The Sensitivity of Book Storage Strategy Decisions to Alternative Cost Assumptions

Abstract

Academic libraries house the major portion of their collections in open stack facilities. When there is little space left in the stacks, alternatives such as using compact shelving or building off-campus storage facilities are explored. This article examines the cost of these alternatives. In particular, it looks at how changes in construction costs and circulation costs affect the choices of an alternative book storage strategy. The article shows that, even though construction costs are high, circulation costs dominate the decision of what kind of facility to build. The decision is very sensitive to the number of times a book circulates: whether an average item circulates three as opposed to eight times over its life can have a substantial impact on which type of facility should be chosen for storage. If the library has the physical space on its campus, the article shows that the most economic alternative for a large range of construction and circulation cost alternatives is to convert existing ground sp...