How to meet new needs in old spaces
Long gone are the days when the main purpose of a library was to store the books and media for the community to borrow. Today, libraries are more popular than ever being used by a wide variety of patrons with varying needs.
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In libraries, patrons will now find computer labs with access to the Internet, employment services, meeting/conference/workshop spaces, lounges, and even coffee cafes. Some of this library repurposing is reactive, but much of it is pro-active. Libraries realize that they must repurpose to maintain and grow patronage.
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Existing libraries face a new challenge: How can space be cleared to make room for these new functions when the collection is continuing to grow? Today’s College and University Libraries have about 1 billion books on their shelves and approximately 25 million more volumes are added every year.
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Existing libraries face a new challenge: How can space be cleared to make room for these new functions when the collection is continuing to grow? Today’s College and University Libraries have about 1 billion books on their shelves and approximately 25 million more volumes are added every year.
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If there is no way to add space to an existing library for these new books, then there are two basic choices.
Option 1: Fit the books into a smaller space within the library, through the use of high-density mobile storage.
Option 2: Move some of the books to an off-site facility. With off-site storage you can store large volumes of material or records off-site and still maintain appropriate access to them while freeing up valuable onsite space for library repurposing.
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When adequate space or structural capacity cannot be created in the existing library of a university building, libraries move their low-use materials to warehouses off-campus. To minimize the footprint, and thus the cost of land, the facilities are built tall. The interior is filled with books on shelving, typically 30 to 45 (9 to 14 meters) feet high. Here, items are arranged by size, versus call numbers, to maximize density. To retrieve items, staff members use high-reach lift trucks.
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Pioneered by Harvard University in the mid-1980s, Static High Bay Storage applies commercial warehousing principles to library space and preservation issues. Environmental controls ensure preservation of books and film while conserving space on campus for heavily used collections and services.
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Mobile High-Bay Storage, which applies the basic principles of high-density mobile shelving to archive warehouse environments. These mobile systems consist of shelving units typically 30 feet (9 meters) high with 30 or more tiers of shelves. All components are designed to accept the loads from the tall stacks. To access specific items, staff members press a control head mounted on a stanchion at end of the aisle, or via remote control. The carriages move sequentially to open the selected aisle. Staff members retrieve materials using wire-guided, person-aboard narrow-aisle picker vehicles.
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To learn more about XTend High Bay Solutions from Spacesaver download this FREE Info Sheet!
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The University of Virginia (UVA) kicked off their Ivy Stacks Retrofit project in September of 2010. The Ivy Stacks are the University’s off site storage facility that adopted “The Harvard Model” for rarely accessed library items. This process has worked well for UVA since 1994 when the stacks were installed, but over time the items being stored completely filled up the estimated 1.2 million square feet of storage.
A change was in store for the Ivy Stacks facility, but as to what that solution would be, was up for debate. They originally proposed a plan to build an additional building in the same style right next door. The original design allowed for this to be the go-to option once capacity was reached. The problem and eventual downfall of this idea was the cost of construction at an estimated $16 million. Another option, though extremely undesirable, for the University was to dispose of items that were rarely used to make room for new items. The final option was to somehow make better use of existing space. Luckily for UVA they heard about Spacesaver’s new XTend® high-density mobile system, which gave them another option to consider.
Spacesaver’s XTend® Mobile High Bay System clearly met their needs:
- Doubles the capacity of the current facility.
- The cost was almost 70% cheaper than the proposed new construction cost.
- The stacks are now mobilized to allow compression.
- Storage shelf sizes are customizable to store various sized items.
- Streamlined the cataloging process.
- Freed up space on-campus for years to come.
- Allowed UVA to stay in the same building.
After learning about the XTend system, UVA felt that the system met every need they had and did so for a cost that was affordable for the University. After concluding the XTend system was the best choice, the renovation of the facility could get underway with Spacesaver starting construction on March 1st.
Area crews working hard to install the system on time and on budget
Laying the tracks for the system
Looking down on the completed XTend System at UVA on the left
A look at the operation panel and size of the XTend system on the right
Photo Credit: Ivy Stacks Retrofit Project via Flickr
The XTend system at University of Virginia was completed on June 29, 2011, and the first phase of the Ivy Stacks Retrofit Project was complete. The 750,000 items stored within the facility just relocated from a college dorm into a luxury home, now with plenty of space for new roommates.
To learn more about off-site storage solutions download Spacesaver's XTend® Product brochure and Running out of Room whitepaper.
Check out this UVA Blog on the Retro Fitting of the Ivy Stacks!
http://ivystacks.lib.virginia.edu/
Click Here to view the full image gallery of the UVA installation!
The utility of your local college or university library is changing! There is a shift that is affecting not only the services offered to patrons, but also the space available for collections. Libraries are no longer the place for research, browsing, studying, or quiet reflection. In order to create room for more educational requirements and ever-changing media formats, libraries have had to add spaces such as video rooms, writing and tutoring centers, meeting places and even internet cafes for their ever-demanding students and faculty. While all this is happening, their collections continue to grow resulting in libraries running out of room for the traditional printed medium.
Attempts to trim down the size of these collections by culling or scanning have had limited success, and are not realistic or attractive for many institutions. Building additional spaces at the library – even if funding is available – is often impossible, for libraries and research centers are often land-locked in the middle of campus. Therefore, libraries need to find innovative and cost sensible ways of storage, without giving up services.
One common approach to battle this situation is to build storage space exclusively for materials that are rarely requested. Another approach includes installing high-density mobile shelving or automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) within the existing library, or even building or leasing large-scale, climate-controlled off-site repositories. Storage options in these off-site buildings often include fixed shelving systems, mezzanines or static high-bay storage systems. An emerging solution includes the concept pictured in this blog, involving compact movable shelving systems (Mobile High-Bay). A solution that could significantly reduce the collection space required as well as the size of the building. A smaller building has lower construction costs and as well as lower life-cycle expenses of heating, cooling and lighting.
In summary, space-starved libraries must meet a balance between the need for more room for people and collections and the need to maintain a high level of service, all while maintaining their institutional objectives, such as the desire for green buildings and holding down costs. These are complicated issues facing libraries today, which will require a good understanding of the variety of solutions available to them in order to effectively manage collections.
Learn more about the challenges that libraries are facing today. Download and read the whitepaper entitled, "Running Out of Room", by Mark Haubenschild; and check out the brochure on the XTend™ Mobile High-bay storage option!
Also, see video of XTend™ Mobile High-bay system in action!
Storage Solved!
Ronald Chisholm, P.E. - Storage Specialist
Download Whitepaper and XTend™ brochure!
