"Should this book be shelved on campus or off?"
That question will be asked several million times over by staff at the University Library, as they plan for the construction of an Off- Campus High-Efficiency Shelving Facility.
The creation of the new facility is designed to ease the overload of materials on campus library space while strengthening the University's ability to preserve its collections by shelving them in a building with state-of-the-art environmental controls.
Moving infrequently used books and archival materials off campus "will allow for better use of our high-value 'real estate' on campus," says Danuta Nitecki, associate University librarian, who is project manager for implementing the new facility. "By doing so, we'll improve the use of the space in our campus libraries for browsing frequently used materials. It will be sort of a balancing act."
Yale already has more than 10.6 million volumes in its collections as well as approximately 50,000 linear feet of archival material. And it is estimated that the University will acquire an additional 157,000 volumes and 2,100 linear feet of archival material annually. The transfer of materials to the new facility is expected to begin in June of 1998, when the new facility is completed, and to continue yearsly, as new acquisitions continue to mount. By the end of 10 years, Yale expects to have nearly 4 million volumes and 34,000 linear feet of archival material shelved off campus.
The Yale Library is currently searching for a suitable site for the new facility, says Ms. Nitecki, noting that plans call for the building to be within a 20-30 minute drive from campus. Those who wish to access materials stored in the off-campus facility will be able to put in a request for the volumes or documents, which will then be delivered to a campus site. Among the issues that Yale librarians are still pondering is how to create effective on-line browsing of shelf lists for all materials held off campus.
The materials selected for off-campus shelving will be drawn from all corners of the campus library system. "No particular discipline will be exempt," notes Ms. Nitecki. For soon-to-be- renovated campus libraries -- such as the Music, Art and Architecture, and Divinity collections -- the creation of the new facility "offers a good opportunity to reconsider their space needs for shelving on-site," says Ms. Nitecki.
The Yale Library has scheduled three public forums so members of the Yale community can learn more about the off- campus shelving facility and offer input on what will be selected for off-campus storage. "We're committed to hearing people's comments and concerns," says Ms. Nitecki.
Although each of the forums is aimed at affiliates of certain disciplines, anyone is welcome to attend any of the meetings, says Ms. Nitecki, noting that no reservations are needed. However, those planning to attend are asked to prepare by reading the Task Force Report and the Selection Policy, which are available in the Cross Campus Library reserves and on the World Wide Web at http://www.library.yale.edu/Administration/Shelving/ocs.html. The library also has available a videotape about the off-campus shelving facility at Harvard University, which serves as a model for the operation and services to be developed at Yale.
The first public forum, aimed at affiliates of the humanities and arts departments, will be held 4-5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Sterling Memorial Library lecture hall, 120 High St. A forum for those in the science departments will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, in Rm. 160 of the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, 225 Prospect St. The final forum, for those in the history and social sciences departments, will be offered at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 in the Sterling Memorial Library lecture hall.
For further information, call the University Librarian's Office at 432-1818 or contact Ms. Nitecki via email at danuta.nitecki@yale.edu.