PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 24, No. 11, Dec. 2, 2004

UI Library opens high-density shelving facility

Click photo to enlarge Photo by Kwame Ross

After years of planning, the UI Library has opened its high-density shelving facility at 809 S. Oak St. in Champaign. More than 110,000 volumes have been transferred to the new building, which ultimately will house 2 million volumes and greatly ease crowded conditions in the departmental libraries and Library book stacks.

“This is the first module of several in the Library’s long-term plan to preserve our rich print collections,” said Betsy Kruger, head of circulation. “Additional modules will be built in the future, providing space for a total of 6.8 million volumes.” According to Kruger, high-density shelving is the current model for research libraries and the solution to information storage and retrieval in overcrowded situations. The Library book stacks – 10 decks containing nearly 6 million books – reached operational capacity seven years ago.

Click photo to enlarge Photo by Kwame Ross

The 40,000-square-foot facility uses industrial-type warehouse shelving to house low-usage books and other items. Its “cold-storage” environment protects and preserves materials by utilizing year-round temperature and humidity controls. Items are shelved by size rather than call numbers, packed in trays, and retrieved with a customized forklift.

Users are unable to browse items on the shelves, but the Library is committed to providing online access through full bibliographic records and special search strategies.

Materials can be requested through the online catalog, and delivery is provided to campus offices or the nearest departmental library. For those who need to consult materials on site, both a reading room and parking are available. More information is available at http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/library/circ/oak/Oak.htm or by calling the facility at 265-9476.

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