Quad Library Debuts

The Quad Library, formerly Hilles Library, hosted an open house yesterday for students to learn about the library’s new features and to discuss their thoughts on its renovation with Harvard librarians and Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71.

Gross briefly addressed the students, thanking the librarians for their work with the renovation and expressing his vision of Hilles as a place where students will eventually have both study space and student activity space.

“We have all kinds of grand plans for this building,” he told one of the approximately 10 to 20 students who attended the open house.

“We were happy to see every student who came and I think that the students who did attend left with a better understanding of the Quad Library,” said Beth S. Brainard, director of communications for Harvard College Library. “There were also a lot of students there who weren’t attending the party but were studying, and we think that that was wonderful, too.”

The once four-floor library has been reduced to one floor, with the other three floors to be used for student space. The Quad Library now features a room for stacks, a Lamont-like reading room, two group-study rooms, wireless internet, and a circulation and reserves desk.

The reading room includes a variety of study spaces, including sofa chairs, work spaces, power outlets, and adjustable lighting.

The library also has a self-service scanner that allows students to scan documents and save them to a USB flash drive or e-mail them for free.

Additional changes include shorter hours, a smaller book collection, and a reduced staff.

According to Emily H. Kelly, evening coordinator of the Quad Library, these changes reflect a shift in the library’s focus from only books and research to providing a study space for students.

“On a day-to-day basis, study space is so important,” said Kelly.

David B. Reynolds ’06 was pleased by the library’s renovations.

“I think for the most part it’s really nice,” said Reynolds, an economics concentrator. He particularly liked the new reading room. “It’s a much more open room [than before],” he said.

Pat M. Regan ’06 also had a positive opinion of the renovated library.

“There was a lot of wasted space last year, and now it’s pretty concentrated,” he said. He also noted that the library’s new furniture was a considerable improvement from last year.

But some students expressed nostalgia for the old Hilles. Kathleen E. McKee ’06 said she missed Hilles’ solitude.

“I could go to Hilles and not see anyone the entire night, which was both cool and freaky,” she said.

Nancy M. Cline, Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, said that over the past few weeks, plans for a Committee on the Quad Library, that once formed, will include two students from each of the Quad houses. It will be chaired by Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Collection Management Marilyn Wood.

“We’ll be working with those students to see what users’ reactions [to the library] are, and if there are things we might want to change . . . We’re trying to gather a lot of input,” said Cline.