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University of Technology, Sydney to build giant underground book lair

The library of the future needs so much more than just books. So, where do you store all of those old, dead trees for on-call retrieval? Underground, of course.

Craig Simms Special to CNET News
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Craig Simms

The library of the future needs so much more than just books. So, where do you store all of those old, dead trees for on-call retrieval? Underground, of course.

Apparently the books will be collected by a 15-metre-tall crane. (Sandhill Crane image by Eric W, royalty free; Girl in black clothes image by Jan Willem Geertsma, royalty free; CBSi)

CIO has reported that the automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) is part of an AU$1 billion upgrade being carried out at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), and is expected to be completed between 2015 and 2016.

Around 900,000 items are expected to be stored underground, filed by spine height and retrieved by six 15-metre-tall robotic cranes. RFID will be used to tie the physical objects into the retrieval database, with each item being able to reach the service desk around 15 minutes after request.

Via www.cio.com.au