In 2010 the Automated Book Delivery System has been introduced at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at NC State University. They had to find a solution to store and handle their immense collection of 2 million books...
The Automated Book Delivery System in my opinion, is not a threat to the labour force in the libraries , but a solution to smart storage and material access. The problem of storage space and access to library materials, especially rare and/or rarely used items is a significant issue in today's libraries. In fact, this dilemma has been mentioned and discussed numerous times at various Tafe classes. We all know that librarians forced to weed out the collection on a regular basis, just to free some shelf space!
So we should not be intimadeted by this technical ( rather hi-tech ) answer to the storage problem! It does not mean that the libraries will become warehouses without hiring anyone !! The above mentioned library still has 40000 books on a traditional shelf system. ABDS exist partially only, to free up space on the cramped bookshelves of the main libraries, while the traditional browsing experience and the sacred human contact is still available.
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