Join us for a tour of the recently-opened Charles Library, led by local project team leaders Kristin Shiffert (Stantec) and Karli Molter (James Corner Field Operations).

The Charles Library at Temple University, opened in Fall 2019, is sited in the heart of campus and operates as a collaborative and social hub for learning. The soaring domed lobby reaches out from the interior to exterior, to invite and welcome not only students, but also neighbors and residents of Philadelphia. Once inside, the domed lobby is used as a wayfinding device to help users navigate the different floors with specialty departments that encourage collaboration and learning. The unique study environments are made possible through the use of storing the collection within a high-density automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS or the ‘Book Bot’) – 1.5 million volumes are stored and accessed via robot allowing the majority of the floor area within the building to be given over to student spaces. However, a percentage of the collection is browsable in the glass volume of the top floor of the building which also boasts sweeping views to the building’s green roofs, campus, and sky beyond.