Automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) Systems of the past: Why did they fail?

Since their public debuts in the 1960s, thousands of automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) systems have been installed in industrial settings across the United States and Western Europe. These units provide secure, controlled storage and rapid retrieval for inventories that range from computer components to major sub‐assemblies for fighter aircraft. However, until the current installation of an AS/R at California State University, Northridge, only four previous installations were made in the United States and one in Europe. All these earlier systems experienced serious problems, resulting in their removal at three libraries in the U.S., with the remaining U.S. site currently planning to remove its system. These failures have conditioned librarians to avoid such systems, despite significant differences in contemporary technology. Kountz describes the early systems and analyzes what went wrong with them, and why.