We are building an infrastructure and a community that will bring ideas to light and people together—making innovation an integral property of the Harvard Library.
The goal of the Harvard Library Innovation Initiative is to continuously improve the products and services for students, faculty and researchers who rely on and benefit from the Harvard Library. Learn more about our experimental projects and new initiatives.
Topics
Gesture-Based Technologies
Libraries across Harvard are experimenting with a variety of interactive, gesture-based technologies. Learn more!
Read and Ride BikeShare
Need a bike? The Law School Library, HLS Sustainability and the HLS Green Living Program have joined forces to bring you Read & Ride BikeShare! Check out any of the 4 bikes in our fleet using your HLS ID card at the Library Circulation Desk. Learn more!
Cooper the Therapy Dog
Meet Cooper, Countway Library's therapy dog! His Hollis record indicates his publication date as 2007, subject headings include:
- Antidepressive Agents
- Anti-Anxiety Agents
- Animal Assisted Therapy
Inscriptio
Web based system that allows patrons to apply online in real-time for study carrels. Learn more!
Audio Tours
Adventures in the Explorers Garden is an audio tour through Arnold Arboretum's living collection. You can find the podcast and accompanying map in iTunes. Learn more!
Borrow a Hissing Cockroach?
Need some relaxation but can't get an appointment with Cooper the Therapy Dog? Come to the Ernst Mayr Library, borrow a hissing cockroach container, put it on one of the comfortable desks in the Library or your office, and watch the action (there won't be much) while you read or study. Offerings of bits of banana or other soft fruits are gratefully accepted, and will probably be rewarded by a view of gourmet dining cockroach-style. Don't they look pretty when they have just molted? Learn more!
Open Reserves
At the Fine Arts Library, course reserves are on display for self-service and student browsing. Books are organized by faculty name and course number, for easy perusal and re-shelving. A uniquely tactile view into course offerings.
Awesome Box
Return an amazing or useful item it to the Awesome Box instead of the normal drop box. That item gets recorded as Awesome so the community can see what others have found helpful, entertaining, or mind-blowing. Learn more!
Highbrow
An experimental "genome browser" for literary texts. It is an html5-based visualization tool that plots the density of scholarly references or other annotations (such as pattern matches results or arbitrary scores) from multiple sources onto literary works. Learn more!
Uncle Christopher's Bathroom Reader
Folks over in the Law School have found a captive audience for their fun and informative monthly reader. Learn more!
Top Ten Things...
Top Ten Things Graduate Students Should Know About Using the Libraries at Harvard! Fifth-year grad student in the department of English Chris Barrett shares hints, tips, and smart advice about using the libraries at Harvard. Learn more!
Unpacking My Library
A look at the collection of books once owned by Tsurumi Shunsuke (b. 1922), Japanese philosopher and former Harvard College student (Class of 1942), now held at the Harvard-Yenching Library. Learn more!
Announcements + Bibliography
At the Graduate School of Design, they are associating in person appearances with related library materials. Included in emails announcing authors or architect events are links to related Hollis records.
QR Codes in the Library
A pilot project to deploy Quick Response (“QR”) codes in the library to provide links to research guides via mobile devices. Learn more!
