Free Library of Philadelphia

Over 800,000 volumes, some more than 100 years old, are located at the Pennovation Works site, stored in a state-of-the-art, humidity- and climate-controlled environment. Compact shelving made it possible to efficiently store these materials, which can be accessed by customers with 48 hours’ notice.  Scholars who require immediate access can use the collections on site as well.  The 54 libraries in Philadelphia’s Free Library system use the Regional Research and Operations Center (ROC) to dispatch building staff required to maintain the system, which includes 17 “Carnegie” libraries that are over 100 years old.  Within the next few months, the ROC will also be the system wide book sorting and distribution center for all materials being shipped out to neighborhood libraries.