Telelift book transport in the University Library in Leiden, NL
The Leiden University Library was founded in 1587. It is older than the Royal Library of the Netherlands and, as a source for teaching and research, had a significant influence on science during the Age of Enlightenment. From a scientific point of view, Leiden University Library is the Netherlands’s outstanding library. It comprises approximately 5,200,000 books.
In 2020, a container conveyor system with conveyor belt and container lift technology from the 1980s was replaced by a modern Telelift UniCar system. At the same time, the library management took the opportunity to adapt the logistics to the changed logistical requirements of a modern library. The loan and return concept is improved with the Telelift book transport system.
With the system, orders are conveyed from the magazines and back and pre-sorted in book trolleys. By manual loading and unloading, the Telelift system gently transports valuable books from the magazines to the reading room and back again.
Leiden University Library has made a nice video of the system:
Source: Leiden University Libraries