THE BOOK And RECORD DEPOSITORY (B.A.R.D)

B.A.R.D is a cooperative library storage facility, the first of its kind in Canada. It is owned and operated by the University of Alberta and is located approximately 8 km east of the main campus at 50th Street and the Sherwood Park Freeway. The area of the facility is 4,318 m (46,460 ft2). The BARD was opened in February 1994. The Facility offers high density, low cost housing for less frequently used library materials belonging to the University of Alberta Libraries. The Facility holds mostly books and journal volumes, but also microfilm, maps, audio discs, manuscripts, archives, and other formats normally collected by research libraries. In addition to public service, administrative, and processing areas, the building contains an office processing area for the University Archives and for the Library "Free and Gift." There are two separate stack areas, one for the Archives and one for the Library. The Archives stack area has a capacity for 27,170 linear feet (8.2 km). The book storage area has a capacity of 127,208 linear feet (38.8 km) for approximately 3.2 million book volumes. There is also a facility to house a portion of the University Map Collection at BARD.