Secrets of the lost vault

With a state-of-the-art temperature control system, a security structure that rivals the Pentagon and stacks of books that would take several lifetimes to read, the Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) is preserving and storing materials so current students and future generations will be able to use and appreciate the fine collections at IU.\nLocated northeast of 10th street and the Indiana 45/46 Bypass on North Range Road, the 2 1/2-year-old building primarily functions as a storage facility to lessen the burden on an overcrowded IU library system and to preserve books through optimum conditions and restoration techniques. Rare, fragile and lesser-used books are stored and available to the public through a same-day delivery service when requested. \n"The ALF does a very good job of taking care of the collections," said Dean of Indiana University Libraries Suzanne Thorin. "There have been no real problems. They have a good delivery and storage system."\nThe centerpiece of the ALF is its storage vault, which houses 700,000 items in acid-free shelves. With approximately 7,000 additional items coming in each week, there is room for about 3 million items in the vault. Books and documents are stacked 34 feet high, so a forklift is required to place and retrieve books. The approximately 120-by-85-foot room has enough room to store the main library's entire collection.\nBooks, paper documents, film collections and other types of bound material are currently housed in the facility. Many of the rare and valuable items include congressional papers, myriad IU historical documents and a rare film collection from Hollywood film director David Bradley dating back to 1929. \nWhile in storage, the books rest in a safe, sterile environment that extends their longevity. \n"The vault is kept at a constant 50 degrees Fahrenheit, 30 percent relative humidity, and the temperature is not allowed to fluctuate over one-half a degree, up or down," said Vaughn Nuest, manager of the ALF. "Research has shown that these conditions will allow paper-based materials to last 200 to 300 more years than in normal conditions."\nAdditional protection comes from the ALF's smart sprinkler system, a leakproof roof with no pipes and electric wires encased with metal conduits to eliminate fire hazards. \nTo break into the ALF, one would need a plan straight out of a Hollywood caper. As Nuest states, the ALF is one of the most secure buildings in Indiana, as it features heavily fortified walls and an advanced computerized security system. Additionally, there are only five people in the world with access to the vault, and Nuest is the only one with full-time access. \nAlthough you can't browse the ALF like a normal library, checking out books is not difficult. To borrow a book, users simply check out books electronically, and the ALF ships the materials to any library on campus through same-day delivery. The operation is very efficient, too, as the ALF boasts a 100-percent success rate in retrieving and delivering items. \nBefore the opening of the ALF, all but one of IU's 17 libraries were at maximum capacity. The ALF, however, alleviates many of these spacing issues.\n"The low-use and/or fragile materials that are selected for transfer to the ALF free up much-needed space for vastly overcrowded library shelves on campus," said Nuest. "The space that is being freed up in these locations is being put to use to allow those libraries to better serve their patrons."\nThe ALF also houses the E. Lingle Craig Preservation Lab. The lab is responsible for educating library staff on proper preservation techniques and treating and preserving any brittle or damaged materials. The lab also features many state-of-the-art technologies, including a book freezer that is used to treat water-damaged materials. \nThorin said there currently are plans to add three more vaults to the complex. The additions are more of a long-term plan, as the current vault is expected to take seven to eight years to reach capacity.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Trevor Brown at brownta@indiana.edu.