Designed by Helmut Jahn to hold the equivalent of 3.5 million printed volumes in an underground automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library is a marvel of beauty and functionality. After touring the spectacular 180-seat Grand Reading Room and Circulation Service Center located beneath the glass dome, a small group will get a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of the ASRS. The group will descend 50 feet underground to see how, in just five minutes, one of five mechanized cranes can retrieve needed material in response to a reader’s request. Library staff will explain the storage system from a cataloging and technical perspective. Please note that each tour will be limited to 20 people and includes a short trip in an enclosed elevator to reach the basement storage floor. These tours are related to the program on the development of the Mansueto Library, which is ticketed separately.
Please note: tickets to these tours are not included in the Hyde Park day pass and must be purchased separately. Each tour is limited to 20 participants. Those taking the tour should enter through the main entrance of the Joseph Regenstein Library at 1100 E. 57th Street.
