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Reading with robots
Libraries turn to automated retrieval to save time and space. By Dallas Bastian
Image Credit- Paul Wright
Australian university libraries are investing in a new system that saves space, reduces cost and simplifies borrowing.
The library retrieval system( LRS) uses automated storage and retrieval. Items are sorted by size and stored in metal bins on shelf units, housed in storage racks and accessed with a robotic crane.
UTS university librarian Mal Booth said this will free up space in the library for people to research and study.
“ As a university located in the heart of the city, space is at a premium and our students are asking for more individual spaces to study as well as areas designed specifically for group collaboration,” he said.“ Client feedback also tells us that they want areas and facilities that enhance the library experience, such as events, artwork and inspirational spaces.”
The current library can’ t hold any additional print items and is being consolidated with the Kuring-Gai library at the end of 2015. Booth said the LRS is far more environmentally efficient and financially viable than building a larger library.“ To store the same number of books as the LRS, [ a new library ] would need to be four to five times larger than our current library and cost four times more than the LRS itself,” he explained.
The LRS has also brought about benefits in terms of preservation, client service and sustainability.
“ Items in the LRS will be stored in stable temperature and humidity conditions that are ideally suited for preserving paper materials,” Booth said.“ It should also prove to be much faster to find and retrieve items stored in the LRS than on open shelves.
“ Items will be securely stored and able to be delivered in a matter of minutes,” he said.
Booth expects that moving low-use collection items to the LRS will make high-use items easier to locate.
Booth added that students will still be able to discover items the same way they would using a conventional system, as UTS library’ s IT department has been developing new systems that will allow users to browse online and filter search results to find“ hidden gems” in the collection.
One such system, called the Collection Ribbon, allows clients to narrow and refine search results by subject area.“ The initial search allows clients to see all the items in our collection that relate to the search, opening up possibilities they may not have otherwise been aware of,” Booth explained.
Another function, Shelf View, gives users the chance to broaden initial searches.“[ It ] presents the cover images of books held by the library enabling discovery of books by scanning virtual shelves,” Booth said.
The technology also has benefits for staff. For example, stocktaking, which has previously taken three years to complete, can now be done in just one, opening up more face-to-face time with students.
System testing has been completed and all bins are already in the system ready for loading. The LRS will be fully operational in late July. About 350,000 items will be loaded into the LRS between July and August and will be immediately available for loan.
Macquarie University has been using a similar retrieval since the completion of its library in 2011. It has four aisles that hold more than 17,000 metal bins, for a potential capacity of 1.8 million items.
“ The process takes just a few minutes but we tell users to allow up to half an hour,” Macquarie University library content and communications co-ordinator Brendan Krige said.
He agreed the system frees up a huge amount of space allowing for immediate on-site access to the whole physical collection and added that items don’ t get misplaced, hidden or lost.
“ Analysis of systems already in place in libraries showed they are cost effective both in terms of installation and on-going maintenance,” he said.
Krige said it has been an unequivocal success.“ The system is serviced regularly and the system provider has offices nearby so can attend at short notice if required.
“ Many sceptical academics have been won over by the convenience of requesting items from their desk and having them available for pick up by the time they can walk over to the library,” Krige said.“ Previously, if these items were off-site, retrieval could take at least a day.” ■
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