A virtual library study room you can walk into

What is a virtual library study room?

It is the feeling of a real library without the commute. You get a seat, a timer and the sense that people around you are working too. Nobody expects you to talk. The room does the quiet work of making your own focus feel normal.

In LockinTown the rooms are cozy 3D spaces. You appear as a character at a desk, and so does everyone else. You can see the room, the lighting and the other people's timers, but there is no video and no voice, so there is nothing to set up and nobody watching your face.

The library rooms in LockinTown

LockinTown has twelve rooms in total. These are the ones that feel most like a library:

• Lamplight Library. The classic: warm lamps, open pages and rows of shelves. It is open to everyone from your first visit.
• Bookworm Café. A cozy corner for your next chapter. This room is for reading, so your session tag is set to Reading while you are there. It is also open to everyone.
• Quiet Study Hall. Your own carrel and your own lamp. It unlocks when you keep a 3 day streak.
• Grand Reading Hall. Study under a great dome. It unlocks when you keep a 7 day streak.

The other rooms are cafes, a classroom, a shuttle, a night flight, a train and more. They are there when you want a change of scene. Some unlock after you add friends or reach a number of focused minutes, and a few come with the optional Pro plan.

When a room fills up, a new copy of it opens so you can always find a seat.

How a session works

1. Take a seat. Pick a room from the front page and sit at a free desk.
2. Choose how long. A session can be anything from 5 to 120 minutes, in steps of 5. The first time it starts at 25 minutes, and after that it remembers the last length you used.
3. Name what you are doing. Pick a tag (Study, Reading, Coding, Writing and Math are there to start with) and, if you like, add a short line about your goal.
4. Attach a book, if you want. You can pick one book you are reading to go with the session.
5. Focus. The timer runs. Other people in the room can see that you are focusing, and you can see them.
6. Take a break. When the session ends, start a break of 1 to 30 minutes, begin another session or leave.

Sound, if you want it

A library is quiet, but you can add some texture. LockinTown has music stations (lofi, piano, chiptune and classical are among the ones to start with) and ambient sounds such as turning pages, rain, a fireplace, cafe murmur, typing and brown or white noise. Mix what suits you or turn everything off.

Who it suits

• Students who work better in a room full of people than alone in a bedroom.
• Readers who want a nudge to finish a chapter.
• Remote workers and writers who miss the hum of other people working.
• Anyone who finds a camera stressful. There is no webcam in LockinTown. The rooms are shared, but your face is not.

The tags and the goal line make it easy to use for more than studying. Reading, coding, writing and plain old work all fit.

Quiet, but not alone

You can chat in text if you want to, and send a quick wave, nod or cheer. Chat messages are short and links are not allowed. If someone bothers you, you can block or report them, and a block keeps the two of you out of each other's rooms. Read more on the safety page.

You can also start a private room for friends, or add friends and focus together. See the study with me page for ways to study together.

Try it now

LockinTown is free to join. You can sign in with Google or Apple, or try it as a guest. It runs in a modern web browser, and the 3D rooms need WebGL 2, which most current browsers have. Phone apps for iPhone and Android are coming.