Open Lamont 24-7

I tried to fall asleep in Lamont yesterday, on the fifth floor in one of those cubicles formed by the walls of books. There I was, lounging in a teal plastic-leather chair with my feet propped on an even less comfortable wooden one. My head was resting on the arm, poised for slumber, but all I could do was stare at the Cambridge History of Iran on the shelf in front of me. Lamont just isn't equipped for napping.

Having noted what Lamont isn't, it would be beneficial to state what Lamont is. It is a library. It has many books. These books are useful for research, reference and general interest reading. Lamont is also composed of a great deal of study space. It even has a Laptop Lounge.

Lamont is very useful to the student who is writing a paper and needs material. It is also convenient for those who prefer to read in quiet places. There are apparently very few diversions besides etching a trite Confucian saying or perverse message into the wooden tables.

Out of all the libraries on campus, it is Lamont which is most conducive to studying. Lamont is a no-nonsense, no frills library. There are but a handful of cushy chairs; only the most minimal carpeting is used. Lamont is built from concrete and starkly adorned with linoleum floors and metal bookcases. It's a utilitarian box which has the slogan "Glue your butt to the chair" etched into its walls. Lamont provides students with the serious study space which undergraduates welcome as their necessary refuge.

But Lamont closes at 12:45 in the morning and doesn't reopen until 8:45. On Friday and Saturday evenings, Lamont closes at 9:45 at night and on Sunday doesn't open until noon. Why does Lamont close? Why doesn't a resource which is so valuable to students remain open 24 hours per day, seven days per week?

One obvious concern is the financial cost of maintaining the library full time. The additional burden to the College budget would include increased staffing hours and perhaps a greater use of electricity. But if we do some simple calculations, we can see that the marginal cost of keeping the library running is minimal. First off, Harvard runs its own energy plant, so that cost is down to zero. Second, Harvard only needs to maintain two students and one adult to keep Lamont open.

Let's assume that the student staffers behind the reserves desk each earn $7.50 per hour and the adult book checker takes home $15 per hour, figures which are safely on the high side. If we increase wages to $10 and $17.50, respectively, for work during the grave-yard shift, there is an hourly burden of $37.50. This amounts to a weekly cost of roughly $2,600 for the additional hours needed to keep Lamont open 24-7. The whole college year can be had for less than $100,000.

Nevertheless, critics say, who is going to use the library at 4 a.m.? I respond: If you build it, they will come. Rather, they will stay. Those students who are there after midnight could use a few extra hours to finish up their tremendous workloads.

The house libraries are not an option for students since they close at 1 a.m. as well. Like students at Cabot and Hilles, many pour out of Lamont at the closing bell frustrated that they haven't completed enough work for the night. Dorm rooms simply aren't as accommodating to the working undergrad--a lack of privacy and an excess of noise prevent total concentration.

Well, even if students would use the Lamont enough to justify the cost, the critics continue, they shouldn't be spending so much time there. It seems evident to all that every Harvard undergrad has enough work to keep him or her there indefinitely. Even so, it is believed that students should keep a "normal" sleeping schedule and a "normal" social life.

The healthfulness of full-time work-loads seems daunting to many. But that is what most students are faced with here. The University's facilities should own up to the responsibilities which the academic process demands and provide students with the convenience which a full time library would entail.

Joshua A. Kaufman's column appears on alternate Tuesdays.