Bok Approves Library Plans A Week Late

President Bok yesterday approved final plans for the $8 million Nathan M. Pusey library.

Bok will not make the plans public until after the Harvard Corporation approves them on Monday.

After meeting with architects and University officials yesterday, Bok chose a final location for the library's entry and main stairway, Robert R. Walsh '65, assistant University Librarian for Building Planning, said yesterday.

Walsh said that all other details of the plans had already been settled.

Approval Delayed

Bok was originally slated to approve the plans last Tuesday, but he decided then to delay his approval a week "to consider all the alternatives and serve aesthetic as well as functional needs."

Richard G. Leahy '54, associate dean of the Faculty for Resources and Planning, said last Tuesday that Bok was concerned about "making sure the library's facade does not dominate the Yard."

Walsh said that Bok feels certain that under the final plan the library "will blend well with the Yard."

The Pusey Library will be the first new building in the yard since Lamont Library, which was built in 1947.

The library will be located between Lamont, Widener and Houghton Libraries and be connected by underground passageways to all three libraries. All of its three levels except for a portion of the top one will be underground.

Groundbreaking for the library will take place on June 15, a day after Commencement. Construction is scheduled to last about 20 months, with spring, 1975, the target date for the opening of the library.

Bok was not available for comment on the library plans last night, and the architects refused to release a photograph of the plans without Bok's approval.