The number of full-time libraryworkers is down 20% from the end of 2008, when there were more than 1, 000 positions, as Harvard centralizes functions such as preservation instead of handling them separately at each library.
All museums and libraries are free, citizens can borrow up to 200 books by the Internet, while migrant workers can spend their lunch hours reading in the library without charge.
Now, with customers scanning books themselves, the library is processing more books than ever while shaving 15 percent from staff hours by using fewer part-time workers.