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| High tech for paper books |
September 7, 2007 |
Accessing rare books used to take days. Now a library robot delivers them in minutes
By Lisa Manfield
 A researcher looking for an obscure academic book is not a scenario one would normally associate with cutting-edge robotics, but the University of British Columbia has added advanced technology to the pursuit of knowledge.
When a request for a book or publication comes in through the library’s Voyageur online catalogue system, a robotic arm swings into motion. The computer-controlled crane will scan two 45-foot-high rows of metal storage bins for the one housing the requested item, then gently pull out the bin and bring it to a librarian. Within minutes, the archived book is retrieved from among 900,000 items in the storage system and is ready for pickup at the university’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.
In an age when printed materials are increasingly being archived digitally, UBC has taken a different tack. In June 2005, it became the first Canadian library to install an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), lovingly known as the library robot, to manage its rare, low-use and reference collections. Consisting of four cranes equipped with technology similar to a Global Positioning System and a three-storey structure of metal bins ranging from 15 to 40 centimetres tall, the ASRS stores, locates and retrieves books, maps, records and other archival items from more than 19,000 bins.
ASRS systems have been used in a variety of industries, including warehousing and medical records storage, and have been installed in early adopting American libraries such as California State University Northridge, Sonoma State University and The Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Nonetheless, UBC’s installation has garnered attention from around the globe since it was first implemented. It’s become an example for the University of Hong Kong, according to Catherine Quinlan, who recently retired as university librarian and managing director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC. Quinlan has passed along lessons learned by UBC for the development of the Hong Kong project.
My book, Jeeves
In a classic example of old meets new, the ASRS bridges the best of both worlds at the library—a high-tech system to manage and preserve the low-tech yet timeless archival printed materials university libraries are required and expected to make available, whether or not they’re accessed with any frequency.
The decision to build the system hinged primarily on UBC’s storage capacity for the coming decade. “Finding space for our physical collection was a big concern,” Quinlan said. “We looked at various options—from compact shelving to open shelving—but we needed space for almost two million volumes over the next 10 years. We also needed to build an environment… for books which is dry and cool.”
Herbert Rosengarten, professor emeritus and former executive director of the UBC President’s Office, chaired the senate library committee when the decision to build the ASRS was made. “There were some doubts, but we were very enthusiastic in moving the project forward,” he said. “There is always a reluctance to change in libraries, because people are leery of new technology and feel they know the system as-is. But it turned out to be a very good decision. The conditions are better for storage, and the system really works. Anyone who has worked at a library knows that normally you can wait for days to access archived materials.”
With UBC’s ASRS, wait times have been reduced to minutes. The new robot is linked directly to the library’s online catalogue, Voyageur, so anyone can peruse the university’s collections and access the items they require—even if they’re in storage. “It’s now worth patrons’ while to request a book in storage,” said Leeta Sokalski, circulation and office manager at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. “Now when the computer says a book is available, there’s no need to hunt for it.” The robot knows exactly where it is.
When a user selects an item that is located in the ASRS, a simple click of the mouse will literally set the robot in motion. “It is active 24 hours a day, but it doesn’t move until it receives a direct request,” Sokalski said. Using laser scanning, the robot locates the appropriate bin, plucks it out and drops it off for staff, who can cross-reference the item’s call number, title and the requester’s name from the computer console located next to the bin drop-off area. “The computer also shows the sector of the bin [in which the item is located] so that you don’t have to look through the entire bin,” said Sokalski, which is helpful considering the larger bins can hold up to 700 small items.
No small feat
Determining what would go into the bins from among existing materials, then getting those items catalogued and ready, was a big job. “We started planning three or four years ago which items were going to go into the ASRS,” Sokalski said.
In the end, they decided to move journals, rare books, archives and materials that were already in storage. “We also went through 1.3 million volumes in the open stacks as part of an inventory project,” Sokalski said, “just to discard and upgrade.” With the help of a crew of 45 hired students, it took about six months of marking, cataloguing, updating records, sizing and moving books into the system before it was ready to launch, and the work continues to this day. “We’re still loading about 1,000 volumes per week.”
With more than 900,000 items currently in the storage system, it’s only about half full. That’s partly because UBC plans to offer space to other libraries. “We are working with the Council of Post Secondary Library Directors to put some criteria on what we would store,” Quinlan said. “We will focus on rare and unique materials.”
Digital too pricey
Quinlan said it cost $1 million per aisle, plus construction costs, to build the ASRS, a much cheaper expenditure than going digital, an option the planning committee explored. “We costed it out to digitize, and with copyright issues, we simply wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
That’s not to say UBC isn’t going digital in some areas. A new program launched by the centre called the British Columbia History Digitization Program has been designed to provide financial support to organizations that work to preserve BC’s historical materials. Matching funds are granted to projects that provide free online access to resources like historical photographs and maps.
But according to Rosengarten, it’s crucial to continue providing access to original printed materials. “In the humanities, we regard the library as our laboratory,” he said, “particularly for people who want the original manuscript and the changes to the manuscript. Looking at a digital reproduction is not the same as holding a book. To see the author’s marks and revisions, you need a hard copy.”
While many journals are going online, Rosengarten said subscription costs are high. And then there’s the issue of digital migration. “You keep a record in one medium, and the next year it’s obsolete,” he said. “You have to keep migrating information. Whereas, once you buy a hard copy, it’s yours and it’s there forever.”
Plus, he said, print publishing isn’t going away anytime soon. “We still get more books published each year than the last.”
Different kind of library
If the addition of a robot to the staff spurred concerns about the replacement of human labour, these were quickly put to rest. “We actually had to hire an additional person,” Quinlan said. “The use of technology in libraries rarely saves you money in staff costs. You simply change the work people do.”
Users’ behaviour has also changed, Quinlan added. “People now go online before leaving home, and this saves them time.” Patrons can request their book and have the robot retrieve it while they make their way to the library.
As with any new technology, the ASRS has taken some time to catch on. “At first, a lot of people were suspicious; they were worried the robot would be touching the books,” Quinlan laughed. But as people have grown more used to the system, usage rates have increased. “We initially expected about 30 retrievals per week, and we have been getting more than 100. It’s become a destination point on campus.”
And it’s had an incredible success rate, too, Sokalski said. “In the year and a half of operation, we have found every single book requested.”
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