Remote Storage: Leveraging Technology to Maximize Efficiency and Minimize Investments

Libraries are increasingly using, or at least considering, remote storage facilities for their little-used materials in order to free up valuable on-campus library space for other purposes. This paper details the experiences of one library, Northwestern University's Pritzker Legal Research Center, in preparing for, then doing, this work. This type of work can be expensive in terms of staff time, particularly when staff is already being asked to do many additional things. Because extra staff could not be hired, Pritzker has experimented with alternative ways to get this work done, using relatively inexpensive and readily available technology, combined with the creativity of its staff, to accomplish this work with a minimum of time and other inputs while maintaining quality of work.