a social gathering, etc.
What limitations are there with this service?
For-profit organizations may not hold events that are promotional in nature or have the potential to generate income or clients. Users must also abide by copyright laws.
Who is eligible to reserve a room?
Any person with a City Library card is welcome to reserve a room. This includes City residents, county residents, students and teachers in the Salt Lake City School District, organizations that have offices in Salt Lake City, individuals who own property in Salt Lake City, and those who have paid for an out-of-county library card. City designations are for Salt Lake City proper. If you do not have a City Library card you can sign up for one today.
When can I host a meeting?
Virtual Meeting Rooms can be reserved for up to 2 hours, every other week. The first 15 minutes of your meeting is reserved for reviewing Zoom meeting features and transferring the host role to the designated participant. Please schedule your event start time with this in mind.

Meeting Features

Audio (Microphone and speaker)
The Audio button is located at the bottom-left of the screen. Participants can use this to mute and unmute their audio. The up arrow next to the audio button provides different audio options. This is a good place to start if a participant is having trouble with their microphone or speakers.
Video
The Video button is located at the bottom-left of the screen. Participants can use this to start and stop their webcam. The up arrow next to the video button provides different video options. This is a good place to start if a participant is having trouble with their video.
Security
For hosts and co-hosts. the Security button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. By clicking this button, the host or co-hosts can access a number of security features, including lock meeting, enable waiting room, and on/off toggles for screen share, chat, renaming, and muting. Additional security information can be found under the security tab located further down the page.
Participant list
The Participant button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. Participants can use this to open a window that provides a participant count and lists all participant names. Hovering over a participant’s name will provide a list of interactions that one can have with that participant. The host and co-hosts will have more options and may limit options for attendees.
Chat
The Chat button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. Participants can use this to open a chat window where they can send public messages to all participants, send private messages to individual participants, send private messages to the host, and to share files. Hosts and co-hosts will have more chat options and may limit options for attendees.
Screen sharing
The Screen Share button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. Participants can use this to share their desktop, browser, slide show, white board, other active applications, and files. While screen sharing, the features control panel, that is normally located at the bottom of the screen, will move to the top of the screen. The host and co-hosts can limit who can screen share and which screen share features can be used.
Annotation
Annotation is a feature of screen sharing which allows participants to write over the content that is being shared, including a white board.
Record
The Record button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. The host (only) can record or designate a participant to record the video and/or audio of a meeting. The meeting must be recorded locally, as the Library is not able to facilitate cloud recording. Local recording will store a file on the device of the participant who did the recording. All participants should be notified if they are going to be recorded.
Closed caption
The Closed Caption button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. The host (only) can use this to assign a participant to type closed caption text or to activate a third-party closed caption service.
Breakout rooms
The Breakout Rooms button is located at the bottom-center of the screen. The host can use this to select the number of breakout rooms, determine how long breakout sessions will last, to automatically or manually assign participants to these rooms, and to send participants to these rooms. Most collaboration features are accessible in breakout rooms.
End
The End button is located at the bottom-right of the screen. A participant can use this to leave a meeting at any time. If the meeting is locked they will not be able to return. When the host leaves the event, they can choose to end the event for all participants or to have the meeting continue and assign the host role to another participant.

Meeting Security

Passcode
This feature will be enabled for all meetings. The passcode is embedded in the link that participants use to join the meeting. This means that passcodes do not automatically block participants from joining a meeting but they do prevent war-dialing, which automated dialers can use to hack into a meeting.
Waiting room
This is a virtual waiting room where participants gather until the host or co-hosts admits them. This can prevent uninvited guests from joining a meeting. However, if the host or co-hosts do not know the names of all intended participants or the participant’s user name does not match their expected name then some participants may be inadvertently blocked from joining a meeting. During a meeting, the host or co-host can move a participant back into the waiting room, if desired.
Renaming
If a participant’s video is not on and they do not have a profile photo then a name will be displayed for them. A phone number is displayed for those who dialed in without using a Zoom client. For additional privacy, the host or co-hosts can rename a participant or allow participants to rename themselves.
Lock meeting
Enabling Lock Meeting after participants have joined a meeting, prevents additional participants from joining a meeting. This includes those who are accidentally disconnected. Only use this feature when you are sure that everyone that you want to be in the meeting has already joined.
Audio and video
The host or co-hosts can mute participants' audio and stop their video. This can be done to all or selected participants. However, the host and co-hosts cannot restart a participant’s audio or video without the participant’s permission and must send the participant a request to restart their audio and/or video. Hosts or co-hosts can also choose to mute all guests upon entry with the same requirements for unmuting. Alternately, hosts or co-hosts can permit guests to unmute themselves without having to receive a request.
Screen sharing
The host can disable screen sharing, limit screen sharing to the host and co-hosts only, or limit screen sharing to only one person at a time.
Annotation
The host and co-hosts can disable annotation or limit it to the person who is screen sharing. The host or co-hosts can enable the naming of who is annotating.
Chat
The host or co-hosts can disable chat or limit chat to either public messages to all participants, private messages between individual participants, or private messages to the host and co-hosts.
Remove participant
Remove participant allows the host or co-hosts to select a participant and remove them from the meeting. The host or co-hosts will be asked to confirm their choice. If they click Yes then the participant will be removed from the meeting and will not be able to re-join.
Report participant
Allows the host or co-hosts to report a user to Zoom's Trust and Safety team. The host or co-hosts will be able to select which user to report and provide details about the problem. Evidence, such as screenshots, can be uploaded.

Primary Contact Name: *

Primary Contact Email: *

Primary Contact Phone: *

Library Card #: * To sign up for a library card, please visit https://services.slcpl.org/library-card-sign-up

Alternate Contact Name: (optional)

Alternate Contact Email: (optional)

Is this event affiliated with an Organization? * If no, skip the Organization section and continue to the Event Information section below.

If so, what type of organization is it?

Organization Name:

Event Title: *

Type of Event: *

Event Description: *

Estimated Attendance: *

Event Date(s): *

Event Start and End Times: * Available Monday through Thursday from 10am to 8pm, and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 6pm.

NOTE: After pressing the "Submit" button, your room request has not been properly submitted until you see a green "Thank You" message. Our staff will then look over your request and contact you about availability. Your room request is pending until you have been contacted by our staff. Thanks for your patience.

REQUEST A VIRTUAL MEETING ROOM

STAY IN TOUCH

GET THE LIBRARY APP