Videos of student projects from Jeffrey Schnapp's "Library Test Kitchen" course

Watch videos of Library Test Kitchen student projects, including a WiFi cold spot, a Neo-Carrel sleeping chair, and “library friend” Biblio.

What form should Harvard libraries assume in the twenty-first century? Should they simply vanish into virtual desktops and merge into a timeless and placeless universal database? These are the questions that students in the course "Bibliotheca II: Library Test Kitchen," taught by professor of Romance languages and literatures Jeffrey Schnapp, tackled this past spring, and that culminated in a variety of student projects that “define new dimensions of the library experience.” (Learn more about the course, and about efforts across the University to bring digital advances to bear on the humanities, with these links.)

Below, watch videos on several of the projects, including a Neo-Carrel sleeping chair created by Graduate School of Design student Vera Baranova; a WiFi cold spot; and Biblio, a “library friend” that scans books, tracks and shares research, and even makes bibliographic recommendations for further study (both projects created by Ben Brady, M.Arch ’12).

&nbsp">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yWLo9piwMc] 

 

Related topics

You might also like

Eating for the Holidays, the Planet, and Your Heart

“Sustainable eating,” and healthy recipes you can prepare for the holidays.

Five Questions with Michèle Duguay

A Harvard scholar of music theory on how streaming services have changed the experience of music

Harvard Faculty Discuss Tenure Denials

New data show a shift in when, in the process, rejections occur

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

Explore More From Current Issue

Historic church steeple framed by bare tree branches against a clear sky.

Harvard’s Financial Challenges Lead to Difficult Choices

The University faces the consequences of the Trump administration—and its own bureaucracy

A football player kicking a ball while another teammate holds it on the field.

A Near-Perfect Football Season Ends in Disappointment

A loss to Villanova derails Harvard in the playoffs. 

A bald man in a black shirt with two book covers beside him, one titled "The Magicians" and the other "The Bright Sword."

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.