Lamont and Widener Libraries Install New, Better Copiers

After six months of malfunctioning, the coin-operated photocopying machines in the periodical room of Widener Library and on the first floor of Lamont Library have been replaced.

Two new IBM copiers were installed in Lamont and Widener during the Christmas break, John L. Fraser, head of photograhpic services in the Harvard University library, said yesterday.

Fraser declined to name the manufacturer of the old machines, but said they had been installed in July 1975.

Both of them created problems. Jane R. Morhardt, supervisor of Lamont Library, said that the Lamont photocopier broke down several times during the fall semester this year. "Luckily we had no problems with the repair service," she said.

Tilt

A librarian in Widener who asked not to be identified said that the copier in the periodical room also broke down occasionally, and that "it would make the copies too light or smudged and often got paper jammed inside it."

She said there has been "no trouble" with the new copier so far, and said she hoped it will discourage the theft of periodicals.

The two new copiers are the same model as three IBM copiers installed in Widener's first floor in July, 1975, Fraser said. "When we compared the IBMs with the other machines, we found that they were more reliable," he said.

Fraser also said that the new machines will create no additional costs for the University, because "we use copiers that pay for themselves out of the coins used to operate them."

The new machines have been installed after months of student complaints and protests over the condition of the old copiers. "The Lamont copier was a persistant, absolute pain," John C. McGrath '78, said.