3. “The storage system contains
approximately 56 kilometres of shelving,
weighs some 200 tonnes,
contains 200,000 bolts.”
The National Library of Australia recently storage is crucial to the successful
opened the largest library storage facility preservation and provision of access to
in Australia. Located in Hume ACT. With the Library’s vast print resources.
federal government funding of $9.9 million
“At present there are 9 million items in the
the facility was opened by Senator Kemp,
overall National Library collection, which
Minister for Arts and Sport. occupy 240 kilometres of shelving in the
The storage system contains approximately main Library building and our two offsite
56 kilometres of shelving, weighs some facilities.”
200 tonnes, contains 200,000 bolts. “Each year the shelving requirement
The system stores 25.6 linear kilometres of increases by 3 kilometres mostly due to our
newspapers and 28.3 linear kilometres of legal deposit obligations. What this ongoing
other printed material. Most of this material need clearly demonstrates is that print
is stored in high rise shelving. A separate publishing is still strong in an increasingly
area of approximately 1.7 linear kilometres electronic environment.”
of low-rise shelving is utilized to store more “Our central responsibility is to ensure that
fragile material. the collection is preserved for future
It is the only library storage facility in generations. This purpose built facility
Australia to use custom-designed and high contains the optimal environmental controls
available today to ensure the longevity of
rise shelving to store newspapers, with
the collection,” she said. Construction of
wire-guided stock pickers to access the
the repository commenced in September
material. This solution facilitates quick
2005 to enable the building to be ready for
access to all material.
the book move from the nearby leased
Jan Fullerton AO, Director-General of the premises that took place between 7 August
National Library said that adequate 2006 and 14 November 2006.
Dexion Case Study – National Library
4. “Our central responsibility is to ensure that the collection
is preserved for future generations. This purpose built
facility contains the optimal environmental controls
available today to ensure the longevity of the collection.”
The building will provide storage space storage space and 220m2 office and
until 2013 with possibilities to further amenities space.
expand the facility in the future.
Dexion was selected by the Construction
The design and construction of the Head Contractor, Manteena Pty Ltd to
building was governed by a number of detail design, supply and install a very
environmental issues relating to the specific storage solution.
preservation of the collection. The building
features strict environmental control Dexion’s Business Development Manager
throughout the storage areas ensuring the for the Government sector, Brett Piskulich,
most suitable climates are maintained for takes up the story. “We take great pride
the various elements of the collection. and satisfaction in the fact that we have
For example it incorporates a separate commissioned a very unique and effective
preservation vault where fragile material solution for the National Library. The
can be housed at lower temperature and system consists of continuous Cantilever
humidity. Shelving that in some parts spans some
The building also incorporates some best 20 metres between uprights. The nature
practice in terms of ecologically sustainable of the items being stored meant that
development principles and, for example, standard shelving depths were also not
features underground tanks to harvest applicable,” he said.
rainwater for irrigation of the surrounding
grounds. It is also believed to be the “So we designed a special ‘shelf clip’ that
largest offsite storage facility owned by allows shelf depths to be varied thus
any Australian library with a land area that creating additional capacity. There is also
equals 12,530m2. The building size is a significant Ultima high-rise shelving
3,730m2 which consists of 3,510m2 of system installed.”
Dexion Case Study – National Library
5. “Professional project management was crucial
as installation of the shelving system commenced
whilst building works were being finished.”
The specification also required that the These sections were assembled on the
shelving systems have an earthquake ground with the top section lifted into
rating. “Our in-house Structural Team was place using a specially designed jig,
heavily involved to ensure the system did increasing the speed of assembly and
indeed meet the rigorous compliance minimizing the manual handling required.
standard,” said Piskulich.
“This was a massive project. To give you
Construction of the system was a complex some perspective we delivered materials
process and required detailed planning by packed in 52 semi-trailers over a 14 week
the Project Management Team. Installation period. We treated the assembly process
began at opposite ends of the building like a production line using fabrication jigs,
and worked towards the middle. and with dedicated crews for the different
types of equipment,” said Piskulich. “The
The Cantilever was assembled laid down
16 man team also became acquainted
and a special tool attached to the fork-lift
with Canberra in winter! Sometimes the
hoist lifted each section of shelving into
temperature did not get above zero until
place before it was tied back to the
late morning and any equipment staged
previous section. In some areas the
outside would quickly get a coat of ice.”
clearance was only millimeters away from
the overhead services. Professional project management was
crucial as installation of the shelving
The Ultima high-rise shelving system is
system commenced whilst building works
almost 7 metres high without any
were being finished.
intermediate floors. This meant that it too
needed a unique construction method. “As a team we all felt we learned a lot on methods required, we had to develop the other trades on site and feel that we
The shelving bays comprised of a top and this project. Given the customised design specific systems and procedures,” said have achieved a good result for the
a bottom section each over 3 metres high. of the system and the unique installation Piskulich. “We also worked closely with National Library.”
Dexion Case Study – National Library
