Keep the Libraries Open All Night

There is a pathetic ritual every night in Harvard libraries. Diligent sons and daughters of the University are sent packing, thrown out on the mean Cambridge streets to seek knowledge elsewhere. Actually, many of them resort to congregating like refugees in the poorly lit Greenhouse Cafe. "[M]y room's really noisy and I can't get much studying done there most of the time," explained a dismayed James S. Chang '98.

It simply shouldn't be this way. Dedicated Harvard students deserve more from their University. We should be provided with quiet places to study 24 hours a day.

Newly-elected Undergraduate Council president David L. Hanselman '94-'95 has endorsed the idea of moving libraries to a 24-hour schedule. Hanselman even favors extending shuttle bus hours so that late-night scholars can have a safe trip home.

But as Hanselman--and anyone who must battle the Harvard bureaucracy--knows, change comes slowly. "If past experience is an indication, it could take a while," he says. "The more things you ask for, the more resistance you meet."

Fair enough. We therefore call for reasonable and significant changes in the Harvard library system.

Beginning immediately, central libraries such as Lamont, Hilles and Cabot should be kept open 24 hours every day. As library workers and students will attest, students would definitely take advantage of the extra hours. And, hopefully, depending on the late-night crowds at these libraries, the schedules of other libraries could be extended.

At the very least, these libraries should stay open 24 hours during Reading Period and Exam Period, when all students are forced to do considerable work during a short space of time.

While we recognize the potential difficulties of staffing a library between midnight and dawn (even though places like the Currier bell desk manage to stay open all night), the late-night shift of the libraries need not be as extensive as normal hours.

For example, the University does not need to keep the circulation desks open 24 hours. While the ability to borrow books at any hour of the day or night would certainly be convenient, the late hours for the students who work the circulation desks might be a bit too much.

Anyway, the main goal should be to provide a quiet place for Harvard students to study well into the were hours.

Sometimes, simple changes can be made which will directly improve the quality of students' lives--even if that improvement takes the form of being able to study more. And the library system is a clear case.

We certainly hope that the administration will work with our new student government to make the necessary changes. MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, already maintain 24-hour library facilities. It's time for Harvard to live up to its reputation as the world center of academia. We deserve nothing less.