Leaders and members of HUCTW, which represents many of the workers in Harvard libraries, expressed concern that staff cuts would be counterproductive to the efforts to improve the library. Reductions would result in negative effects on the quality of cataloging and other services, the union argued in an open letter to the Harvard community released in March.

“There is only one effective approach to such a major reorganizational effort: the process needs to be transparent and participatory,” HUCTW leaders wrote. “If the cautionary cries of library staff about severe understanding and quality concerns are not heard and heeded, the Harvard Library Transition will not be successful.”

In an emailed statement to The Crimson, Senior Associate Provost for the Harvard Library Mary Lee Kennedy said that the library has and will continue to meet with library workers, faculty members, and administrators to talk about the library’s services and needs. University Librarian Robert C. Darnton ’60 declined to comment for this article.

ZEROS AND ONES

The library reform, of course, is not just about cuts. Whereas many of the old features of the library will be consolidated, Harvard plans to expand its digitalization efforts as it strives to establish a new information collection system for a 21st-century library.

“Any smart library really needs to think about this carefully,” said Brett Bobley, who serves as director of the Office of Digital Humanities at the National Endowment for the Humanities. “What we’re seeing is the way the library customers consume information is dramatically changing. Some people think of a library as a place to get books. I think of it as a place to get information.”

In 2011, Harvard joined the HathiTrust, an organization of more than 60 library partners that manages a virtual collection of 10.3 million digitized volumes and spurs institutions to share digital information.

And for the last year and a half, Harvard has been a central leader in the Digital Public Library of America, an initiative to make a massive online library that will strive to host every book ever printed.

But some professors said that they still have a preference for printed materials. “It’s not information for me—it’s books,” said English professor Joseph C. Harris. “Digital stuff just disappears, whereas print is just there.”

He said derisively that digital materials would be central to the libraries of the rapidly approaching future. “The 21st-century library is something like a cafe where you bring your laptop,” he said.

Jaeger said that some proposed technological innovations, such as automated checkout, were not cutting-edge or particularly exciting for workers. And many workers and other community members have been wary of technological change that is either too quick or too dramatic.

“I don’t think the community wants to see a massive shift in investment to digitized holdings if the only way that could be accomplished is laying waste to the bricks-and-mortar part of the operation,” Jaeger said.

SHARING IS CARING

As the volume of scholarly materials in the world forever increases, universities have found that space and resources limit their ability to offer their patrons access to the resources they expect. As a result, many academic libraries are pursuing collaborative efforts like the HathiTrust.

In recognition of this trend, the 21st-century library should facilitate increased collaboration, Leonard said.