St. Thomas More will browse for used hardcovers in the subterranean caverns of the Church St. Bookstore, after his own store-the Thomas More Bookshop on Holyoke St.-closes following Harvard University's refusal to renew its lease.

Reading International on Brattle St. was a haven for Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as they wrote the famous anthem. Paperback Booksmith, which is "dedicated to the fine art of browsing," is the Bermuda Triangle of Brattle Square-people don't buy books there, they just disappear.

Syivia Plath hung out at the Grolier Bookstore on Plympton St. and enjoyed its extensive poetry collection until her untimely death-by-suicide off the store's front steps.

Everyone else goes to The Coop.

Libraries

So you've already heard how many millions of volumes Harvard boasts. But did you know the University has 97 libraries? Only if you are extraordinarily myopic will you spend all your studying time in Lamont. Harvard libraries can be some of the most relaxing and stimulating preserves in Cambridge-you just have to know where to look.

Widener is the granddaddy of the system. Like Bloomingdale's, it sports a lot of everything, but finding it takes the perseverance of-well-a scholar. The ten floors of dark and musty stacks are reminiscent of catacombs, but at the same time the crumbling tomes inspire a rather stately awe. The basement floors are always cool, and despite rumors to the contrary, there are no ghosts of moth-eaten professors still trying to find their way out.

Pusey Library, connected underground to Widener and Lamont, keeps hours many bankers would envy, but if you don't mind studying on sunny afternoons, it is a workaholic's paradise. Even whispers echo loudly there, where the most jarring noise you may hear all day may be a soft footstep on the carpet. And it's beautifully air-conditioned.

Lamont is the standard undergraduate library where most books are kept on reserve. But beware: it is stuffy, squeaky and conducive to conversation by would-be students too bored to stare at books. If you insist on studying here, check out the Farnsworth Room on the fifth floor.

Science types congregate in Cabot Library in the Science Center. Cabot is air-conditioned. But Cabot has a dual personality unique among Harvard libraries-it either blasts you with intense pre-meds, whose doggedness is frightening, or it lulls you to sleep within a half hour.

On the more esoteric side are the smaller specialty libraries. Tozzer Library, on Divinity Ave., caters to anthropology students. Lack of funding prevents it from staying open any later than 9-to-5 Monday through Friday, but its overstuffed chairs attract a crowd anyway. The history library in Robinson Hall and the philosophy library in Emerson are cozy and quiet like a well-stocked den, but they may get hot this summer when the breeze dies down.

Among graduate school libraries, Andover Library at the Divinity School is worth the trek if you really want to avoid humanity-in the older section of its stacks you may be the only person on the floor for hours on end. At the Education School's Gutman Library the walls are as brightly colored as a modern elementary school's, but the chairs are comfy. If you own a briefcase you'll look like everyone else at Baker Library at the Business School, but a number of undergraduates swear by it. The Public Affairs Library at the Kennedy School of Government is best for lounging and reading newspapers.

House libraries can be excellent spots for long-range study, especially since you can (almost permanently) leave your books and memorabilia lying around in a pigpen sprawl. Leverett has the most handsome library, but it may get stuffy, and both it and Winthrop House boast bottomless cushioned chairs. For chugging on late at night. House libraries are your best bet.

If however, you hit the point you'll be sick if you lay eyes on another Harvard library, there is escape. The Boston Public Library (Copley Square on the Green Line) is immense, and you won't find many Harvard types hanging around there.

Summer Hours: