[This will be my final post before the RBMS conference in St. Louis; you can expect an enthralling report of that experience when I'm home and rested!]
Recently, our library announced that it will be building a large, high-density storage area, which will make it the largest research library in the country. The plan comes 35 years after the library was originally built, and it was originally built to hold 25 years worth of books.
The storage facility – which will also include a preservation lab, reading rooms, and consultation spaces for paged items – will be complete with robotic arms that retrieve items in aisles 250 feet long and 50 feet high. It’ll store print serials, archives, and monographs from campus libraries including law, science, and humanities. The initial load will comprise 800,000 items.
In our language, this move is being consciously pitted against the dominant tendencies in libraries. For example, off-site storage. But, importantly, this is being placed against the last major library story – the Google initiative – in a simplified argument of “the book vs. the Web.” No doubt Google’s “initial load” will be books (or should I say snippets of books?) in the millions.
Faculty and students on this campus make it clear that they want their books, and they want them on-site, and they want to be able to browse them. These groups were closely consulted on the decision. “Serendipity” is a word that is well-regarded here, almost as well regarded as “excellent” (Mr. Smithers). So….
I wonder what you all think. Do libraries have to make the stance to pursue one more than the other? In a time when budgets shrink, are we forced to make a choice between print and screen?
If so, what side are you on? Do you see one stance progressing at your institution above the other?
2 Comments for The Initial Load
Ginger | June 20, 2005 at 8:52 pm
Author comment by Steve | June 24, 2005 at 10:45 am
I tend to think that framing our collection policies in the print vs. screen terms is wrong-headed. First and foremost our responsibility is to collect good information. Either as an equal consideration or as a secondary one we should next determine the most efficient way to deliver the goods to patrons. My library self identifies as a sci-tech institution and for us the primary resources are journals, which are different kinds of work than monographs. They happen to lend themselves to electronic delivery very well and our patrons understand this fact.
Bottom line, it depends on your local environment. Think back to our time at UW: that was a mammoth place in terms of size and breadth of disciplines with many sub-environments. Over at the science and engineering libraries electronic might better serve our patrons than the print world of Memorial. The reason I believe the this-or-that language is so dangerouse is that it seems to presume that one size fits all. Libraries are far too diverse to get wrapped up in such nonsense.
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I finally have a moment to breathe, so I thought I should pop in and voice an opinion for a change. Dave, you ask if libraries have to make a choice to pursue one format more than the other, such as investing more in physical materials or online resources and technology. I think it completely depends on the service population. It makes sense to me that access to books and print materials would be valued highly at an institution like the University of Chicago, where so many students, faculty, and visiting scholars are doing primary research, examining historical documents, and so forth. If I had to take a side, I would say books are still predominantly what patrons want at my public library. Although we are constantly negotiating space for computer games, internet stations, and greatly need to increase shelving for DVD’s, CD’s, etc. I think the trick is finding the right balance for your community: Being aware of your community’s needs, and actively pursuing their opinion, while keeping an eye to future growth and change.
By the by, I hear congratulations are in order to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer. Can’t say where I heard the news. I’m so happy for you two! I hope it was everything you wanted. Apologies if this is the wrong forum. But in my current state of energy buzz, it seemed appropriate. Congratulations!!