logoAbout HCL

About the Harvard College Library

Founded in 1638, Harvard has a rich legacy of libraries that continues into the 21st century.  In total there are over 70 libraries at Harvard that comprise the Harvard library system, with combined holdings of over 16 million items. More than 11 million of those items are part of the collection of a centrally administered unit within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that is referred to as the Harvard College Library (HCL). It is comprised of Cabot Science, Fine Arts, Fung, Harvard-Yenching, Houghton, Lamont , Pusey (Harvard Map Collection, Harvard Theatre Collection), Loeb Music, Tozzer and Widener libraries and the Harvard Film Archive.

At present HCL employs over 600 staff members including nearly 250 professional librarians and administrators and over 300 library support staff.  We also employ over 500 Harvard students. 

HCL includes major collections in the sciences, fine arts, music, humanities, film, maps, theatre, government documents, and rare books and manuscripts.  The collection also includes materials in over 100 languages.  We provide library services to the faculty and students of Harvard as well as the world-wide community of scholars and researchers.

Office of the Librarian

Office of the Librarian
Widener Library, Room 110
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
617-495-2401

Hours
9 am–5 pm, Monday–Friday

Nancy M. Cline, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, is responsible for the leadership and administration of the major libraries and numerous departmental and specialized libraries within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). The Librarian is assisted by Susan Fliss, Associate Librarian for Research, Teaching, and Learning ; Rebecca Graham, Associate Librarian for Preservation, Digitization, and Administrative Services; Dan Hazen, Associate Librarian for Collection Development; and Marilyn Wood, Associate Librarian for Collection Management. In addition to their organization-wide responsibilities, the HCL Administration also oversees and coordinates the departmental activities of Widener Library, including Access Services, Collection Development, Research Services, and Harvard College Library Technical Services.

Development Office

Working out of the Office of the Librarian, the Development Office directs the fundraising and external relations programs in the Harvard College Library and the Harvard University Library in support of the library's mission of serving scholarship at Harvard. This work is achieved through careful coordination with the University Development Office and encompasses identification, cultivation, and solicitation of donors, acknowledgements, ongoing stewardship, including reports on purchases and other activities of each fund, and the donor listing in the annual report.

In addition to ongoing work with donors and other University development staff, Development also works with librarians and bibliographers to find funding for all types of library needs, organizes development events, gives donor tours, and processes gifts, pledges, and paperwork for gifts of tangible property.

Peggy Molander, Director of Development
E-mail
617-495-8062

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HCL Committees

The HCL committee structure is designed to provide opportunities for broad staff participation and leadership development, and to increase coordination and collaboration of program planning across HCL. 

Similar to the University Library Council (ULC) committee structure, the HCL plan includes coordinating committees, standing committees, working groups, and affinity groups. 

Membership for all committees and groups comes from across HCL, and generally rotates yearly to allow broader participation among staff.  Some members’ terms may be staggered to ensure continuity of work. 

Coordinating Committees represent broad programmatic areas and are responsible for strategic planning and high level policy recommendation.  Reporting to the Senior Management Council, they are composed primarily of senior level staff and are chaired by a member of the Senior Management Council.  The coordinating committees will appoint and oversee a subset of related groups (standing, work, affinity) within their purview.

HCL Coordinating Committees include: Circulation, Privileges, and Interlibrary Loan (CPILL); Collections and Content; Collection Management; Metadata and Reporting; Research, Education, and Outreach (REO); and Virtual Presence (VPCC). Additional information about the committees is avilable to the Harvard Community on the HCL Committees web site.

Standing Committees are permanent committees that do high level work focusing on a particular issue of import to the Library. 

Working Groups are comparable to task forces in that they focus on a very specific topic and can have a finite lifespan.  Both standing committees and working groups are appointed by and report to a coordinating committee. 

Affinity Groups sponsor informal gatherings for individuals who have common library-related interests with a focus on library-wide communication and professional development.  Membership is open to the community and the group facilitators are appointed by the affiliated coordinating or standing committee.

Three existing committees, Joint Council, Ergonomics Committee, and the Local Emergency Management Team (LEMT) will continue to report to the Office of the Librarian. Minutes and reports of the former Collection Management Council and the Research and Access Services Council are available to HCL staff.


HCL Senior Management Council Members

Nancy Cline, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College
Susan Fliss, Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Research, Teaching, and Learning
Rebecca Graham, Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Preservation, Digitization, and Administrative Services
Dan Hazen, Associate Librarian for Collection Development
Marilyn Wood, Associate Librarian for Collection Management
Anna Anctil, Interim Director of Human Resource Services
Paul Bellenoit, Director of Operations/Security
Beth Brainard, Director of Communications
James Cheng, Librarian of Harvard-Yenching Library
Karen DeBerio, Interim Director of Financial Services
Laura Farwell-Blake, Interim Head of Research Services
Virginia Danielson, Richard F. French Librarian of Loeb Music Library
Elizabeth Johnson, Chief of Staff for the Librarian of Harvard College, Office of the Librarian
Cheryl McGrath, Head of Widener Access Services
Kathy Martinez, Herman and Joan Suit Librarian of the Fine Arts Library
Jan Merrill-Oldham, Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian in the University and the College Library
Peggy Molander, Director of Development
Deb Morley, Director of Information Technology Services
Lynne Schmelz, Librarian of the Sciences and Librarian of Cabot and Tozzer Libraries
Martin Schreiner, Interim Librarian of Lamont Library and Head of Research Services and Media
William Stoneman, Florence Fearrington Librarian of Houghton Library

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