Last week I attended the 12th Interlending & Document Supply Conference, titled "Resource Sharing in the Digital Age," held in lovely Chicago, Illinois. Over three jam-packed days we learned from ILL & delivery services colleagues from all over the world, including Italy, Germany, China, Zimbabwe, Australia, Canada, Turkey and the US.
On my final day in Chicago a group of us toured the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and the University of Chicago Mansueto Library.
Stacks of newspapers at CRL
The newly constructed Mansueto Library demonstrates an interesting approach to "offsite" storage. Directly next door (and connected) to the University of Chicago Regenstein Library, Mansueto has a storage capacity of 3.5 million volumes, housed in a 50 foot tall facility, underground!
One of five aisles of storage
The ground floor of the library has the "Grand Reading Room" and Circulation Service Center on one side, and the Library's Preservation Department, complete with laboratories for conservation and digitization, on the other. This entire space is covered by a glass dome, 35 feet tall at its highest point. Mansueto is truly a striking structure.
David Bottorff, Head of Stacks for Regenstein Library, shows us the Grand Reading Room
Amazingly, in an average of five minutes after placing a request, items are delivered from the storage area to the Circulation Services Center. Check out this video to see how it's all done:
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