Library Storage Annex: Facts and Questions

October 31, 2023
  • What is the Library Storage Annex (LSA)?

The Library Storage Annex is a facility that will provide for the storage of important physical library materials that need to be retained and preserved but that are not used often enough to require storage in Hodges or one of our branch libraries. Many universities host versions of an LSA, often referred to by the more generic term of “Offsite Storage Center.” These facilities usually involve a shelving/storage system that maximizes the amount of material they can hold. And they also include more closely controlled climate conditions (i.e. temperature and humidity) than can be offered in a traditional library building.

  • Why do we need the LSA?

Simply put, we need the LSA because we have more physical material that we must store and preserve than we have room to store and preserve it—i.e. we have outgrown our existing storage capacity.

Further, our current storage spaces, which were not intended for efficient and long-term library storage space, lack the climate control mechanisms needed for the safekeeping of library materials. In fact, humidity and temperature controls in some of our spaces are such that the material stored there is at constant risk for mold infestation and other forms of accelerated deterioration, if not destruction. Further, the physical security of our collections in our current storage spaces is not adequate, and the space configuration is such that the circulation and retrieval of materials is highly inefficient, requiring more time and effort for staff to retrieve and return materials and longer wait times for patrons needing material.

  • Will things in the LSA be available for circulation?

Most items in the LSA will be rare, special, or archival in nature, and can be requested in exactly the same way as at present. Researchers will request material and schedule a research visit in the reading room of the Betsey Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, located on the first floor of the Hodges Library. Researchers will request items via an online form, and the items will be delivered to the reading room.  Requests for circulating books from the Library Storage Annex will also be made via an online form and will be delivered to campus within one day in most cases. The delivery time for any item from the LSA will be the same as the delivery time for items in our current storage spaces. In addition, many circulating items are eligible for digitized delivery via the Libraries’ Library Express service.

  • Will library users be able to pick up items from the LSA or use items at the LSA?

No. Other than a small space to process and preserve incoming materials, the LSA will be built to maximize storage capacity.

  • Will the collection at the LSA be stored on traditional library shelves in subject order like the main campus library?

No. The shelves or storage spaces at the LSA will be high bay, and high density, which means the shelving structures will be tall (20 to 30 feet) with space on each shelf to accommodate a wide variety of item sizes. Books will be arranged according to size, not by traditional call number order.  Access will be governed with a software system that manages a dynamic inventory system as materials are pulled and retrieved. Items will be physically retrieved from the shelves by a library staff member operating a movable lift. Items requested from the LSA will be delivered to campus, usually within one day.