Lance Houston and Robin G. Parker manage the Events & Information Center at Harvard, where visitors from around the world learn about the University. Photo by Rose Lincoln.

Welcome to Harvard.

The Harvard Events & Information Center is delivering that simple message -- using computers, books, maps, and its knowledgeable staff.

Marking its first anniversary today (April 22), the Events & Information Center in the Arcade at Holyoke Center is not just Harvard's front door, it's Harvard's front porch too, where people can come in and sit a while.

"You can run in quickly and ask directions or you can sit and read, all day if you want -- and we supply the books and newspapers," said John Mich, client services manager at the University's Office of News and Public Affairs, who oversees the Center's day-to-day operations. "Our goal is to make it as interesting as possible. We're friendly, we're accessible, we're willing to share and explain the history and lore of the University."

As the country's oldest university, Harvard's history is entwined with that of the nation on many different fronts -- scientifically, socially, and politically.

A visitor operates an interactive map located at the Events & Information Center in the Holyoke Center Arcade. Photo by Kris Snibbe.

Notable students include the current vice president of the United States, six former presidents, and people who have gone on to leave their mark in everything from business to acting. Faculty members have made many contributions to scientific knowledge and public health, having made discoveries about the structure of DNA and tissue culture techniques that led to a vaccine for polio.

"Harvard is an institution in which lots of people are interested," said Paul Grogan, Harvard's Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs. "It's tremendously important to make it as easy as possible for people to get information when they need it."

With all that history, it's not surprising that the Information Center serves tens of thousands of tourists who come to Harvard annually, curious about the University and wanting to walk through the "Yahd," if not "pahk their cah" there.

"We get a very cosmopolitan group of people through here," said Lance Houston, who staffs the Information Center along with Robin G. Parker and part-time student help. "People come and visit from across the country and around the world."

Besides being a repository of historical facts, the Information Center is a place to get information about Harvard today. The Center is the starting point for guided tours of the campus, delivered by members of the Crimson Key Society, who color their knowledge of Harvard with personal experience, such as where their dormitory and classes are.

The Information Center is also a resource for those wanting to be on their own. Brochures for self-guided tours are available in eight languages.

With bookshelves on one side and computers on another, the Information Center represents the spectrum of Harvard today -- preserving the past while pushing the boundaries of the future.

A group of visitors try out a computer at the Center. Photo by Kris Snibbe.

Wall-sized murals of Harvard Yard and of a Harvard classroom give two views of the University and the mantlepiece of a fireplace from a 19th-century student room gives a view into the past.

A visitor to the Center can browse through guidebooks, magazines, and newspapers about Harvard. They can look at maps and computer screens full of information about Harvard, including a computerized timeline of Harvard's history. There's also a viewing area where a large screen displays videotapes of Harvard events, news, and other items of current interest, as well as a scrolling monitor in the window listing some of the day's events.

When South African President Nelson Mandela came to Harvard last fall to accept an honorary degree, people packed the Information Center to watch the event live on the oversized screen.

The Center serves as the gateway to Harvard for the media as well. It has provided a backdrop for everything from stand-up television interviews on breaking news stories to longer features for MTV and the Discovery Channel. It is also available for groups -- both on campus and off -- that want to host functions there.

At least 40,000 people came through the Information Center last year -- in person. But Harvard may soon see many more coming to visit through cyberspace.

Using the very latest computer technology, the Harvard virtual tour is available on the World Wide Web and takes online visitors on a walk around campus. Using a click of the mouse, the visitor can walk into Harvard Yard, turn left, right, enter buildings, and truly see what the campus looks like. The virtual tour can be found on the Internet at http://www.news.harvard.edu/tour.

"If you're in Indonesia and you're thinking of applying to Harvard, you can go into our Website and 'walk' around the Yard," said News Office Director Joe Wrinn, whose office is responsible for the Center.

Wrinn said future additions to the Center will include more audio material, including well-known Harvard faculty members reading or discussing their work. Other changes will occur as the times, and the needs of the people visiting Harvard, demand them.

"We want to be able to react to what the public is looking for and maintain the theme that this is the front door to Harvard," Wrinn said.