Video (2:37) - The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library: How It Works

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Click here to watch the video uploaded on YouTube by The University of Chicago on 10 May 2011

http://www.archdaily.com/143532/joe-and-rika-mansueto-library-murphy-jahn/1-521/
Courtesy by Murphy Jahn

The new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago houses cutting-edge facilities for preservation and digitization of physical books, as well as a high-density underground storage system with the capacity to hold 3.5 million volume equivalents.

From an article in Inside Higher Ed (18 May 2011):
Chicago's new library opens at a time when several universities are moving volumes to off-campus, high-density storage facilities -- a contentious issue on some campuses. Chicago's decision represents a different and perhaps more costly solution to the problem those campuses are facing. While the new design eliminates stacks in favor of high-density storage and makes room for other uses of campus and library space, it maintains the convenience, as well as the psychological comfort, of keeping those volumes close and on campus.

"Reality shows that you cannot do your research well having materials off-site," said Judith Nadler, university librarian. "The cost of what you would give up in terms of research, studying, and teaching outweighs the cost of the building."

Full article