The Robot will get that for you . . . the University of Chicago's High-Tech Library

The Robot will get that for you . . . the University of Chicago's High-Tech Library

The Robot will get that for you . . . the University of Chicago's High-Tech Library

Jul 28, 2011, 12:36 PM

The Chronicle of Higher Education explores the University of Chicago's incredible underground stacks where books are shelved and retrieved by a complex robotic system. ". . . David N. Borycz, project manager at the library, demonstrates what happens when a...

The Chronicle of Higher Education explores the University of Chicago's incredible underground stacks where books are shelved and retrieved by a complex robotic system.

". . . David N. Borycz, project manager at the library, demonstrates what happens when a patron wants an item. He uses the online library catalog to request a dissertation, "God's Gardeners," by David Kenneth Larsen. A few clicks and it's in the retrieval queue. Then a nearby door slides open. One of the five mechanical cranes has delivered up the bin to a small loading dock. And there, tucked among a series of other bound maroon volumes, is Mr. Larsen's dissertation. 

It all takes about three minutes."