Construction starts on storage building for stuffed UB libraries

Almost a third of UB's three million books, volumes and journals are moving out of its libraries and into an off-campus warehouse. After a ten-year battle with budget and facilities problems, officials say the move will change the way students and faculty access these resources.

To address the need for more storage space for resources, over a million books, volumes and journals are being relocated to a new storage facility off of Sweet Home Road. The concrete foundation of the nearly 10,000-square-foot building will be poured within the next few weeks.

"We've outgrown our space," said Stephen Roberts, assistant vice president for University Libraries. "With nearly a mile and half of print resources collected every year, UB libraries have reached a shocking state of over-capacity, occupying expansion rooms and infringing on user space."

Students unaware of the change said they hadn't noticed the over-capacity. All that matters is that what they need is still there.

"I really don't think there's much of a clutter. It's roomy and quiet," said Jeremy Pasker, a sophomore psychology major. "I see no problem in moving materials to another location. All it can do is make the library more accessible, giving room to new books and computer space."

Others, like Mike Korona, said they feel the move is well overdue.

"The libraries are very overcrowded and are in much need of help. It's great that this has become a priority and I feel the move will greatly enhance the libraries," said Korona, a junior management major.

With the removal of low-use research material and text that has been superceded by online databases, the clutter that has been accumulating in the libraries will be alleviated, creating a new viable sense of accessibility, said Roberts.

But many students and faculty members said they are wary about the accessibility of a distant off-campus storage facility.

"With the building being so far away, and with resources buried deep within such a huge facility, I feel like there's going to be quite a long turn around in acquiring what I need," said Jennifer Lapp, a second-year archeology graduate student. "I think most students are in a pinch when writing a paper, and they need sources immediately. Having such a remote storage area can only hurt accessibility."

According to UB officials, accessibility will be different, but still feasible. The creation of a remote retrieval system will allow students to request a piece of work stored on the 38-foot shelves of the new building for on-location pick up or in some cases have it sent to their home PC via email.

There will also be a small reading room to accommodate those in search of rare materials. Though new accessibility will have a so-called middleman, requests will be promptly served. Of course, there will be some inevitable delays, said Roberts.

With the future restriction of firsthand access to the stacks, others feel that the new system will disrupt a very important, tangible aspect that was present in conventional stacks.

"You don't always know what is relevant until you see it," said Ezra Zubrow, an anthropology professor. "Being able to wonder around the stacks, a certain amount of serendipity is involved in finding books. The typical student doesn't usually know what they want in the early stages of the research process, and to cut off direct access to the stacks would severely cripple a student's studies."

When the storage facility is up and running, a vast amount of space will be opened in libraries across campus. Space for new material will be readily available and the acquisition of newly cleared areas will also allow for the expansion of computer stations and study areas.

Though many universities are going digital and have similar storage buildings, some still feel the consequences overshadow the effects.

"All the great universities-Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton-are known for their vast stacks access, and with this plan we're losing something vital: on-campus accessibility," Zubrow said. "What we're doing is going in the opposite direction for economical gain."