哈佛的图书馆

If we compare professors and students to the host of a university， then the library of a university can be compared to the hallway. The quality of a university， to some extent， is in direct proportion to that of its library. At Harvard， the library is an indispensible part of everybodys life. Both the quantity and the quality of the library make study an enjoyable process.

Harvard Library is not only the most ancient library in the United States， but the largest university library with the largest scale. In 1638 John Harvard donated his whole library to the then Harvard College. After more than 300 years of development， the library now holds over 15 millions of books and comprises more than 100 branch libraries. In addition to the libraries owned by each school， there are special libraries. While most of the branch libraries are on Harvard campus， some are as far as in Washington， DC， or even in Florence of Italy. Yenching Library is famous for its collections of East Asian literature. Lamont Library is the first library in the world that is exclusively for undergraduates. Widener Library is the largest library in Harvard.

What deserves to be mentioned is the system or rather the service of the libraries. Usually the libraries are open from 9 am to 5 pm. The main libraries are open until 10 pm. The libraries for undergraduates will even be open all night during the examination period. The libraries also provide students with the service of preparing reading materials for all courses. At the beginning of a semester， each teacher will give a list of books to the librarians. The librarians are responsible to find out these books and put them at the places where students can easily find them.

There is no limitation for the number of books that students can borrow. As the space for the library is limited， many books are stored in suburban library. Despite this， students can go to fetch the book at the appointed library within 24 hours after they submit request for that book. Even if there is only one book to be fetched from the suburban library， the libraries on campus will send someone to do the job. This kind of service which put readers in the first place is rare even in Ivy League. Therefore， study at Harvard will be an enjoyable experience.

如果把教授和學生比作一所大学的主人，那么大学的图书馆就是门厅。一所大学的质量在一定程度上与其图书馆的质量成正比。在哈佛大学，图书馆是每个人生活中不可或缺的一部分。图书馆的数量和质量都让在哈佛的学习成为一个享受的过程。

哈佛大学图书馆不仅是美国最古老的图书馆，而且是世界上藏书最多、规模最大的大学图书馆。1638年，约翰·哈佛把他的藏书都捐给了当时的哈佛学院。经过300多年的发展，图书馆目前拥有1500多万册藏书，设有100多个分馆。哈佛大学不仅每个学院都有自己的图书馆，还有各类专业图书馆。虽然大部分分馆都在哈佛大学校内，但也有一些远在首都华盛顿，甚至在意大利的佛罗伦萨也有分馆。燕京图书馆以其东亚文献收藏而闻名。拉蒙特图书馆是世界上第一所本科生专用的图书馆。怀德纳图书馆是哈佛最大的图书馆。

值得一提的是各图书馆的体系，或者确切地说是服务。通常图书馆的开放时间是从早上9点到下午5点。主要的图书馆闭馆时间延迟到晚上10点，本科生专用的图书馆在考试期间则通宵开放。图书馆还为学生提供所有课程的阅读材料。在新学期开始时，任课教师会给图书馆一个书单。图书管理员负责找出这些书，并把书放在便于学生查找的地方。

学生借书没有限量。因为图书馆空间有限，很多书都存放在郊外的藏书库。尽管如此，学生在提交索要某本书的申请后的24小时内就可以到指定的图书馆取书。即使只有一本书需要从郊外的藏书库提取，校内的图书馆也会派人去取。这种读者至上的服务即使在常春藤盟校也是极为难得的。因此，在哈佛大学学习将会是一次非常愉快的经历。