NY Public Library goes underground with mobile shelving
The New York Public Library has been fast at work with Montel putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive print media storage project underneath the skating rink in Bryant Park.
According to an article by The New York Times, the NYPL chose to install a one-of-a-kind mobile shelving system instead of relocating its voluminous research collection all the way across the Hudson River to New Jersey.
Installing the new mobile shelving system for the NYPL was no small feat, but certainly well worth it considering the results. Local Authorized Montel Distributor The Lucia Group had to drive to the heart of New York City, unload all the construction supplies and materials from 43 different 53-foot trailers at the corner of 40th Street and 5th Avenue – an infamously busy intersection – and transport everything half a mile through complex underground tunnels to get to the bunker where the NYPL would set up shop.
Here’s a closer look at what this high-density library storage system will offer the NYPL upon completion.
Dimensions
As you can imagine, because the NYPL manages a great number of books overall, moving even a fraction of its materials to a new underground storage facility will be a predictably massive undertaking. Once finished, 15,000 new shelves will provide librarians with more than 12 miles of extra storage space, capable of holding as many as 2.4 million books.
Emergency brakes on mechanical-assist mobile shelving units
Each of the 320 40-foot-long mobile shelving units in the NYPL’s subterranean storage facility comes equipped with a safety bar along the bottom of each module. If users find themselves between closing stacks, they can stop the mobile shelving by depressing the brake with as little as 1.5 lbs of pressure. Best of all, the braking system requires no electrical power and uses limited mechanical components to prevent excessive maintenance.
High-density organizational system
The Dewey Decimal system works for library frequenters and staff, but for the purposes of a storing as many books as humanly possible without compromising the ability to search for them logically and successfully, the NYPL overflow collection will be organized by size, working in tandem with an advanced bar coding system to protect against shrinkage.
Montel would like to thank its local Authorized Montel Distributor The Lucia Group in New York City for doing an outstanding job managing the project and performing this major installation.
Montel would like to thank its local Authorized Montel Distributor The Lucia Group in New York City for doing an outstanding job managing the project and performing this major installation.
Founded in 1924, Montel is a company specialized in the design and manufacture of high-density mobile storage systems for a multitude of markets, including libraries, museums, industrial warehousing, education, healthcare, public safety, military, sports and indoor vertical farming.