Extension School Expands Library Access for Students, Closes Grossman

Harvard Extension School students can access the University's full library system for the first time, following the recent shuttering of the Division of Continuing Education's Grossman Library.

Grossman Library, located in Sever Hall, merged with the larger Harvard College Library system in August. Starting this year, all Extension School students can receive a Harvard ID card, allowing them for the first time to access the full extent of the library system.

“Previously, only Harvard Extension degree candidates had access to library spaces, while our individual course takers only had online access,” Kaitlin Buckley, communications officer at Harvard Library, wrote in an email. “Now, for the first time, all students enrolled in Harvard Extension School courses are eligible for library services like [Faculty of Arts and Sciences] students, whether or not they are enrolled in a degree program.”

Extension School students will also be able to book group study spaces through the library system’s website and access additional research resources, according to Buckley.

Buckley wrote that the closing of Grossman and integration of the Extension School’s collections came in response to the recommendations of a working group.

“It was important for the librarians at Grossman, the administration at DCE, and leadership at the Harvard College Library to make this connection to best serve all our students,” wrote Buckley.

Grossman Library’s non-circulating collections, which included copies of past Master of Liberal Arts theses and course reserves for Extension School students, are being integrated into the larger Harvard College Library system, which contains over two dozen libraries spread across campus including Lamont, Widener, and Cabot.

Grossman Library was previsouly open to Harvard students, faculty, and staff outside of the Extension School.

Rachael Han ’20 said she used to visit Grossman at least once every week and usually more often during midterms.

“I was just really sad because it was so convenient to go to Grossman before or after my classes in Sever,” Han said.

However, the reaction from Extension School students has been largely positive, according to Buckley.

“Extension School students are excited to access all of the resources offered by the Harvard College Library,” Buckley wrote.

— Staff writer Cindy H. Zhang can be reached at cindy.zhang@thecrimson.com