The second phase of 鶹ƵUniversity Libraries’ 14,000-square-foot storage facility on South Campus is now complete. The facility provides temperature and humidity-controlled cool and cold storage vaults in the building. The addition was funded, in part, from gifts received from various donors, including 鶹ƵUniversity Trustee William J. Brodsky ’65, G’68, and his wife Joan ’67, G’68 and Trustees Eric ’66, G’68 and Judith C. ’66, G’73, G’80, G’84 Mower.
The facility addition was designed to provide optimum environmental conditions for the storage and preservation of items from the Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. Unique, rare and fragile materials that require cold (32°F, 40% relative humidity) or cool (50°F, 30% relative humidity) environmental conditions can be stored in Module 2 for secure and long-term preservation. Module 2 also has customized security technology, fire protection and environmental controls that will halt degradation and extend the life of these valuable collections by several hundred years, ensuring crucial access to materials for teaching, research and scholarship at 鶹ƵUniversity.
Materials stored in Module 2 will include tens of thousands of films, photographs, negatives, recorded sound formats, tape-based media and 19th/20th century paper books and manuscripts on acidifying wood-pulp based paper. Responsive retrieval and access to materials will be provided by Libraries’ staff.
“We are grateful to Campus Planning, Design and Construction, Dean David Seaman, the staff of the Libraries and, particularly, the team from the Special Collections Research Center for their work in making this facility a reality,” says Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor and provost. “I have seen some of the important objects and documents that make up the Libraries’ collections and am pleased that future generations of scholars and researchers will have access to these resources.”
The Libraries is planning an open house for faculty in the fall.
