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January 7th, 2025
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve campus spaces and better serve students, Purdue Libraries has successfully relocated a significant portion of its collection to a new off-campus repository. This move, which took place throughout 2023 and 2024, helped to create more student-focused spaces within the HSSE Library in Stewart Center, freeing up room for additional seating and study areas.
The relocation process has been managed by Hallett Movers, a professional library moving company. The bulk of the move was completed in February 2024, and as of December 2024, over 70% of the relocated collection is now discoverable, a significant increase from the 52% available in August. This steady progress ensures that more materials are becoming accessible to patrons each day.
RaeLynn Boes, print collections manager, said “The biggest improvement was getting out of a basement that had leaks and no longer having to fight humidity. We had leaks from things like restrooms and when a pipe burst on Mitch Daniels Blvd., and we were constantly worrying about these materials being damaged.”
About the repository
The relocated materials are now housed at a new facility located at 2550 Northwestern Ave., in the former State Farm Insurance building. With nearly one million items now stored off-campus, this transition marks a major shift in how Purdue Libraries manages its collections. The majority of the materials that were transferred came from the HIKS and Archives repositories, as well as from the HSSE Library in Stewart Center itself.
In the new facility, Purdue Libraries has implemented a unique organizational system that departs from the traditional library classification methods. Instead of using call numbers and location codes, materials are organized by individual row numbers on shelves. While this approach may seem different from what students and faculty are accustomed to on campus, each item retains its original shelf number, ensuring a straightforward transition when retrieving materials.
How to access materials
Despite the materials now being housed off-campus, accessing books and other resources has not become more difficult for patrons. Purdue Libraries Facilities (PLF) makes two trips each day between the campus and the off-campus repository to retrieve requested items, which are then made available for pickup at the patron’s chosen library. More than 1,300 items were requested during the Fall 2024 semester, highlighting the continued demand for these resources.
Looking ahead
While the transition to the new facility is ongoing, the changes have already had a positive impact on the HSSE Library in Stewart Center’s environment. With more room for student study areas and collaborative spaces, the library continues to evolve to meet the needs of Purdue’s academic community.
For more information and instructions on how to request materials, please visit the Purdue Libraries borrowing website.
Filed under: general, News and Announcements