A Place in the Stacks

In the Harvard system of honors tutorial, the most valuable experience of an undergraduate's academic career is the senior-year thesis. All the tremendous resources of the University are theoretically at his disposal for its completion. Aside from the Faculty, foremost among these resources are the privileges of the University libraries.

In Widener, the undergraduate has the largest research library in the country, but he does not have all its privileges. Buried away in ten levels of stacks are 343 cubicle-like stalls reserved for graduate students. Although a senior may receive permission to use the stacks, he cannot have a stall in which to work and leave the books he is using. The demand for them is so high that usually only second and third year graduate students can obtain one.

The result is inconvenience for both the senior thesis writer and anyone else wishing to use the material with which he is working. Because seniors have no place in the stacks where they can store their thesis books while using them, many are forced to haul loads of twenty or thirty volumes back to their rooms. Equally important, when the books are out of the library, they are unavailable for other people who may need them, sometimes for just a few minutes' work.

Widener officials have done nothing to alleviate this situation. Last summer, with stall demands still rising, they even decreased the amount of available space by putting reference material on reading room shelves that were previously assigned to graduate students. Cafeteria-like Lamont, with its small number of books, obviously cannot be used by the thesis writer who needs specialized books and documents.

Although Widener has room in some of the lower levels for more stalls, the number that could be added would be too small to relieve the shortage. Instead, unused shelves in the stacks could be partitioned into individual storage spaces and new shelves built along lower level walls. Those using them could keep their books on the shelves and work in any nearby stall that happens to be unoccupied at the time--few are used more than several hours each week. If full advantage were taken of the large amounts of available space, all honors seniors and graduate students could be accommodated.