“We started with a corner,” says Seri Welsh, Class of 2026, copresident of the student organization Phoenix Sustainability Initiative (PSI) and leader of its Harper Library Project working group.

Two years ago, Harper’s vast reading room contained no books. So why not fill the shelves with donated books, which anyone could take for free? The initial idea was to give students a way to pass on course books, Welsh says, and student castoffs are still “the ones that get taken the quickest.”

But most of the books—as even a casual glance would tell you—were not donated by College students. The Reg, which periodically weeds its collection, passed on “15,000 or 20,000 books,” Welsh says, forming the bulk of the holdings at Harper. Other donations came from departments around campus; Comparative Human Development is particularly well represented.

As word spread, professors who were retiring (even faculty at other schools) asked about passing on their collections. There has been so much interest that at the beginning of the academic year, PSI had to limit donations to students only.

The more specialized books might be slower to move, but sometimes they are discovered by a very grateful reader. While shelving books, Welsh has had several students approach her to say they had chanced upon a “super niche book” for their thesis that they couldn’t find anywhere else.

Each week a group of 10 or so student volunteers sorts and shelves the books. And if a particular book catches their eye, they can file it right into their own backpack. “Coffee-table books, décor-related books, the pretty, old ones with the nice covers,” Welsh says, as well as anything related to the environment, are the fastest to go.

At the start of 2026, more than 10,000 donated books remained in Harper’s basement, awaiting their turn to be shelved. Welsh’s goal is to clear the backlog by the time she graduates and establish “something that’s a more self-sustaining cycle.”

Free library finds

Books that caught one editor’s eye.

1. Die UFA-Stars im Dritten Reich: Frauen für Deutschland By Friedemann Beyer (1991)
2. Terry’s Guide to Mexico By T. Philip Terry (1935)
   “Gladys L. Finn [PhB 1924, EX 1925], The University of Chicago, Cobb Hall, Room 203, Chicago, USA” is written opposite the title page.
3. Hard Times By Studs Terkel, PhB’32, JD’34 (1970)
4. The Two Towers By J. R. R. Tolkien (1965)
   “Ted Cohen, July 1965” is written on the title page. Cohen, AB’62 (1939–2014), was a philosophy professor and longtime moderator of the Latke-Hamantash debate. A similar copy was available for $74.99 on eBay shortly before press time.
5. The House on the Hill By Cesare Pavese (1963)
   The cover price is 2/6 (two shillings and sixpence). This book also belonged to Cohen.

Not pictured:

• Big Table Number 1, Spring 1959 
• “The Complete Contents of the Suppressed Winter 1959 Chicago Review,” including “Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs and “Old Angel Midnight” by Jack Kerouac. This book also belonged to Cohen.
• Christo: Wrapped Coast One Million Sq. Ft. By Christo (1969), signed by the artist.
• Conference on Development Planning: Held in Tehran, Iran, May 1962
• A Guide to the Rimrock Drive: Colorado National Monument by Rose Houk (1987). “Michael Murrin” is written on the title page. Professor Murrin (1938–2021) was a scholar of allegory.

Read “In the Sorting Room” to learn how the books are sorted and shelved.