http://conference.ifla.org/ifla78Datesubmitted:22June20121AutomatedStorageandRetrievalSystem:aTime-testedInnovationHelenHeinrichChairofTechnicalServicesEricWillisSystemsAdministratorCaliforniaStateUniversityNorthridge,California,USASession:102—Storageandrepositories:newpreservationandaccessstrategies—PreservationandConservationProgramme(PAC)Abstract:TheOviattLibraryattheCaliforniaStateUniversity,Northridge(CSUN)isthesiteoftheworld’sfirstlibraryAutomatedStorageandRetrievalSystem(ASRS).BornfromthepilotprojectattheCaliforniaStateUniversityChancellor'sOffice,CSUN’sASRSwasinauguratedin1991andcostover$2,000,000toimplement.Thestoragefacilityconsistsof13,260steelbinsonarackstructurethatoccupiesan8000sq.ft.roomfortyfeethigh.Currentlyithousesover857,200volumes,includingbinsthatcontainarchivalandspecialcollectionsmaterials.The1994NorthridgeEarthquakedevastatedthelibrarybuildingandcollection,butnotasinglebookinASRSwasdamaged.Now,almost20yearslatertheCSUNASRSunderwentamajorrenovationofhardware.Theupgradetothephysicalplanttookmorethanthreemonthstocompleteandhadaminimalimpactonlibraryservices.Theretrievalofmaterialsisbarcodedriven.ThelibraryonlinecataloginterfaceswiththeASRSsoftware,whichmapsitemrecordtothecorrespondingbin.Thecommandfortheroboticcraneislaunchedfromthecatalogbyclickingtherequestbuttondisplayedwithintheitemrecord.Oncearequestisplaced,ittakes15minutesforthematerialstoarriveatthecirculationdesk.Presentlythesystemhandlesover15,000requestsperyearandtheentireprocessispredicatedonthecompatibilityandsynchronousmaintenanceofthetwoparallelsystems-thelibrarycatalog(InnovativeInc.)andASRSsoftware.Inadditiontothehistoryandoverview,thepresentationwilldiscussthemajoraspectsofASRSadministration:specificationsofstoragelayoutandarrangementofthematerials,collectionpolicyforstoringmaterials,communicationofretrievalrequests,andASRSinterfaceandcompatibilitywithsuccessiveIntegratedLibrarySystems.2AdministratorsandlibrarianswhoconsiderinvestinginASRSwilllearnaboutthechallengesofitslong-termmanagementfromtheexampleofCSUN.BackgroundCaliforniaStateUniversity,Northridge(CSUN)isavibrant,diverseuniversitycommunityofnearly36,000studentsandmorethan4,000facultyandstaff,sitedona356-acrecampusintheheartofLosAngeles'SanFernandoValley.iTheCSUNOviattLibraryhasaphysicalcollectioncontaining1.4millionvolumes,ofwhichover1.1millionarebooks,andover250,000boundperiodicalvolumes.TheLibrarysubscribesto57,000onlinejournals,over2,300printjournals,over200onlinedatabasesandnearly300,000ebooks.Thearchivesandmanuscriptcollectionexceeds4,200linearfeetofmaterials,withnearly38,500itemshousedinSpecialCollections.iiHistoryTheOviattLibraryattheCaliforniaStateUniversity,Northridge(CSUN)isthesiteoftheworld’sfirstlibraryAutomatedStorageandRetrievalSystem(AS/RS).BornfromthepilotprojectattheCaliforniaStateUniversityChancellor'sOffice,CSUN’sAS/RSwasinauguratedin1991andcostover$2,000,000toimplement.Itscurrentannualcostofmaintenancerunsabout$35,0001.Inthelate1980stheCaliforniaStateUniversityatNorthridgeLibraryexperiencedsteadygrowthduetoanincreaseinthenumberofstudentsandfaculty,anincreaseinthevarietyofacademicprogramsbeingoffered,thathadtobesupportedbythelibraryaccordingtoitsmission,andthegrowthintheamountofprintedmaterialrequiredtokeepcollectionscurrentwitholdandnewprograms.Thisgrowthhasledtoinevitablespaceproblems.ByaformulaCS...
