Lectern buying guide
The choices that matter most when you pick an AV lectern. You can change any of them while you configure.
1. Height: sit-stand, standing or seated
- Sit-stand lecterns adjust electrically from 30" to 42" and are ADA compliant. Choose them when presenters of different heights, or seated presenters, share the room. Sit-stand lecterns →
- Standing height lecterns are 41" tall (47⅞" with privacy sides), with casters standard. The most common choice for lecture halls and training rooms. Standing height lecterns →
- Seated height lecterns are 30" tall for teaching stations, with a 32" ADA height option. Seated height lecterns →
2. Style
Sit-Stand
- Sit-Stand AV Lectern: The standard sit-stand: electric 30"–42" lift, rack storage and every display option, with privacy sides, a locking CPU door or a CPU shelf if you need them.
- Prestige Sit-Stand: The flagship: a 66" wide top and a 12" lift, for a signature room.
- Sit-Stand Instructor Desk: A sit-stand teaching desk with a locking box/box/file pedestal, when drawers matter more than rack space.
Standing Height
- Square Top: The most common choice: a clean top, full rack storage, 8 sizes.
- Curved Top: More room to work: the top is 6" wider than the cabinet.
- Privacy Sides: Raised side and back walls keep notes and devices out of the audience’s view.
- With Shelves: Shelf storage instead of rack rails, up to 60" wide.
- D-top Workstation: A compact lectern with a D-top desk beside it, for a presenter who also sits to work.
Seated Height
- Seated Height: A 30" teaching station with rack storage, 26" or 30" deep, with a 32" ADA height option.
3. Size and rack storage
Standing-height lecterns come 30" or 36" deep and 30", 36", 42" or 48" wide. Widths of 42" and up have two rack compartments (28 RU in total) and two power strips; 30" and 36" widths have one 14 RU compartment. Sit-stand lecterns have 12 RU of rack rails and seated lecterns 14 RU. The AV Lectern with Shelves trades rack rails for shelves; a rack cube on one of its shelves adds rack space.
4. Pull-out shelf
On the square, curved and privacy-side lecterns, a locking pull-out shelf on the right holds a document camera or laptop. It changes the interior, reducing rack space to 10 RU (20 RU on wide units), so the configurator asks for it near the start.
5. Visual display
Every display option includes the NOVA keyboard drawer. Some need a minimum worksurface size; the configurator only offers the ones that fit.
| Option | How it mounts | Monitor | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Mount Arm SMA0203NK | Arm on the worksurface | Up to 24" widescreen, 21 lb | Any size |
| Articulating Surface Mount Arm ASMA0203NK | Arm on the worksurface | Up to 35" widescreen, 33 lb | Any size |
| Downview™ 16" D × 21" W FPA1621NK | Under glass, below the top | Up to 21" widescreen | 24" deep top |
| Downview™ 18" D × 21" W FPA1821NK | Under glass, below the top | Up to 21" widescreen | 26" deep top |
| Downview™ 21" D × 24" W FPA2124NK | Under glass, below the top | Up to 24" widescreen | 30" deep top, 36" wide |
| Trolley™ E Monitor Lift TE0724NK | Motorized lift, hidden when down | Up to 20" widescreen | Most sizes |
| Trolley™ EXL Monitor Lift TE0728NK | Motorized lift, hidden when down | Up to 24" widescreen | 36" wide |
An arm is the simplest and works on any size. A Downview™ keeps the screen below the presenter’s sight line, so nothing blocks the view of the audience. A Trolley™ lift raises the monitor at the push of a button and hides it completely when it’s down.
6. Power and wire management
Each rack compartment comes with a power strip; an additional strip is available on the sit-stand and seated lecterns and on standing lecterns under 42" wide. On the worksurface you can add up to three grommets (star-cut round or rectangular) and up to two power centers (pop-up, or round flush with outlets or USB charging), in the standard left, center or right spots.
7. Mobility, accessibility and hand
- Casters are standard on the square, curved and privacy-side lecterns and an option on the others.
- ADA: sit-stand lecterns are ADA compliant; seated lecterns have a 32" ADA height option.
- Left-hand versions are exact mirrors of the standard units.
8. Quotes and ordering
Add your configured lecterns to the cart and get a PDF quote with your pricing in minutes. Order with a purchase order; schools and agencies can order on GSA, TIPS, PEPPM and state contracts (schools, government & contracts). Freight in the continental US is included, and lecterns are built to order in Flora, Illinois: typically ships in 8 weeks, 10 weeks with a Trolley.
Still deciding? Ask our team.