For years, UBC Library kept a large portion of its collection in off-site storage, away from the actual library. This collection tended to be books that were under-used and older. This was a big problem for historians who tend to read old books.

The renovation and re-design of UBC’s Main Library had a lot of what you discussed on the podcast, including abstract and somewhat purposeless “learning” and “teaching” commons (and of course there was the inclusion of a cafe). But it also included the construction of a massive Automated Storage and Retrieval System or ASRS. For those who haven’t seen anything like this, picture the movie The Matrix where instead of row upon row of stacks of human beings kept in pods managed by robots, you have row upon row of stacks of pods filled with books managed by robots. The system is integrated into the library’s online catalog and even features virtualized shelf browsing (for those serendipitous moments). Library users simply click on the book they want and the automated system retrieves the correct pod for the librarians at the main desk and the book is available for pick up in about five minutes. The benefit was that all the books from the off-site storage facility were brought into the ASRS.

If you want to learn more about the magic of this incredible library technology (definitely more “gee-whiz” than compact storage), you read about it here:

http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/asrs/whatis.html

Keep up the great work on the podcast.