We’re Using Harvard’s Libraries Wrong

57 miles of shelf space in Widener. 1,500 ancient texts in Houghton. Four libraries in one corner of Harvard Yard alone.

The Harvard Library system has no shortage of resources, and undergraduates are promised the chance to “engage in world-class research across all disciplines.” But the means by which students do so has changed dramatically with the rise of artificial intelligence. Less than two weeks ago, Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 predicted AI would expedite research to speeds unlike “any other time in human existence.”

As AI makes research more convenient than ever, we shouldn’t forget the irreplaceability of physical libraries. Harvard’s libraries are home to fascinating collections and dedicated spaces for everything from poetry to data visualization — spaces that ought to be used. Perhaps the most underutilized of those resources are the Library’s employees.

Undergrads, it’s time to go talk to an actual librarian. What may seem like an unnecessary detour will refine the output of your work and invaluably enrich your ideas.

In my freshman fall, I spent 75 minutes as part of my Expository Writing 20 course learning the tips and tricks of HOLLIS from a librarian. What surprised me most was how different a database search function is from your everyday search engine. Unlike a typical Google search, databases are highly curated. Nowhere else would I have been able to easily find and analyze handwritten notes of delegates from the sixth Conference of the Parties in the Netherlands.

Importantly, items in a database may be organized in a particular manner that only the curator could explain, and the material is often categorized differently from one institution to the next. Librarians are the experts of this craft. It is their human expertise that we need rather than Google’s AI Overview to produce research output fitting for what Harvard stands for in the world of academia.

But for many students, libraries on campus serve mainly as locations to study. The books on the shelves may as well be wallpaper, while the quiet corners of Lamont serve as a perfect place to crank out an essay or Crimson piece. We are missing out on the immeasurable insight gained through talking with librarians and archivists — people who spend each day caring for an immense physical wealth of knowledge.

For its part, Harvard has actively worked to make library-going more convenient for students. From extending loan periods and eliminating standard late fees on borrowed books in 2017 to the formation of the HOLLIS catalog as a unified search mechanism, the libraries themselves are not the problem.

Take the First-Year Librarians program. Initially piloted in 2018, the program aims to introduce freshmen to using the world’s largest academic library, including understanding the role of librarians at academic institutions like Harvard.

The response? The program appears underused, with most freshmen apparently not aware it exists. For many of my fellow sophomores, the announcement took the form of a Canvas ping — which can quickly disappear into a sea of notifications. There was no actual enforcement to ensure students went to speak to an expert in person.

To remedy this, students should intentionally be given space to explore what the library has to offer. Expos 20 is meant to introduce students to the research component of composing a paper or capstone project. Preceptors should dedicate one class section to talking with a librarian about how to check out a book or navigate HOLLIS. The college could also consider, in addition to more intensive exposure efforts, placing an academic hold on spring course registration until students have set up a meeting with their first-year librarian.

I have not gotten far in my Harvard journey, but I would be remiss not to give my thanks to the Lamont self-checkout machine that has held my hand (and my books) during ungodly hours of the night. Redefining the role libraries play in student life will make these spaces so much more than study rooms — and into more concrete steps of our academic journeys.

Emily X. Yu ’29, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Currier House.