In addition to the residential fellows, CHS and its library welcome a number of visitors throughout the year, scholars who may or may not be affiliated with Harvard. As the CHS library is a small and highly specialized library (ancient Greece, especially ancient Greek philology, philosophy, and history), visiting researchers, so called readers, must fill out an application form detailing their research needs to offer reasonable grounds for access to this library as opposed to the many larger and less specialized libraries in the area (for a list of academic and research libraries in DC, click here).
Eligibility
- Current Harvard faculty, fellows, and students.
- Former CHS fellows.
- External scholars, including partners of residential fellows, who are presently engaged in a specific research project which the strengths of the CHS library collection can support, especially if providing titles of books at the CHS that cannot be found in other D.C.-area libraries, such as the Library of Congress.
Once approved as a reader, a CHS ID card will be issued which allows readers to use the library as often or as little as they choose during the library’s opening hours, M-F 9:00 am-5:00 pm, without having to notify the CHS. The gate at 3100 Whitehaven St. is open during those hours; once you arrive at the front door, please ring the doorbell to be let in until you have been issued a library card which allows you to swipe a card reader to open the door.
Library Hours
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. except for federal and staff holidays when the library is closed.
Contacts
Rebecka Lindau, chief librarian
rlindau@fas.harvard.edu
Sophie Boisseau, cataloguer
boisseau@chs.harvard.edu
Allison Thornton, library assistant
athornton@fas.harvard.edu
Caroline Snodgress, student assistant
cmsnod@umd.edu
Access to Harvard Libraries
CHS residential fellows have access to all Harvard libraries, also in Cambridge.
Plan your visit in advance.
To gain entry to the Widener Library, you will need to obtain a physical Harvard ID card issued by the university’s ID office. The CHS ID card will not suffice.
You must visit the ID Services office on the eighth floor of the Smith Campus Center at 1350 Massachusetts Ave (a two-minute walk from Widener Library). You will need to bring a government-issued identification (a U.S. driver’s license or a passport). The office will then print an ID card, which will allow you to enter Widener without difficulty, but note that it can take up to two hours for the magnetic strip in the card to start working.
Please note that the ID Services office is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. You should plan accordingly.
For example, it might be a good idea for you to travel to Cambridge on a Friday morning, get your ID card, stay the weekend and spend Saturday and Sunday at Widener. Please note the library’s open hours: 9am-7pm on Fridays, 9am-5pm on Saturdays, and 12 noon-8 pm on Sundays; all other days it is open 9am-10pm. However, if you also plan to visit, for example, the Houghton Library, note that this library is closed on the weekends so in that case, you may want to travel on a Thursday or another weekday.
- For special items, you can submit your request directly via HOLLIS Special Request.
- In the HOLLIS record of the item sought, look for access options and click “Request to copy or visit“. This will bring you to the HOLLIS Special Request system, which will populate with the item details from HOLLIS. Log in or create an account and submit your request. If there is no request option, contact the holding library directly.
- After submitting your request, you must separately make a reading room appointment to view the materials. The library that holds the materials will have details on their reading room location and appointment process, find the library here.
Read about accessing the Harvard libraries.
Read about how to use special collections.
Read about how to request special items.
General Collection
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday, 9:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Special Collection
The hours to consult special collections at DO after an appointment has been given are: Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m., 1:30–4:30 p.m.
To request to examine special items such as a manuscript or a rare book, you need to go through the HOLLIS system.
To place a request for special collections materials through the Harvard library catalog, HOLLIS, click “Request to Copy or Visit” in the “Get It” section of the catalog record. You will be prompted to log in to your HOLLIS Special Request account. When you have logged in, the request form will be populated for you. You must click Submit to complete your request.