Gentlemen, Sit Not on Books

Two complaints about the conduct of men in the Library have just come to us. The first of these is that men make too much noise, talking aloud across the tables, and in other ways acting in a disturbing manner. Such men know well enough that the Library is not the place for loud talking; and nothing more than a word ought to be necessary to make them more careful in their behavior. Their actions have arisen from thoughtlessness more then anything else. No such pardonable carelessness, however, can be attributed to the there are not a few of them are anxious to take some popular reference book out overnight. They therefore adopt the plan of coming to the Library earlier in the day, capturing the book they want and hiding it in some safe place. When the time comes for taking reserved books out, they appear and triumphantly bear away the missing volume. Some of these men go so far as to sit on a book all afternoon so as to be sure of having it later on. There is no need of explaining why such practices as these are disgraceful. Inasmuch, however, as some students are not acute enough to see it, it is well to explain to then that no gentleman is carried away so far by zeal for industry as to use these methods of pursuing his studies. The Harvard CRIMSON, March 24, 1981