The summer school ends in five days. If someone asks me what I'll miss most about Harvard five days later, I'll say I miss the library most. Widener, to be specific. Though many of my friends prefer Lamont, the Harvad College library, to Widener, because they think the atmostphere in Lamont is younger and more lively, as comparison to the atmosphere in Widener, which seems to be too solemn and serious. But it's exactl that sense of seriousness, with the real burnin craving for knowledge underneath, that makes Widener my favorite place to spend my time.

   I remember the first time I saw Widener was last summer. I came to Harvard as a visitor, and I witnessed a wedding photograph shooting on the stairs in front of Widener. It has been one of my dreams, to get married in front of Widener, inside the Harvard campus.

   I couldn't really remember what was it like the first time I walked into Widener.I came here with Brandon, though, we walked all the way to Philips reading room, and that place becomes one of my most preferred places to study. Since then, I spent numerous hours in Philips, reading, writing, absorbing as much knowledge as I could. It's always very quiet, with scholars and professors much older than the people in Lamont. The absolute quietness is one of the factors that drive my friends away to Lamont: it's usualy very awkward when you drop a pen, or sneeze uncontrollably. It keeps echoing in the room,and everybody instantly stares at you. I remembered once I was there with a friend, and she was used to typing loudly on laptop. The woman who sat opposite us kept glaring at her. It was really embarrassing, and I couldn't really ask my friend to keep her typing sound lower, it would be awkward. Since then, I preferred to go to Widener alone, since it' easier for me to focus on my study. It seems like Widener is for loners- another factor why it's abandoned by my friends. They like the form of study group, and the fact that many of them are in the same course makes it essential for them to go to somewhere together and help each other in the course. It's not that I'm not social, in fact I'm among one of the most social people here, my friends are usually surprised that I seem to know everybody here. But studying, to me, is something that needs to be done alone. It's probably the product of being a student in my high school for four years. The night independant study class is one of the most important period of time in the entire day.  It's when students are sittin on their seat, doing their work independantly and quietly, without disturbing others or being disturbed. The ability of thinking independantly has hence been possesse. For me, Widener is the perfect place for me to study and meditate. Unlike the classrooms and libraries back in China, the study environment is so appealing and even luxurious.

   There is carpet everywhere in the reading room, and lamps that have gentle and warm lights are placed in the middle of the desk. In Philips there are only four-people desk, but in Stack reading room there are two-people desk. In the day time, natural lights shine through the transparent roof above the reading rooms. The roof is high above the reading room, giving a sense of breadth and luxury. Shelves that contain rows and rows of collection are placed on the side of the reading room; I doubt that shelves are place there only for aesthetic reasons, since I've never seen anyone take a book off from the collection. But that sense of wealth and richness is greatly enhanced. Chandeliers are hung from ceiling, and there are lights lining up on the side wall, shining all day long. This afternoon when I was sitting in the Stack reading room, diving into the new book  I borrowed, the sky suddenly darkened and gloomed.Since the ceiling was made of glass, the change of lights outside could be sensed immediately. The lights were suddenly illuminatd, though they had always been on; the warm orange ligths coming out from the lovely round bulbs lightened up the entire room. It was like a fairy tale, that very moment the room was suddenly illuminated by th lights.

   Though I enjoy reading rooms in Widener the most, the library is not famous for those reading rooms; it's famous for the huge amount of books it has. Walking into Widener, you're not able to find the stacks. The entrance to the treasure hides in the circulation; and once you goes through that narrow entrance, the entire world will be presented in front of you in the forms of written words and illustrated drawings. The first time I went to the stacks was in the third week,as a class field trip. We were taught how to do research using the resources in the library. But the first time  I actually went to the stacks alone, it was a whole new and somehow terrifying experience.

    I looked up the books of John Douglas on the computer and found the call number of the books I was going to borrow. Then  I read from a board at the entrance of the stacks that the books I needed to borrow were in Pusey library, and I had to get there through pusey tunnel on the lowest floor- and that was, D level. I took the stairs all the way down the level D. The stairs, unlike the stairts in the main hall and in front of Widener, was narrow and had a strange noise when tapping on it. The lights were pale white, and the unpleasant weird smell all made me scared. Eventually  I got the D level, and there were doors after doors until I finally got the stacks.  I followed what the instructions told me to do. The pusey tunnel was a low and horribly quiet place, with engines and tubes all around the tunnel; the floor was tainted by some unknown paint. Weird smell and a rush of hot air all made me feel very uneasy. I tried not to make a sound when I was going through the tunnel, otherwise I was very likely to scare the hell out of myself. When I eventually got the pusey library, a sense of relief overwhelmed me, and I was sweating all over.

   Another exciting experience (adventure) inside Widener was to the stack reading room. The first time I knew the existence of this reading room was in the class trip.  A librarian showed us from the above that there were two reading rooms parallel to each other, one was Phiips, and the other one- well, she didn't tell us the name. I got tired of Philips, so I asked a librarian where the other room was. From the map of  Widener on the first floor, there was no such thing as a nother Philips reading room. The librarian told me that it was stack reading room, and  I had to first go up to the third floor to get there. I took the elevator to the third floor, and there was only one entrance to the stacks. I backed out immediately, came back to the entrance and asked another librarian to make sure that the  Stack reading room could be only accessed through that door.

    So I got there, and walked through the chilling and quiet stacks. The lights turned on automatically as I walked by. At the beginning the entire hallway was dark, and then as I stepped my foot forward it suddenly turned on one by one. I was so shocked and scared. Then I walked all the way through the hallway. Since there was only one way to go, I walked and walked until I reached a door that had an "Exit" on it. I propped the door open and there it was- Stack  reading room.

    Since the readin room was hidden all the way in 3 east, not many people knew its existence, thus it's far quieter and emptier than Philips. There were also couches at the back of the room, but I never tried, since I knew I would definitely fall asleep on them.  In fact, I had already fallen asleep in the library for more than five times, because it's so quiet and comfortable.

   Today after lunch, I went to Lamont to borrow a book, since the one in  Lamont had already been checked out. There I saw that I could access to pusey library from level B. So I asked if Widener and Lamont was connected through the tunnel, the ignorant librarian said yes. So I went all the way down to level B, again, very quiet and creepy. Then I saw a door said "to Widener through  Pusey tunnel", but clearly I ignored the "restricted process", and propped the door open. The alarm suddenly went off and it kept screaming. I immediately ran away and bumped into a librarian, she laughed nicely and told me that the guard woud take care of it. So I escaped my "crime scene", head down, without saying a word.

   It's amazing knowing that whenever you're outside somewhere around the libraries, what beneath your feet are in fact stacks and stacks of books.

   I love the libraries here, and I will probably cry for them at the time of the departure.

   Guess if I really love them  that much, I should figure out a way to go back.

   All for today.