The steel-lattice domed Joe & Rika Mansueto Library book depository, next door to the Regenstein Library, will be completed in time to open in the autumn of 2010. The architect of record is Helmut Jahn and the principal architect is Scott Pratt of the firm Murphy/Jahn.
In 2003 the Provost commissioned an ad-hoc faculty committee to consider options for increasing library shelf space for the Regenstein Library. In November of 2004, a group of library staff members considered options for a new addition, projected growth for the library collections, and requirements for a high-density automated shelving system.
It will feature an above-ground reading room and an underground automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). With high-density automated shelving, items are bar-coded, sorted by size, and stored in bins and metal shelf units. These bins and shelf units are housed in 50-foot-tall underground storage racks. A robotic crane retrieves bins and shelving units.
The library was named in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Joe Mansuetos in recognition of their $25,000,000 gift to the University of Chicago. Joe Mansueto and his lovely wife Rika are U of C alumni. He has two degrees from the University of Chicago, a bachelor's degree in business administration (1978) and a MBA (1980), while she has a bachelor's degree in anthropology (1991).
Mansueto founded the investment research firm Morningstar, Inc. in 1984 in his apartment in Chicago. Today, Morningstar has thousands of employees spread out over 18 countries. Mr. Mansueto is a 50% partner in Time Out Chicago. In 2005, he acquired business magazines Inc. and Fast Company from Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing.
Mrs. Mansueto was a Morningstar investment analyst until 2000. The Mansuetos married in 1998. They have three children.
U of C honored Mansueto with the Graduate School of Business Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000 and a University of Chicago Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award in 2003, and in 2008 the Mansuetos were inducted into the University's Founders Circle.
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