By Ahmad | Week 2 | Tuesday | 10 June 2025
On our visit to the Oak Street Library and its Conservation Lab, I was struck by one immediate question: where are the books? Unlike traditional libraries lined with shelves, Oak Street is a masterclass in modern preservation and storage.

Opened in 2004, Oak Street Library is home to over four million items stored in high-density, climate-controlled vaults. Inside, industrial lifts help certified staff retrieve materials from shelves soaring forty feet high. Every item is carefully sorted by size for maximum space efficiency and cataloged for easy request through the library’s system.
What’s impressive is how this facility balances preservation and access. The state-of-the-art system keeps the environment at 50°F with 30% humidity, significantly slowing material deterioration. Much of the collection is also available digitally, so users can access materials without ever setting foot in the vaults.

Patrons can request items online for delivery via campus mail or pick-up at a library of their choice. There’s even a public reading room for on-site use but remember, items must be requested in advance due to the storage design.
During our visit, we got a close-up look at the processing and preservation area, where the space was filled with specialized equipment and talented staff busy repairing, restoring, and giving new life to the collections.
Beyond storage, Oak Street plays a key role in projects like the Google Book Search and the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Shared Print Repository, ensuring knowledge is preserved and accessible for future generations. The library also manages gifts of materials, working with donors and campus units to process and protect valuable additions to the collection.
What stood out most was how Oak Street Library isn’t just a place where books are stored it’s where they’re protected, shared, and given new life through digitization and collaboration.