College Proposes Lamont Cafe

Students seeking a late-night fix while studying may no longer have to venture outside of Lamont Library for food.

University Hall administrators are pushing for a café in the popular late-night study spot, Deputy Dean of the College Patricia O’Brien said in an interview Friday.

Starting this fall, Lamont will be open 24-hours during the work week on a two-year trial run.

O’Brien said that by offering food, the College aims to make Lamont a more attractive study space.

Few establishments in the Square aside from CVS and 7-11 remain open past 2 a.m.

“Our concern is that if people are up at 4 in the morning, one of the things we’d like to do is to get some food in Lamont,” O’Brien said.

The coffeshop could also double as a social space, allowing students to socialize and to take occasional study breaks before returning to the reading rooms, administrators said.

“I’m looking for ways we can use Lamont as a social center,” Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 said last month. “We are exploring the possibility of putting something like a café or refreshments in Lamont--—then we can build on the fact that it’s already a study space,” he said at the time.

This change could potentially fit the need for a student center, with Lamont acting as both an academic and social space, Undergraduate Council (UC) president Matthew J. Glazer ’06 said.

Discussions about the cafe are still in the early stages, and many other factors will be considered before any decisions are made, said Beth Brainard, the director of communications for Harvard College Library (HCL).

Over the summer, HCL will be assessing the possibilty of food in Lamont, Brainard said.

“Space is the main problem, but there are other considerations as well,” she said, adding that these factors include budget, maintenance, janitorial, level of service, and book preservation.

O’Brien said that the College would most likely absorb the costs if Lamont were to implement food services.

“We’d probably have to fund it,” she said. “I don’t think [HCL] would use their funds.”

Glazer said that the level of construction, as well as the location of any food services would affect the likelihood of implementing food options and the speed with which the project would be completed.

But given the switch to a 24-hour library, most students would appreciate such a service, he said.

“Our major focus was on the hours,” Glazer said. “Now we’d like to work again with the libraries on future projects. This is one of them.”

O’Brien said that a café would likely offer items such as coffee, smoothies, and doughnuts.

“It’s possible the food will be in a protected area, and may be in what is now a seminar room.” she said. “It’s not going to be greasy food like ribs.”

O’Brien said that if the cafe proves impossible to implement, she hopes the library will at least install a vending machine.

O’Brien pointed to the commercial success of coffeeshop-bookstores as an indication of the demand for snacks while reading.

“We’re telling them that a bookstore café is the latest thing,” she said.

Widener Library currently offers a café in the basement.

The College is also currently considering expanding the food and beverage services in Loker Commons. If the remainder of this semester’s Pub Nights continue to attract large numbers of students, the College will consider gutting Loker to create room for a student pub.

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Joshua P. Rogers can be reached at jprogers@fas.harvard.edu.