Libraries Get More Security

A new security system designed to protect the University's roughly 12 million books will go into effect Monday in Widener, Lamont and Pusey Libraries, library officials said yesterday.

Citing security concerns, library officials would not release details of how the system, called "Knogo," will operate. But it appears that over the next five years, all of Harvard's books will be electronically coded to prevent thefts.

Knogo, which is projected to cost $250,000, will become operational after a year of planning by the Faculty's Standing Committee on the Library.

"We have had a history of frustration, of feeling that it's our responsibility to be maintaining these collections appropriately for people's use," said Heather Cole, librarian of the Lamont and Hilles Libraries. "Over the years, there have just been too many holes in the sieve."

Not every book in the three libraries will be coded by next week, library officials said. But "we hope that the vast majority of the collection will be tagged in the foreseeable future," said Susan Lee, associate librarian for administrative services at Widener.

Officials said Harvard is one of the last major universities to implement such a system.

"When I came here three years ago, there was no interest in putting in such a system," said Harvard College Librarian Richard De Gennaro. "U. Penn put in such a system in 1974, and I wondered why we were probably the last major university library that didn't have such a system."

The system will consist of security tags on the books, machines to deactivate and activate the tags when books are checked out and returned, and security gates outside each exit of Widener, Lamont and Pusey.

The security tags are not, however, barcodes.

"Let me make something very clear," said Lee. "This has nothing to do with the barcodes. One of the things we're worried about is that we'll have people tearing barcodes off the books."

Library security has become an even more prominent issue since a book slasher struck the Widener stacks in 1991. But secret security cameras placed by University police on ceilings, shelves and in the books themselves cost Harvard at least $50,000 andfailed to catch the vandal. The cameras have sincebeen removed.

Knogo is just one piece of a larger project toupgrade the security of the overall collection.Eventually, administrators say, all of Harvard'slibraries will employ an automated entry systemlike the key-card system now used for first-yeardorms.

Book checkers currently posted at Widener andLamont will not, however, lose their jobs to Knogoor magnetic cards.

"I know that many people who see these bars goup go on the assumption that this means the doorcheckers won't check books anymore," said Cole."But they don't check just books. They check forlibrary equipment as well. The main thing is torealize that the security system is extra, addedprotection."

Although Lee and Cole expect the system to runfairly smoothly, they don't guarantee perfectionfrom the start.

"We're just asking all of our users to be alittle patient with us," Lee said