Every day, every hour, a bustling life goes on behind the scenes at ­Princeton. Many of the 13,700 people who live or work at the University hardly notice these essential ­operations unless something goes wrong. This unseen Princeton often is a world of strenuous work, fast paces, and very early rising.

PHOTO: RICARDO BARROS

PHOTO: RICARDO BARROS

Some say this is the future of libraries — gargantuan, shared regional warehouses like this one on Forrestal Campus, home to nearly 10 million items from Prince­ton and other prestigious institutions. No browsing allowed: Forklifts shuttle up and down ReCAP’s 34 aisles (soon to increase to 58), where books are packed ­closely together by size, not subject matter, and shelving soars to 30 feet. The 11 workers wear jackets and hats, as they work in rooms maintained at 55 degrees Fahren­heit, optimal for paper. Some books never see Firestone at all: Publishers send them directly to ReCAP, from where they can be retrieved when requested. The name stands for: Research Collections and Preserva­tion Consortium.

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