This article is more than 5 years old.

Libraries have an obligation to preserve the written record for the benefit of humanity. At ZSR, that obligation is most keenly felt in cases where a ZSR book is one of the last remaining extant copies. The Library off-site storage building, located just a few miles from campus, offers better environmental conditions and a reduced risk of theft compared to the open stacks in the 1950s-era main building. Library faculty used national data to identify about 27,000 titles with fewer than ten other U.S. libraries holding that exact edition. A small number of books were rare enough to move into Special Collections, but the rest can be stored in climate-controlled safety and still be available for daily use. The Library Planning Committee has endorsed this approach, and the move will be completed this summer. A link on the catalog record for each item will allow you to request delivery to campus for use or checkout. Most requests for off-site material are fulfilled the same day, either by scanning an article or delivery of the physical volume. Moving this part of the collection will allow for greater protection of nearly unique items, while still allowing the access that WFU students and faculty have come to expect.