Greeting a space challenge as an amazing opportunity, two celebrated universities partnered together to increase capacity, excitement and access.
As crazy as it sounds, maximizing today’s library space sometimes means moving part of the collections out. When Atlanta’s Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology separately found that their library space wasn’t adequately meeting student needs, they devised a way to help each other. In so doing, they were able to create an off-campus space that not only housed a good deal of their combined collections, but freed up valuable campus square footage. The results of their efforts just may be changing the way library storage is viewed.
HOW STORAGE MADE THE DIFFERENCE.
The newly christened Library Service Center is a success on two levels. Not only does it allow two prestigious American universities to combine their stellar collections into one off-campus building, it helps open up square footage in each school’s on-campus library. More than ever before, seeing storage in a new way is helping to not only re-imagine shelving but reinvigorate students’ academic interactions.
With plans to accommodate more than 3 million items (including volumes and other collection pieces), the Library Service Center’s 30,000 square-foot archive space was carefully designed. The two universities worked with Spacesaver to acquire an XTend® High-Bay storage system to house the majority of the volumes. Other storage solutions included 4-post shelving, tray storage and video vault shelving, along with wire shelving for an on-site freezer.
“Libraries today need more meeting space and more connections for electronic devices. In many ways, they’re becoming the new student union,”
- Patterson Pope Sales Representative Dick Beery.
