Students linger in the entryway of Lamont Library. Many are requesting that the library be kept open longer for late-night studying.

When Jacqueline L. Roberts ’05 writes history of science papers late at night, she often works in the Eliot House laundry room.

“I study in the laundry room because it’s open all the time, and there’s no TV to distract me,” she says.

As a freshman, she habitually studied in a tower in Weld Hall.

“But the tower in Weld is one of the most creepy places around campus to pull an all-nighter,” Roberts adds.

And when Joseph M. Goodstein ’06 works late at night, he studies in the Adams House dining hall.

“The dining hall is always open, even in the middle of the night, but the lighting’s not too good,” he says. “It’s not so fun to study there.”

Students like Roberts and Goodstein have found creative alternatives to conventional study spaces found in Harvard’s libraries, which close when many students are still hard at work.

Cabot Science Library began its 24-hour operation yesterday through exam period. But there is still a long-standing, growing movement for Harvard College Libraries (HCL) to institute a year-round 24-hour library.

Students have targeted Lamont Library, Harvard’s primary undergraduate library, for the all-night study space.

This year, extending library hours was a key issue in the Undergraduate Council presidential campaign.

University authorities have not ruled out keeping Lamont open later, but so far they have not changed policy. Under current regulations, the library closes at 12:45 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday night, at 11:45 p.m. on Thursday night and at 9:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. It opens at 8 a.m. daily. During reading and exam period, Lamont stays open until 12:45 a.m. each night.

But students, led by Council President-Elect Matthew J. Glazer ’06, are not giving up.

“Harvard should have...a library open 24 hours,” Glazer says. “And Lamont’s location and resources make it an ideal location for late-night study space.”

Edward M. Lamont ’48, a grandson and biographer of Thomas W. Lamont—the Class of 1892 alum who donated the $1.5 million of shares of J.P. Morgan stock that funded the library’s construction—hopes the library will continue to serve its original purpose as a study space for undergraduates.

“If there is demonstrated a strong student need for a late-night library,” he says, “keeping it open later should be seriously considered.”