During the midterm crunch, many students complain about being stuck in the library studying. But only a few can say that they have literally been trapped there.

On Saturday night, a student had a first-hand experience with this scenario when he fell asleep in Lamont library and awoke to find himself locked in the closed building.

The trapped student called the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) at approximately 10:20 p.m. and asked for assistance.

A police unit was then sent and "freed him from the secured building," according to the HUPD blotter.

Lamont closes at 10 p.m. each Saturday.

An employee at the circulation desk said employees check the library from top to bottom before closing for the night. In addition, at closing time a loud bell sounds.

"He must have been out cold," said an attendant, who asked not to be identified.

Another employee said the student must have been in a "coma" to have slept through the bell.

In case students do get stuck overnight, a sign is posted at the front entrance at closing time advising them of what they should do.

"Locked in?," reads the small yellow sign written in red ink.

It advises students to call HUPD and also describes the location of accessible phones in the library.

A Lamont employee said that this was not the first time a student was locked in the building.

A first-year leaving Lamont yesterday said that she usually does not study in Lamont because she often falls asleep while studying.

"It's too warm in there," she said