Sarasota, Florida (USA)
Ringling College of Art and Design
With help from Montel, Florida's Ringling College of Art and Design is now able to preserve texts and make them accessible to all.
Challenge
As art students of all walks of life—animators, graphic designers, fine artists, video gamers, photographers and more—will tell you, art supplies are very, very expensive.
And nobody empathizes more than Kristina Keogh, director of library services at the Ringling College of Art and Design, in Sarasota, Florida. Her job is to curate the school’s book collection, which includes thousands of art books. Their glossy pages inspire readers and researchers, but their unusual sizes and high-quality materials make them difficult to protect on the average shelf.
For Ringling College, Montel designed a multifaceted storage system that stretches from the stacks to the archival vault. Its purpose: to serve campus creatives by preserving texts and making them accessible to all.
Solution
Ringling College selected a trio of solutions to meet their library storage needs: SafeAisle powered mobile shelving and Aetnastak cantilever library shelving for the collection in circulation and a mechanical-assist mobile storage system for the special collection.
Product description
At the push of a button, library patrons can open or close powered shelving, saving the library lots of cubic feet for seating, amenities, and even future expansion. SafeAisle uses LED technology to scan aisles for people or materials before closing in order to prevent injury or damage.
Aetnastak shelving is known for being versatile and endlessly customizable, all without the need for special tools. The sizes or shapes of the books in the Ringling College collection don’t matter. Aetnastak can adjust to accommodate.
And for those materials that require a special touch, Montel installed a climate-controlled SmartShelf storage system, which can regulate the temperature and moisture. The system also includes ergonomic SafeCranks for easy opening and art racks for storing artwork
Benefits
On top of all their valuable features, Montel coordinated with Ringling College to design shelving that matched the colors of its vibrant library space.