Harvard University Library
Encyclopedia
The Harvard University Library system comprises about 90 libraries, with more than 16 million volumes. It is the oldest library system in the United States
, the largest academic and the largest private library system in the world. Based on the number of volumes in the collection, it is the fourth largest library collection in the US, after the Library of Congress
, Boston Public Library
, and New York Public Library
.
While the largest and best-known library building at Harvard is the Widener Library
in Harvard Yard
, Cambridge
, Massachusetts
, this iconic building belongs to the Harvard College Library, the name of the library administrative unit within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The Harvard University Library, on the other hand, is the formal name for an administrative entity within the central administration of the University that has responsibility for central library services and policy. , Helen Shenton is the current executive director. The Harvard University Library has a number of subordinate offices. Some of these are listed below.
's library system grew from a bequest in 1638 by John Harvard
of 400 books.
Over the next century the library grew to become the largest in America, but in 1764 a major fire destroyed almost all of Harvard's books and scientific instruments. Books and donations were offered by friends of the college to replace its collections. An eccentric Englishman, Thomas Hollis V of Lincoln's Inn
, London
, (great-nephew of one of the University's early benefactors), began shipping thousands of specially chosen volumes to the University Library. Hollis continued to send books regularly until his death in 1774 and he also bequeathed £500 for a fund to continue buying books. This became Harvard's first endowed
book fund, and is still actively increasing the collections every year. HOLLIS, the bacronym for Harvard Library's online catalog
, "Harvard On-Line Library Information System", is named after him.
Some of the books have been digitized within the Google Books Library Project. which was begun as a project developed with leadership and oversight by former Director Sidney Verba
.
18th c.
19th c.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the largest academic and the largest private library system in the world. Based on the number of volumes in the collection, it is the fourth largest library collection in the US, after the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
, and New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
While the largest and best-known library building at Harvard is the Widener Library
Widener Library
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, commonly known as Widener Library, is the primary building of the library system of Harvard University. Located on the south side of Harvard Yard directly across from Memorial Church, Widener serves as the centerpiece of the 15.6 million-volume Harvard...
in Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
, Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, this iconic building belongs to the Harvard College Library, the name of the library administrative unit within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The Harvard University Library, on the other hand, is the formal name for an administrative entity within the central administration of the University that has responsibility for central library services and policy. , Helen Shenton is the current executive director. The Harvard University Library has a number of subordinate offices. Some of these are listed below.
- The Office for Information Systems develops and supports online library services including digital repository and cataloging systems.
- The Weissman Preservation Center manages projects for preserving Harvard's collections.
- The Harvard Depository is a storage facility for library materials.
- The Harvard University Archives is the institutional archives of the University. It oversees the University's permanent records, collects Harvard-related manuscripts, papers, and historical materials, and supervises records management across the University.
- The Office for Scholarly Communication provides for open access to works of scholarship produced by the Harvard community.
History
HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's library system grew from a bequest in 1638 by John Harvard
John Harvard (clergyman)
John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
of 400 books.
Over the next century the library grew to become the largest in America, but in 1764 a major fire destroyed almost all of Harvard's books and scientific instruments. Books and donations were offered by friends of the college to replace its collections. An eccentric Englishman, Thomas Hollis V of Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, (great-nephew of one of the University's early benefactors), began shipping thousands of specially chosen volumes to the University Library. Hollis continued to send books regularly until his death in 1774 and he also bequeathed £500 for a fund to continue buying books. This became Harvard's first endowed
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
book fund, and is still actively increasing the collections every year. HOLLIS, the bacronym for Harvard Library's online catalog
OPAC
An Online Public Access Catalog is an online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries...
, "Harvard On-Line Library Information System", is named after him.
Some of the books have been digitized within the Google Books Library Project. which was begun as a project developed with leadership and oversight by former Director Sidney Verba
Sidney Verba
Sidney Verba is an American political scientist, librarian and library administrator. His academic interests are mainly American and comparative politics. He was the Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor at Harvard University. He also served Harvard as the director of the Harvard University...
.
Libraries in the Harvard University System
This list covers the Harvard College libraries, the Faculty of Arts and Science libraries, and the libraries of other Harvard faculties. In addition, Harvard University has a large number of special libraries, house libraries, and affiliated libraries.Buildings of the Harvard College Library
Special and Departmental libraries in the Harvard College Library
|
|
Libraries of other Harvard faculties
|
Librarians
17th c.- Solomon StoddardSolomon StoddardSolomon Stoddard was the pastor of the Congregationalist Church in Northampton, MA. He succeeded the Rev. Eleazer Mather, marrying his widow around 1670...
, 1667-1672 - Samuel Sewall, 1674
- Daniel Gookin, 1674-1676, 1679-1681
- Daniel Allin, 1676-1679
- John Cotton, 1681-1690
- Henry Newman, 1690-1693
- Ebenezer Pemberton, 1693-1697
- Nathaniel Saltonstall, 1697-1701
18th c.
- Anthony Stoddard, 1701-1702
- Josiah Willard, 1702-1703
- John Whiting, 1703-1706
- John Gore, 1706-1707
- Nathaniel Gookin, 1707-1709
- Edward HolyokeEdward HolyokeEdward Holyoke was an early American clergyman, and the 9th President of Harvard College.-Background:Edward Holyoke was the son of a wealthy and influential businessman, Elizur Holyoke Jr, who held several local town offices and served in the legislature...
, 1709-1712 - Thomas Robie, 1712-1713
- John Denison, 1713-1714
- John Rogers, 1714-1718
- William Welsteed, 1718-1720
- William Cooke, 1720-1721
- Joshua Gee, 1721-1722
- Mitchell Sewall, 1722-1723
- John HancockJohn Hancock, Jr.John Hancock, Jr. was a colonial American clergyman and father of politician John Hancock. Hancock was born in Lexington, Massachusetts to Reverend John Hancock, Sr. He graduated from Harvard College in 1719, and served as a librarian there from 1723 to 1726...
, 1723-1726 - Stephen Sewall, 1726-1728
- Joseph Champney, 1728-1729
- Joseph Pynchon, 1729-1730
- Henry Gibbs, 1730-1734
- Samuel Coolidge, 1734-1735
- James Diman, 1735-1737
- Samuel Cooke, 1737
- Thomas Marsh, 1737-1741
- Belcher Hancock, 1741-1742
- Benjamin Prat, 1742-1743
- Matthew Cushing, 1743-1748
- Oliver Peabody, 1748-1750
- Stephen Badger, 1751-1753
- John Rand, 1753-1755
- Mather BylesMather Byles (loyalist)Mather Byles II , was a Congregational clergyman at New London, Connecticut until 1768. In 1768 he entered the Established Church, and became rector of Christ Church, Boston....
, 1755-1757 - Elizur Holyoke, 1757-1758
- Edward Brooks, 1758-1760
- Samuel Deane, 1760-1762
- Stephen Sewall, 1762-1763
- Andrew Eliot, 1763-1767
- Jonathan Moore, 1767-1768
- Nathaniel Ward, 1768
- Caleb Prentice, 1768-1769
- William Mayhew, 1769-1772
- James Winthrop, 1772-1787
- Isaac Smith, 1787-1791
- Thaddeus Mason HarrisThaddeus Mason HarrisThaddeus Mason Harris was a Harvard librarian, Unitarian minister and author in the early 19th Century. Probably his most noted book was A Natural History of the Bible published in 1821....
, 1787, 1791-1793 - Samuel Shapleigh, 1793-1800
19th c.
- Sidney WillardSidney WillardSidney Willard was a Massachusetts academic and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, on the Massachusetts Governor's Council and as the second Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts....
, 1800-1805 - Peter Nourse, 1805-1808
- Samuel Cooper Thacher, 1808-1811
- John Lovejoy Abbot, 1811-1813
- Andrews NortonAndrews NortonAndrews Norton was an American preacher and theologian. Along with William Ellery Channing, he was the leader of mainstream Unitarianism of the early and middle 19th century....
, 1813-1821 - Joseph Green Cogswell, 1821-1823
- Charles Folsom, 1823-1826
- Benjamin Peirce, 1826-1831
- Thaddeus William Harris, 1831-1856
- John Langdon SibleyJohn Langdon SibleyJohn Langdon Sibley was a longtime librarian of Harvard University.Sibley received his undergraduate education from Harvard and then studied at Harvard Divinity School. From 1829-1833 he was a pastor in Stow, Massachusetts. He then went to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he worked as a magazine...
, 1856-1877
Further reading
- "History of the Library." In The Library of Harvard University: Descriptive and Historical Notes, 4th ed., 12-35. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934.
- Carpenter, Kenneth E. The First 350 Years of the Harvard University Library: Description of an Exhibition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.
- Bond, W. H. and Hugh Amory, eds. The Printed Catalogues of the Harvard College Library, 1723-1790. Boston: The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1996.