Lamont Library is one of the primary buildings of the library system of Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, located in the south-east corner of Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...

. It was the first library at Harvard designed primarily for undergraduate students at Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, to relieve pressure in the main Widener Library

Widener Library

The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, commonly known as Widener Library, is the primary building of the library system of Harvard University. Located on the south side of Harvard Yard directly across from Memorial Church, Widener serves as the centerpiece of the 15.6 million-volume Harvard...

. It was opened in 1949 and named for its principal donor, Harvard alumnus Thomas W. Lamont

Thomas W. Lamont

Thomas William Lamont, Jr. was an American banker.- Biography :Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888 and earned his degree from Harvard University in 1892. He became a generous benefactor of the school once he had amassed a fortune, notably...

.

Lamont Library contains the main collections for the undergraduate curriculum in the humanities and social sciences.