Mossey Library replaced its motorized compact shelves on the basement floor, known as “Hell,” with manual, crank-powered shelves due to frequent malfunctions and safety concerns, according to Library Director Maurine McCourry.

The library contracted with Library Design of Ann Arbor, which began the project Jan. 22 and finished Jan. 29.

“The electronic components were just prone to failure,” McCourry said. “We’ve had greater and greater instances where we could not get the shelves open because the motors failed.”

The library installed the shelves in 2008. Mechanical failures began almost immediately, according to McCourry.

“In the past few years, it’s been harder and harder to get parts to replace them,” McCourry said. “In some cases, we couldn’t even get the replacement parts.”

The compact shelves store books on science, bibliography, and library science as well as back issues of periodicals and archival materials, according to Public Services Librarian George Allen.

While most of the failures prevented the shelves from opening, McCourry said there was one instance of the security feature failing to activate to stop the shelves.

“We had a student worker who was shelving books, and she couldn’t get it to stop,” McCourry said. “She almost got trapped in there.”

The student was unharmed, but the incident convinced the library to replace the shelves, according to McCourry.

“They just did not seem to be terribly safe anymore,” McCourry said. “We don’t know what happened, but it was enough to make us say, ‘We’ve got to replace these.’”

The mechanical issues prevented the library from providing books to patrons, Allen said. 

“The manual shelves should be much more reliable and much less prone to mechanical failure,” Allen said in an email.

Sophomore Anna Teply said she enjoys the compact shelves and that the cranks have not detracted from the experience.

“The crank works really easily,” she said. “They’re not heavy at all.”

She said she understands the library’s concerns about safety.

“You can stop more easily if you need to,” she said about the updated shelves,“and they’re simpler to use than the motorized system.”

The previous library director began considering replacing the shelves in 2015, according to McCourry.

“I don’t know how far he got in pursuing it with the administration, though,” she said in an email.

McCourry said she approached the administration last year, but it took time to approve the request because the money was not coming from the library budget.

According to Hillsdale College Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé, the money for the project came from a surplus fund.

“We approved that project late summer or early fall,” Péwé said.

Despite the project’s approval, circumstances prevented its completion until recently, according to McCourry.

“Getting materials proved difficult, and they were only able to start the work this month,” McCourry said.

The library considered replacing the shelves but decided it would be cheaper to remove the motors and replace them with hand cranks, according to McCourry.

McCourry said the cranks should improve the shelves’ functionality.

“It’s actually easier and quicker to open these now,” she said. “You can open a whole range of stacks just with a single crank. It’s super simple and a much better system.”