E idence-based lib a y book shi ing
Joshua Lambe
aUni e si y Lib a ies, Missou i S a e Uni e si y, Sp ing ield, Missou i, U.S.A.
Joshua Lambe
Duane G. Meye Lib a y
Sp ing ield, MO 65897
[email p o ec ed]
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-1920-7549
Joshua Lambe is a Lib a ian and Associa e P o esso a Missou i S a e Uni e si y. He
manages go e nmen documen s, p o ides e e ence assis ance, eaches cou ses o c edi ,
p o ides lib a y ins uc ion, and ga he s and analyzes da a o he lib a y and o he esea che s.
E idence-based lib a y book shi ing
The Missou i S a e Uni e si y Lib a ies Access Se ices implemen ed an
e idence-based p ocess o mo e many books and shel es. Tha p ocess included
measu ing he collec ion, pe o ming quali y con ol checks, c ea ing a plan, and
de ining egula waypoin s o keep he shi om de ia ing om he plan. This
a icle desc ibes he mo e, he ideas behind i , and he sp eadshee ha p o ided
e idence o make in o med decisions.
Keywo ds: s ack managemen ; lib a y eloca ion; book shi ; lib a y shel ing;
In oduc ion
How can lib a y s a accu a ely shi many books and shel es? Wha quali y assu ance
ac i i ies should lib a y s a implemen o make su e hey do no need o shi books
wice? A eno a ion equi ed he Missou i S a e Uni e si y’s Duane G. Meye Lib a y
o shi many books. Due o logis ics ela ed o mo ing he shel ing, lib a y s a needed
o shi books o wa d a imes and backwa d a o he imes. They also needed o shi
mul iple pa allel anges simul aneously. To assu e a quali y shi , lib a y s a wan ed o
know, be o e hey s a ed mo ing books, he u u e shel loca ion o hose books.
Missou i S a e Uni e si y (MSU) is a doc o al/p o essional uni e si y unde he
Ca negie Classi ica ion sys em in he Uni ed S a es. I has o e 22,000 s uden s, o e
80% o whom a e unde g adua es. The Dwayne G. Meye Lib a y con ained o e
800,000 books and lib a y s a needed o mo e he books be ween he LC call numbe
ange o Q-Z. Lib a y s a measu ed 97,833 inches (8,152.75 ee ) and had o place
hem on 135,240 inches o shel space. The shi ook many hou s o physical labo and
had a s ic deadline. In addi ion o he complica ed shi ing men ioned abo e, lib a ians
decided i would be be e o spli he se o books in o ele en collec ions so hey could
a y he amoun o emp y space on shel es. This mean ha lib a ians could no use a
simple a e age o know how many books hey should shi o each shel . E en i hey
used a simple a e age, i would no gua an ee ha small mis akes would no lead o
la ge disc epancies by he end o he shi .
Lib a y s a de e mined ha measu ing books would p o ide he mos accu a e
esul s. The shi did no lessen he no mal s a wo kload; he e o e, e iciency was
impo an du ing he p ocess. S a eco ded measu emen s on pape and hen en e ed
hem in o a sp eadshee .
This a icle uses he ollowing e minology o e e o lib a y shel ing. A shel is
a ho izon al piece on which books si . A sec ion is a e ical g oup o shel es o
equi alen size s acked one abo e he nex . A ange is a g oup o sec ions a ached o
each o he o ming a line. Lib a ies ypically place wo anges back- o-back and ha e
aisles be ween he anges.
Li e a u e Re iew
Mel il Dewey ad oca ed o a sepa a ion o books based on size, o i mo e books in
a ious spaces (Dewey, 1887). Ea ly published li e a u e ela ed o lib a ies mo ing
books in he Uni ed S a es comes om he 1930s. The Yale Uni e si y Lib a y Gaze e
con ained an a icle in 1930 ha explained coun ing shel es, es ima ing g ow h,
numbe ing anges, measu ing shel sizes, and labeling boxes o books o mo e o
speci ic shel es (W., 1930). Two yea s la e , Shee z desc ibed a simila p ocess used by
he Pennsyl ania S a e Lib a y (Shee z, 1932). The i s men ion o inding he a e age
inches o books pe shel came om Ansell, whose measu emen s and calcula ions an
“in o se e al hund eds o oolscap olio pages” (Ansell, 1935). F emon Ride w o e
abou compac book s o age and olume illed by a ious me hods o shel ing (Ride ,
1949). Hamme men ioned he expansion a ailable pe shel a io which la e au ho s
mo e commonly called “ ill a io” (Hamme , 1960). An ea ly book abou mo ing
lib a ies is, Mo ing a Lib a y (Ku h & G im, 1966). I con ained he ma hema ical
ideas om p e ious lib a y li e a u e as well as addi ional o mulas speci ic o hei
mo e. I included a discussion o measu ing linea ee o books, aking samples o
es ima e linea ee based olume coun , sampling e o , occupancy a io (la e called
ill a io), and e en using he “compound in e es o mula” o ind he annual pe cen o
change o olumes. They modeled u u e need o shel space based on pas da a.
In he 1950s and 1960s, lib a ians collabo a ed wi h academics om he ield o
ope a ions esea ch o be e op imize many lib a y ope a ions. Acco ding o he School
o Ope a ions Resea ch and In o ma ion Enginee ing a Co nell Uni e si y, “Ope a ions
Resea ch (OR) applies he scien i ic me hod o he managemen o o ganized sys ems in
business, indus y, go e nmen and o he en e p ises” (2018). The en i e issue o
Lib a y Qua e ly olume 42, issue 1 in 1972, was dedica ed o ope a ions esea ch in
lib a ies. Leimkuhle , Cox, Gup a, and Ra ind an w o e a icles ela ed o he s o age o
books on lib a y shel es and we e all om he Pu due School o Indus ial Enginee ing
and wo ked wi h Pu due Uni e si y lib a y pe sonnel. Acco ding o Leimkuhle , “An
ea ly s udy sough o de elop a p ecise measu e o he space equi emen s o a ious
shel ing a angemen s and o de ise an algo i hm o inding ha a angemen which
would minimize he was ed space” (Leimkuhle , 1968). Cox w o e his disse a ion
ela ed o space op imiza ion in 1964 and ha same yea , Leimkuhle and Cox
condensed ha wo k in o an a icle (Cox, 1964; Leimkuhle & Cox, 1964). They
de e mined he e iciency o shel ing li le-used ma e ial acco ding o heigh in e als
and ga e sugges ions as o how many heigh in e als lib a ies could use o maximum
e iciency. Ra ind an and Gup a e isi ed hese ideas in 1970 and 1974 using a sho es
pa h ne wo k model (Gup a & Ra ind an, 1974; Ra ind an, 1970). These ope a ions
esea ch s udies sough o sol e a di e en p oblem han his a icle does, bu he e a e a
ew simila i ies in he ma hema ical me hods. In 1975, Bomme w o e an a icle
c i icizing ope a ions esea ch s udies o lib a ies (Bomme , 1975). He said hey we e
o en oo cos ly, oo ma hema ical o mos lib a ians, and imp ac ical. The in luence o
ope a ions esea ch on lib a y li e a u e since he ea ly 1980s has been minimal.
In 1983, Ku kul published an a icle wi h a page con aining se en ma hema ical
o mulas (Ku kul, 1983). Those o mulas we e no new a he ime, bu Ku kul used all
o hem and p esen ed hem in a mo e p ecise and unde s andable manne han p e ious
publica ions. A e his a icle, mos o he publica ions ha e con ibu ed by explaining
new ools o p ocesses as compu e s and sp eadshee s ha e become in eg al pa s o
lib a y ope a ions. Mo ing Lib a y Collec ions: A Managemen Handbook and Lib a y
Reloca ions and Collec ion Shi s a e wo mo e books ela ed o mo ing lib a ies ha
include simila ma h o mulas o Ku kul abo e (Habich, 1998; Tucke , 1999). Habich,
on page 15, discusses segmen ing “ he collec ion in o in e nally homogenous
g oupings.” The p ocess desc ibed in his a icle uses a simila idea below bu calls
hem collec ions a he han segmen s.
S e en Ca l Fo iede’s book and accompanying sp eadshee s p o ide bo h
in o ma ion and he ools needed o make a lib a y mo e success ul (Fo iede, 2010).
His wo k uses he e m “waypoin ” and desc ibes i as “a de ined spo in a collec ion
designa ed by he call numbe o he book o be iled immedia ely a e he waypoin .”
In 2011, Cas o explained di e en ools and me hods used o a la ge shi a he
Uni e si y o Miami (Cas o, 2011).
A e Fo iede’s book, Guise, Lindsay and o he s used his books and
sp eadshee s o accomplish lib a y mo es (Guise, 2016; Lindsay, 2017). Chappell and
K ack c ea ed websi es explaining how hei lib a y shi s books (Chappell, 2006;
K ack, 2014). Taylo help ully c ea ed a selec bibliog aphy ela ed o mo ing lib a ies
(Taylo , 2015).
The e a e wo compu e p og am p ojec s ha ela e o book shel ing. The
Collec ion Shi Es ima ion and Visualiza ion Tool c ea ed by he Ha a d Lib a y Lab
has he po en ial o dec ease shi planning signi ican ly, bu i has equi emen s ha
many lib a ies do no mee (Ha a d Lib a y Lab, 2013). I equi es ha MARC eco ds
o he books lis he co ec numbe o pages. I also equi es ha he books use he
Lib a y o Cong ess classi ica ion sys em.
The cu en a icle adds se e al ideas and me hods o he li e a u e men ioned
abo e. Fi s , i dis inguishes be ween imposed and au oma ically calcula ed ill a ios.
Second, i explains and demons a es how o make use o hose ill a ios in a
sp eadshee (Lambe , 2022a). Thi d, a e measu emen da a is in he sp eadshee , i
p o ides waypoin s o e e y shel (Lambe ). Lambe c ea ed and desc ibed a Py hon
p og am called bookshi .py, which in oduced he ideas o imposed and au oma ically
calcula ed ill a ios (Lambe , 2022b). While such a compu e sc ip may wo k well o
some people, i equi es a Py hon p og amming language en i onmen o execu e, and
ha may p e en some lib a y s a om using i . The sp eadshee highligh ed in his
a icle is a mo e p ac ical solu ion o many lib a ians.
Resea ch Ques ion
The au ho 's p ima y ques ion was, "On wha shel should each book eside a e he
shi is comple e?" He wan ed his in o ma ion be o e anyone shi ed a single book.
Lib a y s a answe ed he ques ion abo e by de e mining how many inches o books
hey should place on each u u e shel . They u he wan ed o egula ly check hei
p og ess by de e mining which book hey should place i s on e e y ange. This second
s ep es ablished waypoin s o en enough ha lib a y s a could co ec inconsis encies
wi h minimal ex a e o . While he lib a y li e a u e abo e p o ided ideas o build on,
i did no p o ide me hods g anula and dynamic enough o mee he lib a y’s needs.
This a icle desc ibes an e idence-based me hod o shi ing and p o ides bes
p ac ices o o he lib a ians o ollow. The “e idence-based-shi ing.xlsx” sp eadshee
is simila o, bu no he same as, he me hod o iginally used by MSU lib a y s a . The
shel measu emen s in he sp eadshee a e app oxima ely he same as he o iginal
measu emen s. The sp eadshee is linked o his pape as a da ase .
Me hods
The ou line below desc ibes he s eps o he shi ing p ocess. Some wo ds and ph ases
will be de ined la e .
1. De e mine wha books o mo e.
2. De e mine whe e o mo e he books.
3. Di ide he books in o collec ions.
4. Reco d cha ac e is ics o books as hey a e on he cu en shel es.
5. Reco d cha ac e is ics o shel es in he u u e con igu a ion.
6. Reco d cha ac e is ics o collec ions.
7. Adjus able sizes and cell anges as app op ia e in he linked sp eadshee .
8. Pe o m quali y con ol checks.
One o he i s s eps in a book shi is o lib a y s a o iden i y which books o
shi . MSU’s Head o Access Se ices ecei ed he news ha he mus coo dina e he
mo e o books in he Lib a y o Cong ess call numbe ange Q-Z. A ha ime, he also
nego ia ed whe e o place u u e shel ing.
The nex s ep in he shi ing p ocess is o a lib a y o decide i hey wan o
di ide he books hey will shi in o mul iple “collec ions.” Fo his a icle, a collec ion
is a se ies o books ha co e a con iguous call numbe ange and ha ha e he same ill
a io. This de ini ion b eaks down when books om wo collec ions a e on he same
shel . The sp eadshee accoun s o his complexi y, bu his a icle does no explain he
de ails. I a shel has books om wo collec ions on i , hen he ill a io o ha shel
will be somewhe e be ween he ill a io o each collec ion. The “book_measu e”
column o he “da a_a e ” wo kshee displays his o he las shel o a collec ion.
I lib a y s a belie e ha he numbe o books in some call numbe anges will
inc ease as e han o he s o e ime, hey can alloca e mo e g ow h space on hose
shel es. The me hods explained in his a icle assume a lib a y wan s o di ide he
books in o mul iple collec ions. MSU chose o sepa a e he Q-Z books in o wel e
collec ions. The “collec ions” wo kshee displays in o ma ion abou hose collec ions.
The p ocess desc ibed in his a icle is dis inc om pas shi ing me hods, in
pa , because i uses he idea o imposed ill a ios. An “imposed ill a io” is no a
calcula ed ill a io bu is some hing lib a y s a app oxima e in hei mind based on
bes guesses, in ui ion, o o he in o ma ion. Lib a y s a may do his because hey
know ha one collec ion will g ow as e han ano he . Lib a y s a a MSU wan ed o
impose ill a ios o some collec ions, bu no all o hem. The sp eadshee calcula es
he es o he collec ions’ ill a ios, which a e he non-imposed ill a ios. Fo example,
i lib a y s a di ide he shi in o ou collec ions and wan o impose ill a ios o 0.65
and 0.7 on wo o he collec ions, he o he wo may ha e ill a ios calcula ed o be
0.74. Fo u he ma hema ical de ails, see Lambe ’s p esen a ion (Lambe , 2016).
To p o ide a p edic able and lexible book shi , lib a y s a eco ded up o ou
cha ac e is ics o each shel : he ho izon al measu e o books, sec ion inc emen , call
numbe , and collec ion numbe . Lib a y s a mus measu e he books on each shel .
The “s ing me hod,” e e ed o in many esou ces abou lib a y shi ing, is no
compa ible wi h he me hod explained in his a icle. The sec ion inc emen column in
he sp eadshee indica es he i s shel o a new sec ion. The call numbe indica es he
las book on he i s shel o he i s sec ion o a ange lib a y s a may la e use i as a
waypoin .
1
MSU Lib a y s a used pape o ms such as he example in Figu e 1. Tha
o m’s layou isually displayed sec ions, so hey do no ha e o be eco ded sepa a ely.
Lib a y s a only need o eco d he call numbe s a he beginning o a ange. Lib a y
s a may choose o add collec ion numbe s as hey measu e shel es, bu MSU s a
w o e hem a e hey comple ed eco ding measu emen s. Wi h wo people wo king
oge he , measu ing and eco ding p og essed quickly. One pe son used a ya ds ick o
measu e and call ou measu emen s o each shel . The o he pe son eco ded he
measu emen s. Since lib a y s a chose o use pape , he numbe s we e la e inpu in o
he sp eadshee , along wi h he sec ion inc emen s, call numbe s, and collec ion
numbe s.
When pe o ming da a en y, MSU lib a y s a ound i was quicke o i s ype
a ange o measu emen s in one column. Second, inpu sec ion inc emen s. Thi d, inpu
call numbe s, and las ly, inpu collec ion numbe s. Collec ion numbe s span many
shel es, and he numbe can be copied down hund eds o housands o ows a a ime.
MSU Lib a y s a c ea ed and used quali y con ol checks. The wo kshee
named “Be o eShel ByShel ” will mimic he layou o shel es and is a quick isual way
o do quali y con ol o measu emen s and da a en y. Fu he mo e, lib a y s a may
1
MSU lib a y s a o iginally w o e call numbe s o he i s book on he i s shel a he han
he las book on he i s shel . La e sp eadshee o mula changes equi ed he las book
a he han he i s book on he shel o be eco ded. The call numbe s we e no upda ed.
Use s o he sp eadshee can igno e his his o ical ac .
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