1871
President Charles W. Eliot explained the purchase of sixteen acres of land in Cambridge as security against the spreading of fires from buildings grouped too close to one another. He believed that all future construction at Harvard should be done in stone. Eliot also expressed the need for fireproof libraries for the Divinity School and the Medical Museum. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Great Boston Fire of 1872 would seem to justify his concerns.401871: The architecture firm Ware and Van Brunt began plans and estimates for an enlargement of Gore Hall. President Eliot believed that Gore Hall’s problems, specifically, overcrowding and dampness, could be solved, and that the building should be kept exactly where it was, since it was safe from the spread of fire.41
1871-1872
For the first time, the Theological Library would be overseen by a non- student. The Faculty hoped that this change would deter book theft. The librarian proceeded to increase the security of the collection.42
1872
For the first time, the Law School Library would be overseen by a non-student. The library was divided into a “working library” for high-demand and reference books, and a “general library” for duplicates and less-used books. Access to the general library required permission. From the 1870s to the 1890s, the library purchased numerous duplicate copies of much-used items and greatly increased the amount of money it spent on binding and repairs. Greater attention was paid to the materials and methods used in binding.43
1875
Books were piled on the floors of Gore Hall. There was not enough space in the library for books, patrons, and employees. Professor Henry Adams and a number of students from the History Department submitted a petition to the Corporation of the College, requesting more space in which to consult books. The petition led to a rearrangement of an area of the library that had previously been filled with exhibit cases.44
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40 Charles W. Eliot, “President’s Report for 1870-1871,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1870-1871 (1872): 30; Charles W. Eliot, “President’s Report for 1871-1872,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1871-1872 (1873): 42; Charles W. Eliot, “President’s Report for 1872-1873,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1872-1873 (1874): 30 and 37-38.
41 Ibid., 40-42.
42 Oliver Stearns, “The Divinity School,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1870- 1871 (1872): 58; Oliver Stearns, “The Divinity School,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1871-1872 (1873): 57-59.
43 C. C. Langdell, “The Law School,” Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year 1870- 1871 (1872): 63-64.
44 Adams is quoted in Robert W. Lovett, “The Undergraduate and the Harvard Library, 1877-1937,” Harvard Library Bulletin 1, no. 2 (1947): 223. See also Charles W. Eliot’s annual reports of this period (in the Annual Report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university).