by Catherine McCarley
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When the University of Arkansas announced last year that over a million books would be moving to an off-campus location, people reacted with skepticism at best. One former librarian started a petition to save the books, which was signed by over 5,000 people. There was talk of robbing students of their rights to directly access the collection. Despite the outcry, the books on the third and fourth floors of Mullins Library were moved to a climate-controlled environment where they are carefully monitored by a dedicated staff.
In a way, the books were indeed saved.
The Library Annex is a 11.4 million dollar facility built from cross-laminated timber. The funding to build this 27,000 square foot facility came in part from University of Arkansas students’ Facilities Fees, according to the library’s annex information page. The structure can accommodate 1.8 Dillon books at capacity.
Students pay for the annex and they still have access to every volume stored there, said Kat Williams, a library storage specialist. Williams said now that the annex is up and running, every Razorback has easier access to what the university’s collections has to offer.
“We know where everything is because everything has a certain place, so it’s easier to find and get it to people. In a way, I think us as the middle men is helping people get to their materials a little faster,” Williams said.
The University of Arkansas has the largest collection of books and artifacts in the state of Arkansas. Inside the annex, knowledge is protected in a way that is more sophisticated than a normal library location, said library annex supervisor Kelvin Somerville.
The temperature and humidity levels are constantly monitored inside the annex’s storage facility. Too much humidity means mold can grow on vulnerable volumes, Somerville explains.
“We have so many delicate materials. It’s nice to know they are getting the proper care that they need,” Somerville said.
Aside from 40 foot tall bookshelves and extensive collections of art, clothing and microfilm, the University of Arkansas Library Annex has a quarantine room which protects volumes already on the shelves from any incoming books that might be contaminated with bugs or mold.
Even though the annex staff have fun on the job, they take the work they do with the items in their care very seriously, said Kat Williams.
“It is kind of a big responsibility. We’re not just handling books. We’re handling sometimes rare materials or one of a kind pieces,” Williams said.