Topics in Preservation Science
 |
 |
 |
 |
Innovations at the British Library: A High Density, Fully Automated, Low Oxygen Environment Storage Facility
March 17, 2006, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
West Dining Room, 6th floor James Madison Building
ABOUT THE LECTURE:
The British Library will run out of collection space in 2006/07. In response to this critical need, the Library is building a new, state-of-the-art, 262 linear kilometer (163 linear mile) storage facility. Key issues being addressed include environmental standards, storage and service delivery automation, and interfacing the warehouse management system software to the Library's IT systems. Fulfilling collection management objectives and making key decisions are leading to the construction of a high density, fully automated, low oxygen environment storage facility that simultaneously focuses on care of the collections while providing continued access to the low-use material. This innovative project has radical implications as a blueprint for future library collection storage developments.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dawn Olney is currently Head of Collection Storage at the British Library. She read History at the University of Warwick and then became a Society of College, National & University Libraries (SCONUL) trainee at University College London where she earned a MA in Library and Information Studies. She joined the British Library in 1983 as a cataloguer, and has since worked as the Bibliographic Control Officer at the Newspaper Library at Colindale, a planning officer for the relocation of collections and services to St Pancras, and as project manager for the moves of the Library collection into the St Pancras storage facility. Her responsibilities also include stamping, shelf-marking and labeling, all aspects of collection storage including developing storage and environmental monitoring policies, developing and monitoring collection security procedures, and auditing the collections.