New York Public Library Builds Modern Conveyer System to Quickly Transfer Books

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A new state-of-the-art system at the 42nd Street public library will transport those millions of research stacks up to the library staff in a much smoother and faster way. The new conveyer cars being unveiled Oct. 3 can travel horizontally and vertically, and much faster than the old system, according to a statement released Wednesday by the New York Public Library.

Starting Oct. 3, you can go to the library and watch the mini train-like conveyer in smooth action. Its design was developed by Gensler, and it was built by the New Jersey based company Teledynamic. The $2.6 million project replaces an outdated system where the books were merely placed in boxes and put onto a conveyer belt.

The storage area of the 42nd Street library under Bryant Park was recently expanded, and now it is able to hold a whopping 4 million research volumes. That scale of volumes deserved a new conveyer system.

The new system's 24 cars run on 950 feet of vertical and horizontal tracks. Each car can hold 30 pounds of books and move 75 feet per minute through the 11 levels of the library, according to the library.

It takes one car around five minutes to go from the storage area to the Rose Main Reading Room, where researchers will be waiting for their books. The historic Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor is reopening to the public on Oct. 5 after two years of being closed for restoration.

Photo credit: Jonathan Blanc/New York Public Library