“It’s not something we would want to do twice in a lifetime, but it was a success, and it’s a great gift back to Harvard,” she said.

Cine said at the rededication that the renovation’s improvements brought important technological advances to the library.

“We now have a building with technology which keeps up with the way students and faculty are working,” she said.

Dareema Jenkins ’05, a Widener employee since her freshman year, helped Matthew D. Gibson ’05 and donor Katherine B. Loker cut the ceremonial ribbon adorning the front entrance.

Jenkins said she calls the renovated stacks “my home.”

“I spent more time in the library stacks than on assignments—it’s a great place to be,” she said.

—Staff writer Risheng Xu can be reached at xu4@fas.harvard.edu.