Harvard Crimson Editorial: “Changing Libraries — But Not Too Much”

From an Editorial by the Editorial Board of the The Harvard Crimson:

We appreciate the Harvard Library system, and the many functions it serves at the University and in the wider academic world, first and foremost providing access to centuries of accumulated knowledge. That said, we understand that libraries may feel the need to implement technological updates in order to appeal to students. While doing so is an important part of ensuring libraries stay relevant, we hope the Harvard Library stays true to its original character.

To be certain, we believe providing free technological resources and makerspaces to students, as well as designing libraries for collaborative use, can be incredibly enriching to the Harvard experience. However, students should still learn how to search the archives and navigate Harvard libraries’ resources for research purposes. While some courses and concentrations already teach this skill, we believe that all students should have this knowledge. The Harvard Library ought to consider teaching students to use it more effectively, in part by extensively partnering with certain classes, beyond the basic lesson in using HOLLIS that College students receive as they complete their expository writing requirement.

Read the Complete Editorial (approx. 540 words)

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News