While "library crowds" might prompt most Dartmouth students to picture frenzied students studying for midterm or final exams, Baker Tower tours in fact cater to over 700 visitors each year in the short span of only 2 days during Winter Carnival weekend. This weekend is historically the most popular of the limited weekends when visitors can climb the library tower.
Closed for several years due to renovation, Baker Tower was reopened to the Dartmouth community with Winter Carnival weekend in 2002. Since then, over 6000 people have climbed the steep stairs for a view of Dartmouth and the Upper Valley.
"The tower is part of the history of the Baker Library," Head of Baker-Berry Access Services Jennifer Taxman said.
While a webcam was recently installed in the Baker Library Tower to constantly monitor the Dartmouth Green, the camera image does not surpass the spectacular view from the tower balcony, Taxman said. The webcam is located in a window underneath the clock face, while visitors who take the tower tour step out onto the balcony directly above the clock face and can take in a full sightline.
Winter Carnival weekend presents a unique safety hazard, as snowy conditions can make the balcony very dangerous. Nevertheless, according to Heather Gere, the library's information coordinator, the tours are extremely safe.
Dartmouth Facilities Operations and Management staff ensure that the catwalk is cleared of any snow and ice prior to the tours. The number of people who climb to the top is also limited to prevent overcrowding, Gere said.
"We make sure people know that there is a very steep climb near the top," Taxman said, mentioning a difficult ladder in the last portion of the climb. "There are also three people stationed with walkie-talkies throughout the tower, and a fourth walkie-talkie is located with the staff in the library."
The Baker Tower tours often coincide with the shining of a green light from the top of the tower. Often baffling to new students at Dartmouth, the eerie light shines from to top of Baker Tower on 12 occasions throughout the year.
The "green lantern," often referred to as the "money light," was originally established in 1975, when Jack Skewes, then-Director of Business Affairs, wrote a memo indicating that the light would be turned on for a number of traditional Dartmouth events and alumni meetings. That list of events has been unchanged since then, as the lights are turned on each time to signal the coming of alumni to campus, and hopes of better fundraising with their return.
According to FO&M Associate Vice President John Gratiot, the eight-500 watt floodlights are turned green on each occasion with a green film shade, and are now easily controlled by a computer.
Despite efforts to make Baker Tower more secure, Dartmouth students have nevertheless managed to circumvent their efforts in scaling the tower.
Red crepe paper once covered the green light, Gratiot said. Gere recalls similar pranks involving the Baker Tower balcony, as just a few months ago, the library staff had found that the tower doors had been tampered with from the outside.
This weekend, the Baker Tower will be accessible on Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m.
