Fasci-ism at Lamont

For a Harvard student, leaving the library is a painful process, akin to that of the junkie saying goodbye to his final fix. But it used to be that the only obstacles between Lamont’s fluorescent corridors and a good night’s rest were that Ec midterm you hadn’t studied for or the English reading you hadn’t yet attempted. Now there’s also James Fasci, a recently hired Allied-Barton employee with a bold new vision for library security.

Before Fasci, leaving Lamont meant passing bags and books through a perfunctory once-over. Things have changed. For James Fasci, bag-checking is an art. He methodically inspects every compartment of every bag to ensure nothing slips past. He religiously checks each cover of a book even if it bears no library markings, or has a prominently displayed Coop price tag still attached. He removes the face from every calculator, just in case someone is trying to elope with a business card or slip of stolen printer paper.

And he takes his time. Slowly, the line of would-be Lamont emigrants grows until it stretches far back from the security desk to the main reading room, and those queuing become restless. “Time is money,” exclaimed Sangu J. Delle ’10 on Wednesday night, “and he owes me.” Ashia C. Wlson ’11 was baffled: “I don’t understand what we’re going to steal.”

In fact, nearly everyone stuck in line late Wednesday seemed perplexed. How many would-be kleptomaniacs does Fasci think he is going to catch? Does he know that there is an electronic gate that beeps if you take an unauthorized library book through it? Does he realize that you can’t fit many stolen goods under a calculator face? A rebellious spirit infused the air as students distributed pieces of paper encouraging inconvenienced peers to complain to Heather E. Cole, Lamont’s Head Librarian. Even the powerful weighed in on the scene, as UC Vice President Matthew L. Sundquist ’09 expressed his hope that “we can all resolve the lines.”

Fasci, on the other hand, who has only been on the job for a few weeks, claims there’s nothing that remarkable about his searching style: “It’s not a new search policy. That’s the policy on which we’re trained; I’ve been instructed to follow it.” (Just taking orders, eh? We’ve heard that one before, Mr. Fasci-ism). I also asked him whether anyone has ever successfully escaped with an un-checked-out book: “It’s happened more than once,” he claims.

Sometimes, situations are nuanced and delicate, and one should wait before passing judgment. But sometimes, irrationality and bureaucratic inefficiency stare you in the face so directly that there is no need to think twice. There is no justification for a security system worthy of Logan Airport in a college library. So Heather Cole, Dave Pilbeam, Drew Faust, and anyone else that might be listening: I’ll let a Beverage Authorization Team follow me wherever I go, but please let me leave my library in peace.



Daniel E. Herz-Roiphe ’10, a Crimson editorial editor, lives in Adams House.