News & Events

Sean Frew, ALF services assistant, places film reels on the shelves in the ALF expansion.

The IU Libraries celebrated its grand opening of the Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) extension Nov. 3. Funded by the Indiana University Bloomington deans, campus, and IUB Libraries, the additional space enables the state-of-the-art depository to store up to three million additional books and materials.

The facility also provides storage for up to 200,000 reels of IU’s rare films collection. "Older film stock deteriorates quite rapidly, and with the opening of the new IU Cinema, which will showcase some of our unique film holdings, it is more important than ever to preserve and store these films under optimal conditions," said Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson, who spoke at the grand opening. "The library's collections—whether paper books, digitized materials, film, or multimedia—are pathways for the transmission of knowledge."

The design of ALF's high-density shelving facility and delivery system has as much to do with protecting its valuable and often irreplaceable content as does the staff's book-handling protocols and pristine preservation environment. The collections are kept at a very strict 50-degree, 30-percent humidity environment, which will extend the lifetime of the materials by 200 to 300 years. In addition, ALF uses a sustainable lighting system; acid-free and lignin-free envelopes that protect materials from bugs, mold, and dust; a fire-suppression system; a membrane-crowned roof; and Superflat floors.

A book preservation and paper conservation laboratory is also located within the building. The E. Lingle Craig Preservation Laboratory supports the mission of preserving collections through both active and passive programs of conservation activities, including reformatting brittle and severely damaged materials.
In addition to preserving priceless collections, the ALF, which first opened in 2002, helps the IUB Libraries manage physical collections, better utilize university resources, and develop new collaborative agreements with other research libraries to share responsibility for long-term preservation and access.

“ALF encourages us to re-imagine central campus libraries as the location of targeted physical collections and new services,” said Brenda Johnson, Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries. “It also allows us to capitalize on investments in digital materials that can sometimes stand in for physical items and enables us to explore opportunities as we re-envision the future of all collections.”

According to Vaughn Nuest, ALF department head, the facility provides quick, reliable access to physical materials; same-day delivery six days a week to 18 library service points across campus; and a scanning service that enables staff to deliver materials electronically throughout the world.

Tours of the facility are available to faculty, staff, students, and community members. For more information, visit the ALF Web site.