FAQ (rev. April 26, 2006)

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When it opened in 1966, Paley Library held over 2,500 study seats, 1,400 of which have been gradually lost to make room for the collections, which now number over 3 million volumes with over 2 million in Paley Library alone. We have simply run out of space for our students to study and to shelve all our books, bound journals, and archival collections.

Most research libraries are now using shelving facilities similar to the Temple Library Depository to preserve their growing research collections and open up space within the library buildings to meet the varied needs and expectations of contemporary students and scholars.

The Depository will be a closed stack retrieval facility.
Controls for temperature, ventilation, and humidity have been engineered to provide environmental conditions considered optimal for preservation of paper.

Lack of adequate space and lack of appropriate environmental controls are the top two hazards to library resources nationwide according to the recently released Heritage Health Index Report on the state of America's collections. The Library Depository is designed to correct these problems at Temple.

Materials in the Library Depository will be listed in the online catalog (Diamond) with a conveniently linked request form.
Simply complete the request form specifying the item and desired pick-up location.


The current policies governing the identification of materials eligible for transfer to the depository can be found in the Library Depository Selection Guidelines  [PDF]

You can request a run of journals to be brought to Paley Library. Staff will then arrange for you to have access to them as you need.

Starting in June we will move a portion of our lesser-used volumes into the Depository, which will be located on campus just two blocks away from Paley Library in the Kardon Building. Most materials should be moved from our libraries to the Depository by mid August. Processing the materials so that the material is correctly marked in Diamond, our online catalog, will be done as the materials are moved.

We expect most material to be retrievable within 24 hours of its being moved to its new location and to be unavailable only while it is on moving trucks and being reshelved. In the unlikely event of delayed availability, our staff will automatically place interlibrary loan orders for the item(s) you requested. Most interlibrary loans coming from other Pennsylvania libraries arrive at Temple within 5 working days.

With the completion this summer of our new Library Depository we will finally have the opportunity to relocate parts of our collections and create expanded student study and collaboration space, comfortable lounge areas, as well as more room for new materials and services.

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