Automatic Storage and Retrieval System for ILL Helen Sakrihei, The National Library of Norway Document Delivery Satellite Meeting, Nancy 2014.

Automatic Storage and Retrieval System for ILL

Helen Sakrihei, The National Library of NorwayDocument Delivery Satellite Meeting, Nancy 2014

Topics

• ILL in Norway• Establishment of the Repository

Library• Storage solutions• Automatic storage and retrieval system• The collection• How does it work?• Digitization• Advantages and disadvantages• User feedback• Summary

ILL in Norway

1-3 percent of loans are ILL

2013: 800 000 ILL in Norway

42% within the same county

20% from the Repository Library

The establishment of the RL: 1

1980s: lack of storage space a problem for many Norwegian libraries

Need for a shared national storage facility and a interlibrary lending center

The establishment of the RL: 2

1989: Mo i Rana department of The National Library of Norway

Repository Library a major task for the department

First years

Large volumes of publications

Ordinary bookshelves

Mobile shelves

New storage solution

End of 90’s: need for new storage

Several alternatives were considered

2000: the Automatic Storage and Retrieval System was chosen

Automatic Storage and Retrieval System - Outside

Ready for use in 2003

Outside: Ordinary storage building

52 x 13 x 14 meters

Automatic Storage and Retrieval System - Inside

43.500 steel boxes

Three automatic miniload cranes

Retrieval center with three pick-up stations

150 meters of powered rollers

Chaos storage

Chaos storage

Books have no permanent box or folder

Boxes have no permanent place in the storage

Barcodes on publication, box and folder

The collection

1 000 000 monographs 500 000 periodicals Audio books, music CDs,

microfilms Publications from

Norwegian libraries. Legaly deposited new

publications Complete collection of

Norwegian monographs

How does it work? 1

Loan orders are automatically transferred to the storage

The WMS locates the position of the boxes

The cranes fetch the boxes

How does it work? 2

• The boxes are brought from the storage to the Retrieval center

How does it work? 3

Operators pick the books, and read the barcodes

Another book is put in the box

Up to 800 items per day

Capacity: 150 items per hour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeC7xjvPqKs&list=UUbKQvjl1emq6Zj-Uij8BTbw

What we don’t do

Store the books in logical order

Pick the books from shelves

Put them back in the same place when they are returned

What we do

• Store randomly

• Receive the boxes automatically

• Return the books in any box

Digitization

• NLN is digitizing its entire collection

• 356 000 digitized books so far

• 250 000 books will become accessible online

Advantages of ASRS

Compact and safe storage

Efficient handling of loan orders

Reliable Great overview

of the collection

Disadvantages?

None

User feedback

Users are libraries, most Norwegian

99% satisfied users

Fast delivering Almost complete

collection Lending figures

doubled

What are we doing now?

• The storage is full

• Building av new ASRS

• Ready for use in 2015

• Capacity: 1 million items for the RL

Summary

The ASRS has given us compact and safe storage

Automated handling of loan orders is effective and reliable

Chaos-storing is safe(!)

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