The ARS is hidden away in the heart of the center and it possesses what one might call "a dirty secret" in the realm of libraries: The storage system is completely random.

The hodgepodge of materials are scattered in boxes on metal racks about 45 feet high. Currently, the system stores about 230,000 little-used periodicals and obscure books, about 25 percent of the school's total collection.

Even more startling is claims from librarians -- champions of the Dewey Decimal System -- that randomness is what makes the system so effective.

"That part sort of troubles people," said Barbara Butler, interim dean of the library. But "that's what makes it a fast turnaround both for pulling something out and putting something back. It doesn't have to go to a special place."

The online catalog system, called Snoopy, is Web-based, so students can order a book from anywhere and the machine will retrieve their chosen book. For example, a search for "trees" in the Snoopy database returns this book title, which is stored in the ARS: Trees and Shrubs of Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands.

If a student selects this book, computers in the ARS room are alerted.

A skinny yellow crane barrels down the track and rolls by what looks like a gigantic filing cabinet. It stops at the appropriate box, and a robotic arm pulls the bin out of the metal rack. The crane slides to the front, slamming to a halt in front of the librarian, and lowers the box to the workstation.

The bins are separated into six sections, with each section holding between 10 and 25 books. A computer has stored the location of each book by section. The librarian retrieves the information, then manually picks up the book.

Boxes remain at the workstation, and when a different book is returned, it is re-scanned and placed into that open box.

It's hard to believe that such a sophisticated system is so, well, random. But there they are, Tolstoy next to Einstein next to Hemingway. That's a far cry from alphabetical order.

"It makes it far more efficient," said Greg Tichava, the ARS/Stacks Supervisor at the library. "If it's scanned and it's in the ARS, there's no question where it is."