The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)

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visited each campus, and collected data on the size and characteristics
of each of the collections, the nature of existing space and
space problems, the patterns of recorded use of materials, and other
information which bore directly or indirectly on the space problem.
With this information, plus a large amount of additional information
gathered from library space planning literature, administrative
records, and elsewhere, the team then constructed a computerized simulation
model designed to calculate the effect, in both space and
funds required, of each of a number of alternatives, singly and in
combination. Research on the model is continuing, but sufficient
data are now available to enable the University to make concrete and
supportable conclusions and recommendations.
Space for Library Staff. In general, library space may be viewed
as falling into three categories: space for library staff, space for
library users, and space for library materials. Of these three, space
for library staff is, by its nature, the least flexible component; or
stated another way, the available alternatives for this category are
the fewest. If the staff are there, they naturally must have a place
to work, and in most cases the nature of the work requires that it be
performed in the library building. They cannot be "compacted" to any
significant degree, as the materials can, nor can they perform their
activities elsewhere, as can readers (for example) who use the library
merely as a place to study.
In calculating the amount of space required for staff, the number
of budgeted FTE (full-time equivalent) positions must first be
converted to actual FTE. In the general assistance category of staff,
salaries are lower than average, so the funds used for this category
generate more actual FTE staff than are budgeted. The present ratio
of actual to budgeted FTE staff was therefore computed for each campus,
and for the purposes of the model it was assumed that this ratio would
remain constant throughout the period in question.
The next step is to convert the number of actual FTE staff to
headcount. Many positions are part-time, and the number of staff
members on duty at any one time may thus be significantly higher than
the FTE figure. For this purpose, the model employs a formula that