Ivy Stacks was opened in 1995 to act as a shelving site for library owned materials that are valued but rarely used.  Over the years, the facility became full and needed to be improved in order to allow the university's collection of materials to grow.

The Ivy Stacks retrofit project involved the installation of a high density mobile shelving system that doubled the capacity of the current facility. The new Xtend shelving system stretches almost two hundred feet in length and soars thirty feet in the air, capitalizing on the existing footprint of the building.

Building infrastructure upgrades included a new Early Suppression Fire Response (ESFR) fire suppression system supported by a diesel fire pump, new lighting on occupancy sensors, a new fire alarm panel and new supply ductwork.

Decanting the building started in the fall of 2010 and involved moving approximately 50,000 boxes to three off site storage facilities. The project was completed in July 2012.