Book Shift

One of our major projects this summer is to shift both the art and juvenile collections. But what does "shifting" mean? And why does it need to be done?

Shifting a collection of books makes better use of available space, particularly with rapidly growing collections. Our art and juvenile sections are probably the fastest growing areas of our collection, and space needs to be created for new holdings.

We have plenty of space for new books, but some shelves or stacks are more full than others. Shifting distributes the books evenly across the entire area of the collection, opening up space for future books or materials.

First, we calculate in linear inches the total amount of space for a particular collection. From that we estimate an approximate fill rate percentage for each shelf and convert that to a shelf measurement. For instance, our Juvenile collection will have 18 inches of books for each shelf for a fill rate percentage of 50%. Can you guess how long the shelves are? Put your answer in the comments below.