Quiet the Unnecessary Spending

The current misallocation of funds and unnecessary spending in the Harvard College Library (HCL) system is deeply troubling. That HCL will face a $3 million deficit over the next two years makes it even more concerning. And $3 million is no small sum—the budget for all libraries falling under FAS was $64.5 million in fiscal year 2002, according to Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William C. Kirby’s 2001-2002 Letter to the Faculty. Nevertheless, in too many cases, HCL seems to spend with reckless abandon.

For example, without a persuasive justification, HCL plans to move the reading room on the ground floor of Lamont up two flights—to the fifth floor—and replace it with a media center and a music library imported from the Quad. Given that the recently-renovated reading room is constantly in use and is deeply appreciated by students, the $1 million price tag of the project is not only incredibly steep but also represents an immense waste of resources. The grant awarded for the project is not specifically earmarked for this move and could be used more reasonably. HCL’s plan to tear apart Lamont’s ground floor to build a media center that could just as easily be located on the fifth floor defies common sense.

HCL also plans to move the Government Documents and Microforms Divisions (Gov Docs) and disperse its collection—another unnecessary waste of resources. Gov Docs is a depository of public records and government publications and therefore must be accessible to individuals without a Harvard affiliation. But its longtime Lamont location satisfactorily allowed access to the public and to undergraduates—like those concentrating in history, government and economics—who heavily rely on it. The basement of Lamont stores the facility quite comfortably; HCL’s plan to move Gov Docs to Littauer Library and other libraries in the system is a blatant misuse of resources.

The library system has primarily been devoted to the interests of professors—there are members of the Faculty who can remember when undergraduates needed special permission to use the Widener stacks. But students are Harvard’s heart, and any library spending policy that ignores student needs is flawed. HCL should devote available resources to productive uses—primarily serving Harvard students and faculty by maintaining collections and providing more access for their use.

Instead of rearranging Lamont, HCL should focus on extending the hours that Lamont and other libraries are open. According to the Undergraduate Council’s recent estimate, it would only cost around $15,000 per year to keep Lamont open an extra hour on the four high traffic days each week—Sunday through Wednesday. Rather than pursuing seemingly unnecessary projects like moving Gov Docs, HCL should be working to create an efficient Hilles Library with usable study space, a full collection and few staff layoffs. Rather than shelling out funds to buff Widener’s marble or maintaining a bloated and top-heavy administrative structure—including a HCL spokesperson with two assistants—HCL should focus on improving services for students and Faculty.

Unless HCL stops wasting money on unnecessary renovations and relocations and starts focusing on services, collections and efficiency, it will continue to see fiscal troubles and complaints of undergraduates looming ominously over the horizon. The current leadership must shift its priorities to improve HCL, for the benefit of students and, ironically enough, to balance its books.