Need a book? You can get it on the Spot without the hassle of searching through shelves at the new Steelcase Library at Grand Valley State University's Robert C. Pew Downtown Campus. A robot does the legwork for you... or, in this case, the crane-work. The Spot robotic book retrieval system takes just over a minute to search 2,600 book bins in a 40-foot-high storage facility containing up to 250,000 books, locate just the right volume, and deliver it to the robot's operator.
A retrieval machine like Spot is only found at two other libraries in the country, including the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The $600,000 automated system weighs over 7,000 pounds but moves with surprising stealth as it sniffs out a book by bar code and fetches it.
GVSU student and other registered library users don't even need to be at the library in person to issue Spot its marching orders. Users can access the library's catalog online from any personal computer, request a book, and arrange delivery to Grand Valley's downtown, Allendale, or Holland campuses.
New Home for the Grand Rapids Bar Association's Law Library
Spot isn't the only impressive feature at the Steelcase Library, located on the ground floor of the Richard M. DeVos Center. The library is also the new home to the Grand Rapids Bar Association's (GRBA) law library, a collection currently consisting of 35,000 volumes. We anticipate the number of law volumes to increase to about 135,000, said Tom Butcher, University counsel at GVSU. Grand Valley will own and maintain the law library, which will be recognized as a gift of the GRBA. The cost of maintaining the Bar library was a major factor in making the move.
GVSU intended to establish a law library whether or not we transferred our collection, said Mike Walton, GRBA president. It does not make sense for both organizations to maintain an expensive library.
Transfer of the materials from the Bar library's former location at 200 Monroe Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids began on August 1. Spot helped make the acquisition possible. Without the space-saving storage and retrieval system, the Steelcase Library would have lacked the necessary capacity.
The gift from the GRBA marks a significant step in establishing the Steelcase Library as the region's premier legal reference resource. According to Butcher, Grand Valley will provide a practitioner's library including one university librarian with extensive law experience. A joint advisory committee, including representatives of the GRBA, will help decide what materials the library will maintain.
The Council of Michigan Foundations Library collection, formerly housed in Grand Haven, was also added to Steelcase Library shelves in mid-August. Current plans to have the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University offer programs at GVSU in Grand Rapids could lead to a further library expansion.
The Steelcase Library will be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to midnight and Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to midnight.
