For the still powerless: We have a number of yellow surge protection strips attached to our outlets. You can find them along the SW (Philadelphia Avenue) wall, and at the carrels in the reference room. You are welcome to plug in your laptops, cell phones, whatever you wish.
We also have wireless service. No rigmarole required. Most laptops/netbooks will automatically detect our signal and log on. (Linux, Windows, Mac - doesn't matter.)