We started our third week with a visit to Oak Street library where we learnt about the value of offsite storage in the way of managing collections. We experienced robotic cranes in action which assist systems that are making book retrieval easy with the aim of keeping the library user happy by delivering on time. These items circulate on a daily basis and the Oak Street library unit is able to provide this service smoothly. What was important to me is how the library are taking the lead and proactive approaches to preserve knowledge.


We were then treated to Chicago where we visited the Chicago Public Library, Upshot and The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library. It was great to solidify our knowledge by observing their automated robotic system retrieving books for the users. This beautiful dome library has an underground high-density automated storage and retrieval system. This Mansueto Library prides itself for speeding scholarly productivity by allowing for the retrieval of materials within an average time of 3 minutes through use of robotic cranes.

We ended our Chicago trip with a boat cruise and enjoyed our Architectural tour in Chicago.

We then had the pleasure of visiting Ohio State and experiencing the state of the art library building of Ohio State University , OCLC and Ohio State Library. We also enjoyed a tour in the beautiful spaces of OCLC where we learned how OCLC connects libraries around the world. We were truly privileged to see what goes on behind the scenes of OCLC.
