On summer evenings, the Arts Quad serves as an open-air concert venue. During the school year, its paths bustle with students passing between classes.

The libraries at the southern end of the quad serve the entire Cornell community. The University Library (now Uris Library) opened in 1892, as the sole repository of the fledgling university's books.

Eighteen more libraries have since been constructed, including Olin, whose terrace looks out over the quad, and Kroch, accessible through Olin and built entirely below ground, with skylights on the southeastern corner of the quad supplying natural light.