On Sept. 3, 2024, Langdell Hall’s iconic Reading Room reopened after being closed since mid-May.
While it was closed, the Reading Room – which spans the length of the building at 480 feet (longer than a standard American football field) – was refreshed with a new coat of paint, a deep carpet cleaning, and three new waste stations [more information below]. The room’s massive chandeliers were cleaned, their bulbs changed from incandescent to LED lighting (in line with HLS’ goal of being a green institution), and the ceiling braces were inspected for safety.
The Reading Room was last renovated in 1996 when the impressive chandeliers – each made of 700 pounds of glass and metal – were installed to improve the lighting in the room. In fact, the room had a history of being one of Harvard’s “poorly lit libraries” mentioned by President Barack Obama (HLS ’91) in his memoir.
The retrofit put into motion a long line of processes that began with hiring an international fine arts company to determine what items in the room could be covered and what needed to be removed during the project. The professionals handled the packaging, moving, storing (and ultimate return and reinstallation) of eight portraits and three busts. The bookcases and their contents remained and were covered during the project.
To accomplish this enormous undertaking, a team specializing in building large scale specialized scaffolding was brought in. Throughout the summer, the mammoth staging structures were erected over the existing bookcases, then disassembled and erected again just a few yards away – each time moving slowly and deliberately like animated dinosaurs stepping over buildings as they make their way through a fictional city.
After each scaffold was built, a team of experts from New Hampshire was brought in to retrofit each chandelier. And then the process started again. The project took all summer to complete but the Reading Room has now reopened and is brighter than ever!
Reading Room has new waste stations
Out with old trash bins, in with new waste stations
The recently refreshed Reading Room has been equipped with three new waste stations – one at each end of the Reading Room, and one by the center double doors – there are no longer trash bins at each table.
Having waste stations in central locations means the Reading Room stays cleaner, which will help keep insects and rodents away.
We ask that you be mindful if eating or drinking in the Reading Room. Spills can also cause stains or even mold and mildew which can quickly damage our collections.
https://hls.harvard.edu/amicus-libris/reading-room-is-refreshed-and-reopened/