Library Group Represents Faculty

History of Art and Architecture Professor Jeffrey F. Hamburger, a vocal advocate for the primacy of the libraries during a time of financial constraints, will chair a committee to represent faculty interests in the ongoing process to reform the library system.

In November, the office of University Provost Steven E. Hyman released the report of the Task Force on University Libraries, which called for a restructuring of Harvard’s “labyrinthine” library system and charged the eight-member Library Implementation Group—stacked with library and University administrators—with the execution of the report’s recommendations over the coming year.

In contrast, the Faculty Advisory Committee will not create policy, but will instead ensure that the changes proposed by the implementation group align with the priorities of faculty members, according to Hamburger, whose appointment was announced by Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith at the Faculty meeting last Tuesday.

As chair of the faculty committee, Hamburger will gather a group of two dozen faculty members, who will meet for the first time within the next couple of weeks. The membership of the group has not yet been determined, but will draw from across FAS.

Harvard’s library system—currently a sprawling, disjointed structure of 73 separate entities—is “not simply the jewel in [Harvard’s] crown,” Hamburger said.

“It is the crown, and it is in disrepair,” he said. “Our concern might well be that efficiency doesn’t become an excuse for expediency.”

Hamburger, a vocal regular at recent Faculty meetings, said that he hopes to guarantee Harvard’s financial commitment to the library. He said he welcomes the opportunity to represent professors though the workings of the advisory committee, which will serve as a conduit between faculty and the implementation group.

“One always worries about being co-opted,” Hamburger said, acknowledging that the committee will play an indirect role in the implementation of changes related to the library system. “I think the [FAS] dean’s actions are entirely in good faith.”

Divinity School Professor David C. Lamberth, the chair of the implementation group, said he is working with representatives from across the University to execute the administrative recommendations of the task force report. Lamberth is the only professor in the group who does not hold an administrative position in the libraries.

The formation of the faculty advisory committee comes two months after Hamburger and two other humanities professors penned a letter calling for increased library funding. The missive was endorsed by over 100 colleagues and sent to top administrators, including Hyman, Smith, and University President Drew G. Faust.

A week later, Smith announced that FAS would not make the expected funding cuts for Harvard College Library, the largest unit in the library system.

—Staff writer Noah S. Rayman can be reached at nrayman@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Elyssa A.L. Spitzer can be reached at spitzer@fas.harvard.edu.