We just finished such a project. We have bound journals from about 3/4"" up to 3". I hadn't heard of any standard number, but our "guess" was an average of 1 3/4" per bound piece, with about 2 inches between static titles (no current subscription), and about 3-5 years growth space (average 12") for those that we continue to have current print subscriptions. After we withdrew, we had a professional company do the actual shifting. Once they knew our numbers, they calculated the space for linear feet to make sure there was enough room and shifted everything in about 3 days. They used a block of wood 2" x 12" as a spacer. It worked out very well.

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 1:30 PM, Gordon Coleman <gcoleman@sfu.ca> wrote:

Hi all.

My library is doing a serials discarding project. We'll be tossing out lengthy print runs of a number of journals. (Yes yes, we've got online versions, with perpetual access rights, plus backup print copies at a partner library in a shared archival network.)

The question I've been asked is: how many feet of shelf space will we save?

When the discarding is being carried out, we can take an exact measurement, but I'd like a way to estimate now. Does the serials world have a standard figure for the width of an average journal in a year? For example, if the average journal takes up 3" of shelf space per year, I can multiple it by the total number of journal-years being discarded and get an estimate.

Thanks in advance for any data/guesses you have re this question.

Gordon

Gordon Coleman
Head, Acquisitions & Serials
Simon Fraser University Library
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gcoleman@sfu.ca
778-782-3916

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Diane Nolting
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