Fluorescent Dreams Wax Cylinders - INANE: Deadly library!

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27th of April, 2008

10:36 - INANE: Deadly library!

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I'm on level D of the U. Cal Berkeley main library. (Yes, this area is students and faculty-only. Don't ask.)

Berkeley has too many books for its space. As a response, their books are on shelves literally touching each other. On each side of the shelves is a large, spoked wheel from a company named "Mobilex". Turn the wheel one rotation, and the thirty-foot long shelf full of books moves about two inches. There's enough space among the shelves for about three aisles; you literally "dial" the shelf that you want.

I checked. If you're among the shelves, you can't stop them from moving. I didn't care to browse the shelves for long...

Am I the only one who sees this system, and wonders why other libraries don't have potential deadly weapons as an essential part of using the library?

Take care, all.

Current Location: Level D, U. Cal Berkeley main library
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Comments:

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From:[info]aprivatefox
Date:2008-Apr-27 05:47 pm (UTC)
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Those things are shockingly common in private academic libraries; I've encountered them three or four times when just randomly looking for things at universities. They do provide an essential sense of "get in, get what you need, get out of the stacks." What I want to know is why nobody's used this in a murder mystery yet...
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From:[info]wbwolf
Date:2008-Apr-27 05:57 pm (UTC)
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I'll vouch how common they are. I've also seen similar systems in private businesses; when working for GE Financial, they had a similar system to house all the files of businesses that had loans in a pretty small room (and it was my job to put them back periodically). At least the system there was manually moved, but there was a failsafe that prevented anyone from getting crushed.

I seem to recall similar systems also used at the Waseda and Keio University libraries, but they were motor driven. Most of the time, though, it was used for collections that were infrequently accessed (like archives of old periodicals and whatnot).
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From:[info]merle_
Date:2008-Apr-27 05:49 pm (UTC)
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That must be a new addition; I don't recall it. Then again, math had its own library.

I did always want bookshelves that rotated or raised up into the ceiling. Circular ones that went from one wall, under the floor, up the other wall, and over the ceiling would be sweet. Just pull the shelves like The Price Is Right and see what books you end up with!

Deadly weapons.. you could make an excellent horror flick in that library. The evil terrorist turns the gears, and gaps open and close: a thriller with a shifting labyrinth and a Star Wars style people crusher!
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From:[info]fantome14
Date:2008-Apr-27 05:56 pm (UTC)
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Columbia's library is like that too. And the lights stay off in some areas until you turn them on. It's really creepy.
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From:[info]funcrunch
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:04 pm (UTC)
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I work for the UCSF Library, and we have those movable shelf thingies too. Though my job has almost nothing to do with physical books. In fact so much library information is going online now that my co-worker was talking about another academic library where they cleared a bunch of space where books used to be and instead have places where people can plug in their laptops and even eat if they want to.
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From:[info]songdogmi
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:06 pm (UTC)
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The corporate library at work has a motorized version—it's very small, as in relatively few shelves but even less floor space for aisles. The mechanism is powered by battery packs, so if a battery pack goes dead we can't get into them at all. But they also have sensors so no one can get trapped between two shelves

Edited at 2008-04-27 06:06 pm (UTC)
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From:[info]dagoski
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:21 pm (UTC)
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They only had a few of these at the UofM when I was there. Their collection had grown to the point where they had a robotic retrieval system in the low circulation storage facility.

I used to really like the Geology and Geophysics Library though. They had one of these systems, but the bulk of their collection was still dispersed throughout the library. The library itself had been wedged in between rooms in this lecture auditorium complex on the central campus. As a result the library was a series of caves, chambers and grottos with no windows once you got away from the reference desk.
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From:[info]jeran
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:22 pm (UTC)
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I've seen something like that, but the shelves were only about 6 feet long and set in an alcove. It was motorized, you hit the Left or Right button and it'd move the stacks in that direction, moving the single accessible aisle along until it was at the spot you wanted.

For the setup you describe, it should be relatively safe from accidents (distinct from deliberate stupidity). If the wheels are on the ends of the shelves and each one moves only that one shelf, you can't close an aisle without being in a position to look down that aisle to see if anyone's in it.
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:32 pm (UTC)
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For the setup you describe, it should be relatively safe from accidents (distinct from deliberate stupidity). If the wheels are on the ends of the shelves and each one moves only that one shelf, you can't close an aisle without being in a position to look down that aisle to see if anyone's in it.

If people follow the instructions, then each shelf would be moved individually.

The system has no failsafe. I easily moved ten shelves simultaneously.

In reality, the movement is relatively slow (about two inches per revolution), so someone in the shelves could at least scream "Stop!" if he can't get out in time...
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From:[info]zorinlynx
Date:2008-Apr-27 07:20 pm (UTC)
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Nevermind my question below; you answered it here.

It may not be as dangerous as you think. If the shelves are on very good bearings, you don't really need that much mechanical advantage to move them. It'd be like pushing a 5000 pound object in zero-G; piece of cake.

If a person were trapped in there you'd probably notice the sudden resistance a long time before you'd end up crushing them.
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From:[info]rowyn
Date:2008-Apr-28 11:52 am (UTC)
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We have movable shelves for file storage at work. There's no risk of crushing there for just the reason you describe: the shelves don't move with enough force to hurt anyone.
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-28 04:13 pm (UTC)
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Interesting...

I tried to stop the shelves with my foot, but couldn't. I'm not willing to test whether my body gives enough resistance to stop the shelves.
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From:[info]rowyn
Date:2008-Apr-28 04:27 pm (UTC)
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Ah, the university's shelves must be exerting considerably more force than ours, then.
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From:[info]momentrabbit
Date:2008-Apr-28 04:13 pm (UTC)
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If a person were trapped in there you'd probably notice the sudden resistance a long time before you'd end up crushing them.

That's what makes turning the wheel such an exquisite sensation. The screams are just icing on the cake. n.n

Yes, I'm seeing this as a murder weapon. Oh yes.
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-28 04:14 pm (UTC)
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You're sick!

Don't ever change.
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From:[info]kinkyturtle
Date:2008-Apr-28 03:57 am (UTC)
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THREEPIO! THREEPIO! Ohh, where could he BE!!
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From:[info]tgeller
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:25 pm (UTC)
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Perhaps it would be worth testing to see if there's a failsafe mechanism that stops the shelves if they encounter any resistance, like a garage door. A project with a (very trusted) friend?
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:33 pm (UTC)
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I tested.

There isn't, that I could find.
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From:[info]sythyry
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:32 pm (UTC)
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The ones I've seen have pressure-sensitive platforms to stand on; you can't squish a row with someone in it.
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From:[info]nerfcoyote
Date:2008-Apr-28 01:58 am (UTC)
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i seem to remember similar pressure-sensitive floor panels as well at the stacks in the old library at the University of Florida.
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From:[info]xolo
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:33 pm (UTC)
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I first saw those about ten or fifteen years ago at IU. I wondered too what were the odds of someone getting smashed. Ours had the controls (a pushbutton system) for each individual shelf on the end of the shelf itself, so you were sort of naturally looking down the aisle while moving a shelf. I always kind of thought that there's probably some sort of sensor to stop the shelf if it encounters resistance, but we never checked to be sure.
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From:[info]kevinjdog
Date:2008-Apr-27 06:38 pm (UTC)
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I've also seen that often. Sometimes they're in offices, when they have a lot of files and very little space. Seriously, you go in, get what you need and get out. Most of the time they're only used in places that are very rarely accessed.
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From:[info]zorinlynx
Date:2008-Apr-27 07:10 pm (UTC)
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I found a brochure here:

http://luciagroup.dreamhosters.com/cmsms/uploads/File/brochures/montel_brochures/montel_mobilex.pdf

Is that what you saw?

I'm now curious... if you need to access an aisle on the far side, do you have to wheel all the bookcases from the current aisle over individually? Or will the one adjacent to the aisle you want push all the others?

This is fascinating, I've never seen anything like that in person. I guess FIU isn't that tight on space yet!
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From:[info]tamahori
Date:2008-Apr-27 08:35 pm (UTC)

Bookshelves of Doom

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You're not the only one to notice this. In the computer game Evil Genius, shelves like that can be used by the evil genius (you) to interrogate enemies (the good guys), and the animation is, like most 'torture methods' in the game, quite funny. They throw the person into the shelving system, and them slam it on them till they talk, it's funnier then it sounds to watch, though it doesn't beat spinning them on the giant mixing bowl in the kitchen for humour.

I believe I also recall a detective show in my home of New Zealand, I don't think it ever got exported, where in one episode the murder weapon was, indeed, a shelving system just like you describe.

-- Brett
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-28 03:45 pm (UTC)

Re: Bookshelves of Doom

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I believe I also recall a detective show in my home of New Zealand, I don't think it ever got exported, where in one episode the murder weapon was, indeed, a shelving system just like you describe.

Hee! I'm glad that I'm not the only one that idea occurred to!
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From:[info]carlhh
Date:2008-Apr-27 11:26 pm (UTC)
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The University of Arizona has them. iirc They were electronic and had a sensor that could tell if somebody was browsing, and would stop any requests to close until the sensors said everything was clear.

It has been about 7 years since I last took classes, but I remember being rather peeved about having to wait for someone else to finish whatever the hell they were doing so I could open up the section that had what I was looking for.
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From:[info]kylet
Date:2008-Apr-28 03:54 am (UTC)
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Those were there at least Gads I did not graduate that long ago eleven years.

We have similar systems in our office. However, there is a lock on each wheel; if you activate it, nobody can move it accidentally, and ostensibly someone will check to see if anyone's there if they find the lock on.
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From:[info]mfulghum
Date:2008-Apr-28 04:17 am (UTC)
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I would kill to be there right now. I wanna pick through the Abner Doble Papers soooo badly. They've got a lot of them scanned in high res online, but not all of them.

They're missing a lot of the juicy technical drawings that I realllly wanna see :(
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From:[info]silversliver
Date:2008-Apr-28 11:52 pm (UTC)
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I need to incorporate this idea into my personal "dream library" Perhaps not ostensibly so I can crush my enemies (a nice bonus) but so I can fit a lot more books into a smaller room.
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From:[info]polymathwannabe
Date:2008-Apr-29 08:54 am (UTC)
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Is the library shelving anything like the compactor-style collections shelving in the UC Berkeley Paleontology Museum? It's so heavy they actually needed to have a special floor installed, and there is definitely no way to stop the shelves if someone decides to move them.
An entomology museum where I used to work was like that too. I had a few close calls there, but it was small enough for people to hear me calling out before it was too late.
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From:[info]chipuni
Date:2008-Apr-29 03:35 pm (UTC)
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I haven't been to the Paleontology Museum, so I don't know. (Good excuse to go!)

I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same. They're the same school, after all.

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From:[info]polymathwannabe
Date:2008-Apr-30 01:21 am (UTC)
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The Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) is primarily a research museum designed to support the curriculum, so its usually not visited by general public except on Cal Day. They do have a full T-rex skeleton on display in front of the room and triceratops in the Library upstairs out on display, but mostly they have an incredible website that is a great academic resource.
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