The new $81 million Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago is taking a radical approach to book storage and retrieval. Instead of arranging books on open shelves by Library of Congress call number, or topic, all books will now be stored by size in 35,000 metal bins underground. If you spot a book in the electronic catalog that you'd like to request, robot cranes will spring into action and the book will be delivered to the reading area, ready for your perusal.
The new shelving system is estimated to be seven times more efficient in its use of space, but the redesign demonstrates the continuing challenge of running a library in the 21st Century. How much can we strip away and still remain a library?
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