About the Harvard University Library

The Harvard University Library is the system of more than 70 libraries that provides comprehensive access to Harvard's library holdings across the boundaries of individual faculties and disciplines. The University Library is also a department of the University's central administration through which the libraries collaborate in the areas of digital acquisitions and collections, information technology, high-density storage, and preservation.

n

Harvard's Islamic Heritage Project Is Now Online
December 18, 2009
Through a new collaboration among Islamic-studies scholars, librarians, and curators, Harvard University has cataloged, conserved, and digitized Islamic manuscripts, maps, and published texts from its renowned library and museum collections. The result is a new online collection comprising more than 145,000 digital pages available to Internet users everywhere. Entitled the Islamic Heritage Project, or IHP, the collection is made possible with generous support from Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Full story >>

n

British Library's Helen Shenton Is HUL's New Deputy Director
December 11, 2009
Robert Darnton, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the University Library, has appointed Helen Shenton, the head of collection care for the British Library, as the deputy director of the Harvard University Library. "This is a vital appointment made at a crucial time in the history of the Harvard Libraries," Darnton says. Full story >>

n

Report of the Provost's Task Force on University Libraries
November 12, 2009
"Our collections are superlative, and our knowledgeable library staff are central to the success of the University's mission. The way the system operates, however, is placing terrible strain on the libraries and the people who work within them." Access the full report (PDF) >>

n

Read Library Notes Online
Read the latest issue of Harvard University Library Notes online. Or explore back issues of the publication, from 1999 to the present. Current issue >>