News & Events

The Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (everyone calls it the ALF) today accepted its 2 millionth volume, making it about 90 percent full.

Construction is under way to accommodate even more books and materials at the location. Site preparation for a second module began in June. This additional shelving facility, funded by the IU Libraries, Bloomington academic units, and campus administration, expands the capacity of the original ALF by approximately 4.2 million volumes. The facility is expected to be completed in late spring 2010.

The ALF, the off-site shelving location for the IU Bloomington Libraries, is located just east of the Indiana 45/46 Bypass. Materials are delivered daily to 18 campus locations.

To preserve the materials shelved there, the ALF is kept at a constant 50 degrees F and 30 percent relative humidity—about the same environmental conditions as Mammoth Cave.

In the photo:  Mecco Mai, ALF Services assistant and one of the original staff hires when the building opened, accessions the 2,000,000th item.  Also pictures: ALF Services Assistant Craig Kinney (seated) and  longtime student employee and SLIS student Josh Howe (right).