Loker Donates $17M Earmarked For Widener Use

After a tour of Widener Library and its famous stacks last Friday, Katherine B. Loker, who had previously donated $10 million for Loker Commons, decided to help out the Harvard libraries.

In a speech addressing the Committee on University Resources (COUR) at the ARCO Forum on Saturday morning, COUR Chair Robert G. Stone Jr. '45 announced that Mrs. Loker had donated $17 million for the Harvard libraries.

Although the University Capital Campaign has raised $1.8 billion of its $2.1 billion goal and is nine months and $180 million ahead of schedule, the library fund had been lagging behind. Of the four campaign funds, the library fund was furthest behind with just 40 percent of its goal.

"Mrs. Loker's gift is such a shot in the arm for our great goals for Widener. I don't ordinarily get $17 million every weekend; I am overjoyed," said Sidney Verba '53, director of the Harvard University Library and Pforzheimer University Professor.

"Katherine Loker's stunning new gift gives [Widener] Library a wonderful boost," said Dean of FAS Jeremy R. Knowles. "This takes a great stride towards funding the Widener renovation project, which has a very high priority for us."

Part of the massive expense of renovations at Widener can be attributed to the unique structure of the Widener stacks. The stacks exist as free-standing structures which literally act as towers of books, making it difficult to install climate-control systems.

This feature of the stacks has left them susceptible to the wild fluctuations of New England weather, ranging from humid summers to freezing winters.

In his 1998 annual letter to the Faculty, Knowles estimated that an average lowering of the library temperature by ten centigrade degrees would double the life of the collections. In a recent survey, nearly three out of four of Harvard's folios dating form 1800 to 1950 were declared "embrittled."

"In broad terms, we know what needs to be done: the stacks must be equipped with sprinklers and made safe against fire, and all areas of the library must be climate-controlled to slow the deterioration of our printed collections," Knowles wrote in the letter.

Although renovation may begin within a year, the entire process will take one to two years. However, Widener will not close its doors.

"We are determined to keep Widener open. We are dedicated to [keeping Widener] as a central location for research and we do not have a place to put nearly three and half million books," Verba said.

"We don't anticipate any section closed down; a request [for a book] will be filled in an hour. However, what noise will happen and when, we don't know," said Nancy M. Cline, head librarian for Harvard libraries.

During Loker's tour of Widener with Verba, Cline and President Neil L. Rudenstine, she saw the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Room and the large reading room along with the stacks.

"She had a curiosity on how students and faculty used the library. She was very observant and very astute," Cline said of Loker's tour.

"The gift is symbolic because she tried to make student life more pleasant [with Loker Commons] and now she is focusing onthe quality of intellectual life," Verba said."Lots of people give money to the University; shetried to find out where money is needed for theover-all mission of the University."

Although Widener had received some renovationsin the past which focused on a new roof and thewindows, the interior of the building has notreceived any recent makeovers.

Vera also indicated that possible renovationswould include attempts to make Widener moreuser-friendly. Along with better lighting and morelap top outlets, more space will be created forstudent study.

Loker, who could not be reached for commentyesterday, is the widow of Donald P. Loker '25

Although Widener had received some renovationsin the past which focused on a new roof and thewindows, the interior of the building has notreceived any recent makeovers.

Vera also indicated that possible renovationswould include attempts to make Widener moreuser-friendly. Along with better lighting and morelap top outlets, more space will be created forstudent study.

Loker, who could not be reached for commentyesterday, is the widow of Donald P. Loker '25