General
A review of shelving arrangements by Keys Metcalf showed thatwith ordinary shelving (ranges 55 inches on center), 2/3 of the building space consists of aisles; with very narrow aisles (ranges 40 inches on centers with 24-inch aisles) the space devoted to shelving rises to 40%. With hinged or drawer-type shelving the space devoted to shelving could be increased to approximately 66%; with roller-type compact shelving approximately 80% of the space could be shelving. (Source)
Academic
An investigation reported in 1960 into the comparative differences between microfilm and bound periodical volumes at Colby Junior College (New London, New Hampshire) and Abraham Baldwin College (Tifton, Georgia) showed thatstoring bound volumes of journals on traditional stack shelving required approximately 7.5 times as many cubic feet and 4.6 times as many square feet of storage space as storing the same number of volumes of microfilm. This was based on a 9-drawer microfilm cabinet requiring 167.2 cubic feet of space and holding 540 reels of microfilm or an estimated 725 periodicals volumes. (Source)
A study of the effect of meeting standards for the handicapped in New York State showed thatincreasing aisle width from 3 feet to 4 feet to accommodate wheelchair patrons would reduce stack capacity by 23%. (Source)
A 1981 study in the science section of the University of Guelph Library (Canada) of the amount of shelf space an average item required, based on sampling “several thousand items in the monograph and serials collection” showed thatan average size of 1.13 linear inches per monograph volume and 2.18 linear inches per periodical volume was required. (Source)
Special
A 1972 survey of prison law libraries (sample size: 90; responding: 68% [no number given, 62 assumed]) showed that26 (41.9%) of the prison law libraries reported 100 linear feet or less of book shelving; 3 (4.8%) reported 101-200 linear feet of book shelving; and 22 (35.5%) reported over 200 linear feet of book shelving. No data provided on missing respondents. (Source)
