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Police Ban Cole From Libraries

A former Levenson Teaching Award recipient is the target of a University police investigation and has been banned from Harvard's libraries.

A written to checkers at several University libraries was observed by three Crimson reporters this week.

The one-page memo, taped to the desk at the main entrances of Lamont and Widener Libraries, features a color photograph of William Cole, a teaching fellow in Literature and Arts A-21, "The Literary Mind of the Middle Ages."

Cole has been banned from Harvard libraries, the July 14 letter says, adding that a "no trespass" warning has been issued against him.

It does not explain why Cole has been banned from the library.

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The letter warns that Cole may still carry in unexplored identification card, and that checkers "need not deal with him directly but should contact the Harvard University Police immediately."

The memo instructs checkers to contact three high-ranking police officials in particular--Lt. John F. Rooney, Sgt. Kathleen M. Stanford and Sgt. Lawrence J. Fennelly.

Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said earlier this week that there is an "ongoing investigation" of Cole.

"Mr. Cole has been identified as a person whohad considerable problems in other libraries,"Johnson said.

Pressed further, Johnson said that there "havebeen problems documented with other agencies,including our own and other libraries in thearea."

A security official at the Cambridge PublicLibrary said he had never heard of Cole and hadreceived no notice from University police.

Johnson declined to specify the problemsinvolving Cole.

Sending directives with pictures is used "mostoften for people who are more of an annoyance" inlibraries.

Asked if that was the nature of Cole's problem,Johnson replied, "That's not what I said."

Johnson said that distributing a letter is "amethod we use quite often."

But library security officer John Reillydisputed that.

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