Quad Library To Extend Hours

The Quad Library will extend its hours and increase its reserves, Harvard College Libraries (HCL) announced last Thursday.

The announcement came on the heels of a protest last week by a Quad-based advocacy group, Quad United Against (Library) Discrimination (QUAD). The protest occurred simultaneously with a celebration of Lamont Library’s new 24-hour service that drew over 1,500 students.

Beginning Nov. 5, the Quad Library will be open on Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will increase its coursepack reserves, Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Collection Management Marilyn Wood wrote in an e-mail.

HCL also plans to establish a committee, which will include students and a House master, to examine library services, Currier House Master Joseph L. Badaracco wrote in an e-mail. Badaracco will sit on the advisory committee.

The Quad Library’s extended service marks a victory for the Undergraduate Council (UC), which has prioritized the Quad Library since HCL cut back its hours last year despite strong student opposition, said UC representative John S. Haddock ’07.

“[HCL’s] immediate response was surprising in how quickly it happened,” Haddock said. “At the same time, I think that the libraries are very responsive to student needs. And in some ways, that was the perfect moment to make that change.”

Some Quad students also expressed excitement about the changes.

“It’s really going to help people who have a lot of work on the weekends, since it can get pretty rowdy in the dorms,” said Samuel N. Quinn ’07, a Currier resident who is also involved with QUAD.

The UC and QUAD hope to push for additional changes in the future, but both groups cite the extension of hours and reserves as a significant first step.

According to Haddock, the Quad has traditionally suffered from neglect from the University and is particularly threatened by the University’s plans to expand into Allston.

“The Quad does not factor into those plans. In a decade or 15 years, there won’t be students there,” said Haddock. “But grand plans for the future shouldn’t affect the quality of the life in the Quad now.”

In spite of the protest last week, HCL attributed the changes to recent discussions of student needs.

“We do not consider protests a useful approach to solving problems—instead research, analysis, and reasoned discussion generally tend to shape changes in our libraries,” Nancy M. Cline, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, wrote in an e-mail.

But members of the UC commended QUAD’s efforts as instrumental to the campaign.

“I think that the protest really showed that there was a student need, and that the need was pressing, and I’m really happy that HCL acted so quickly,” said UC President Matthew J. Glazer ’06.

“It wasn’t until they added protest that they almost instantly had a change of heart,” said Eric I. Kouskalis ’07, spokesman for QUAD. “The timing speaks for itself.”

The UC hopes to push for more improvements to Quad Library services and reserves, and will most likely gather student opinion through surveys and reports, Glazer said.

According to Jonathan B. Johnnidis ’05, a former Pforzheimer resident who helped organized a petition against the reduced Quad Library hours last year, students were concerned with the Quad Library’s lack of study carrels and lamps and limited hours during exam and reading periods.

Members of QUAD said their protesting days are far from over.

The involved students are in the very early planning stages of a new advocacy group that will address student life issues, QUAD member Gordon T. Kraft-Todd ’07 wrote in an e-mail.

“We’d be less official and more activist-y,” said Kouskalis. “This library thing sort of proves that sometimes things like this are effective.”