A number of changes will be underway soon with the completion this summer of Temple’s new Library Depository, a closed-stack shelving and retrieval facility.

Over the course of the summer, thousands of lesser-used volumes will be relocated to the Depository, thus allowing Temple Libraries to centralize a number of collections, expand services, and refurbish Paley Library’s stack areas with expanded study and collaboration space. Many research libraries are already using similar closed-stack facilities to preserve their growing research collections and open up space within the library buildings to meet the varied needs and expectations of contemporary students and scholars.

Materials in the Depository will be listed in the online catalog with a conveniently linked online request form. They will be retrieved by library staff and available within a quick turn-around time.

In conjunction with these changes, several branch libraries will close over the summer, providing the opportunity to expand services and reintegrate collections that have been split for years because of limited space. The Zahn Library’s last day of operation will be Friday, May 12, 2006, the last day of spring semester. Physics Library will be next, followed by Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematical Sciences. An exact schedule has not been set, but it is expected that the closings will be completed and the library materials relocated by the end of the summer sessions.

An FAQ with full details about the Depository and related services is posted on the library website. Advisories and progress reports will be featured in the library blog as the transitions proceed.

For more details about the Library Depository and the related changes, please see the Temple Times article published on April 27, 2006.

Here’s a recent view of the construction underway as moveable compact shelving carriages are assembled. New photos will be added occasionally as work progresses.

— Carol Lang