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RLSC Prospectus
| Regional Library Services Center |
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Prospectus
Building on a history
of collaborative success, the Orbis Cascade Alliance is poised to create
a new private-public partnership serving northwest academic libraries.
The Alliance proposes to create a Regional Library Services Center featuring
high-density shelving for selected library collections. Each shelving
module will be designed to house two million volumes, with an eventual
build out expected to accommodate at least eight million volumes.
This facility will employ electronic delivery technology, offer fast
retrieval of print originals, and provide excellent environmental conditions
for the long-term preservation of collections. Inspired by the
Harvard Depository Model, in use by more than two dozen similar facilities,
the Regional Library Services Center will provide the most economical
means for member libraries to accommodate growth in collections and
make the best use of scarce space in campus libraries.
Beyond housing collections,
the Orbis Cascade Alliance envisions a shared facility that will support
current consortium services and allow for the development of a wide
array of new collaborative initiatives including digitizing & preservation,
data archiving, and emergency response services.
The Opportunity
and the Need
The mission of
the Orbis Cascade Alliance is to enrich collections, share resources,
and enhance the services offered by member libraries. The 35 members
of this consortium serve more than 200,000 faculty and students throughout
Oregon and Washington. Through its cooperative programs, the Orbis
Cascade Alliance seeks innovative ways to deal with pressing problems
and embrace new opportunities. Today, one of the most serious
challenges for member libraries is effectively and economically managing
space for collections and services.
Faced with the
need to house library materials and offer a wide variety of new services
in already overcrowded campus buildings, academic libraries have few
options. They can campaign for costly new buildings and scarce space
on college campuses. They can attempt to artificially limit collection
size, thereby negatively impacting research, teaching and learning.
Or they can manage collections by sharing them through partnerships
such as the Orbis Cascade Alliance, housing selected collections in
less expensive space, and saving precious campus buildings for other
uses.
In 2004, the Orbis
Cascade Alliance conducted a needs assessment of the membership to determine
the extent of demand for shared space for collections and services.
All members responded to the call and many reported a clear need for
such a facility. This study showed that over the next ten years,
Orbis Cascade Alliance member libraries would be likely to move 1.8
million books and journals to an off-site facility. In addition
to housing member library collections, such a facility would be the
ideal location for a shared print journal archive and the foundation
for a variety of other collaborative ventures. The Alliance needs assessment
shows that a shared library shelving facility would quickly comprise
one of the largest research collections in the Northwest.
The Regional
Library Services Center
Research libraries
across the United States are experiencing a similar shortage of space
and an innovative design has emerged to address this problem.
Named after the first institution to fully develop this concept, the
Harvard Depository Model combines the best of library and commercial
warehouse design. This model features tilt-up concrete construction,
"super flat" floors, and densely packed commercial shelving in 30-foot
high stacks. Library materials are stored in an ideal climate-controlled
environment, with delivery accomplished through both courier systems
and the electronic distribution of scanned images. The Harvard
Depository Model has quickly become an industry standard for the efficient
storage of library materials. More than two dozen such facilities
have been constructed in the U.S., with the most recent built for shared
use by Princeton University, Columbia University Law, and the New York
Public Library. Other outstanding facilities have recently been
constructed for libraries in Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York.
Pictures of the
PASCAL facilty in Colorado.
Orbis Cascade Alliance
member libraries are primed to build on their ten-year history of effective
collaboration by constructing and managing a shared library storage
facility for northwest academic libraries. The proposed Regional
Library Services Center will allow the consortium to help member libraries
meet the challenge of effectively and economically managing space.
Equally important, this facility will strengthen existing services and
support new collaborative projects.
Estimated specifications
for such a facility are as follows:
Site
requirements
- 400’
x 400’ mostly flat area for building, loading dock, and
parking
- 2,000
pounds per square foot minimum soil-bearing capacity
- Elevation
above 500 year floodplain (above100 year floodplain at minimum)
- 1,200
kilovolt-ampere (kVA) power
- Access
to natural gas
- 8
inch water main for fire protection
- Public
sewer or percolation test for septic system
- Proximity
to the I-5 or I-84 corridors.
Structure
Work and service areas
- Processing & shipping
- Reading room
- Office & meeting space |
9,000 square feet
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High-density storage
- 30 ft. high industrial
shelving
- 50°F, 30% relative
humidity |
14,000 square feet
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Total |
23,000 square feet
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Phased
Development
The Regional Library
Services Center will be developed in phases. The facility initially
will include consortium staff offices and high-density shelving for
two million volumes. In this first phase, the focus will be
on housing books, journals, archival collections, microforms, photographs
and maps. Work areas will support moving, processing, and retrieving
materials, as well space to support delivery via courier, fax, and
a variety of network technologies.
Expansion over
time will be accomplished by building additional storage modules.
The initial building project will be sited in such a way as to allow
for an eventual capacity of at least eight million volumes.
Depending on need, future modules may be designed for the specific
environmental and security needs of special collections, magnetic
data, film, etc.
For additional information
please contact
John F. Helmer
Executive Director, Orbis Cascade Alliance
541.346.1835
jhelmer@uoregon.edu
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