Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 32 May 11, 1995 - Library storage move coming soon

Spectrum Logo
A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Library storage move coming soon

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 32 - May 11, 1995

The University Libraries are coordinating the move of older stored materials from the current location at the former Cheds building, to the new high-density storage facility at Country Club Drive.

Nearly 250,000 books, journals, government documents, and artifacts will be on the move between May 8 and July 31. To arrange for this move, the VTLS system will be down on May 17 to load special software, and Newman Library will be closed.

The process is complex because materials will be stored by size, rather than call number. This means that each piece has to have an item, storage box, and shelf-location code attached to the VTLS record, so it can be located at a later time. The shelving in the new building is 30 feet high and will hold storage boxes arranged three deep. Retrieval will be accomplished by using a specially modified Hi-Lo vehicle. "Pick-lists" in the order of the boxes on the shelves, will be generated from requests for storage items.

For at least the first year of operation the new facility will not have public-access hours for library materials. As is done now, staff members will make daily runs to the new building to get the requested items.

The new storage and retrieval process will provide a controlled environment to better understand the use patterns related to calls for stored materials. This will be helpful as librarians designate other parts of the collection as candidates for remote storage to provide needed growth and public use spaces in Newman and the branch libraries.

Sections of the collection will be unavailable for short periods as they are boxed, moved, sized, and labeled, and reshelved. Notices about what is being moved and unavailable will be posted on the Libraries Web page (http://vatech.lib.vt.edu) and at the circulation and information desks in the libraries.