Managing Automated Storage in the 21st Century Library

The Mathewson Automated Retrieval System (MARS) is the second largest automated library storage system in the world. Housed in the University of Nevada, Reno’s spectacular Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, MARS provides storage for half of the print collection, and nearly all government documents, special collections materials, and multimedia equipment. This chapter will explore automated library storage management, including maintenance and care of the equipment, safety, stewardship of the collection, and how automated storage challenges our beliefs about the purpose and function of libraries.