Video: Ned Brown and Joe Sherman/Harvard Staff

Campus & Community

Ode to a venerable library

1 min read

Widener, a center of Harvard life and learning, turns 100

Narrated by John Lithgow ’67, this visual love letter to libraries celebrates books and those who watch over them while marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, Harvard’s flagship library.

Built with a gift from Eleanor Elkins Widener, the library is a memorial to her son, Harry, Class of 1907, an enthusiastic young bibliophile who perished aboard the Titanic. Today, his legacy constitutes the heart of the vast Harvard system of more than 70 libraries that support research, teaching, learning, and innovation.

On June 19, 2015 the Harvard Library will celebrate the Widener centennial with a community event.