Contact:
Robert Mitchell
617.496.5399
Quad Library to be Re-purposed for Student Social Space
Cambridge, Mass. - May 5, 2009 - The Harvard College Library will discontinue Quad Library services at the end of the spring term in order to shift resources to support library programs that are more heavily used by students. The space freed up by this move - nearly 10,000 square feet - provides Harvard College with the opportunity to provide study and large event social space for undergraduates.
The decision by HCL provides the College with the opportunity to re-purpose the Quad Library space to meet students' needs for space to accommodate larger social and extracurricular events. This change will provide two large multifunctional spaces with a 500-person capacity. To better understand the student needs for large events, the College will assemble a small ad hoc committee, to include students, which will work over the summer to examine the feasibility and related logistics of this space for social activities.
Though the collection will not remain, HCL librarians expect to offer research support in the Hilles building for students living in the Quad area. For example, they will conduct sessions on topics such as how to use RefWorks, finding multimedia resources in the libraries, and create research strategies for papers. Additionally, the College plans to keep the current reading room of the Quad Library intact due to extensive use by students.
Students have consistently expressed the need for space to hold large social events and the College has heretofore been unable to provide a large, contiguous space dedicated for this purpose. While the spaces on the penthouse level of the Student Organization Center at Hilles are used extensively for student events, meetings, conferences, and rehearsals, there is more demand on these large multifunctional spaces than can be met currently. In addition, this new re-purposed space will have a larger capacity than was previously available.
Among the issues for the committee to consider is whether to introduce new components of academic technology on the second and third floor collaborative zones of the SOCH. These additions would focus on instructional computing and support for technology-intensive academic projects.
The College anticipates this space will be available for the fall 2009 semester.
###