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News Thu Jul 28 2011
High-Tech UChicago Library: Marrying Books and the Digital Age
The University of Chicago's Mansueto Library is new.
Not only did it open just two months ago, but it has also brought new technology to the often very nostalgic world of books: a robotic storage and retrieval system, 50 feet underground.
Implemented to accomodate the increasing need for space (the University acquires some 150,000 new books a year), the Mansueto actually belies the "bookless" epithet by recognizing the importance of keeping the texts themselves readily available on location. While students and scholars cannot physically browse titles in the stacks, the time from book request to receipt is only a matter of minutes.
The purpose is to keep print collections accessible, rather than relegate them to the dustbin. And to keep books accessible in an increasingly digital world, sometimes a little help from a robot might be a good bet.
