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

158 The University of California Libraries
required can be reduced to a much smaller figure, and if the volumes
are converted to microform the space required becomes even less. Because
of this wide range of options, it is obvious that the treatment
of bound volumes is likely to offer the most fruitful area of investigation
of alternatives, and in fact most of the efforts of the
research team have been concentrated on this aspect.
New Construction on Campus. The most obvious method of housing
bound volumes is to continue as in the past, and house them by constructing
new open-stack library facilities as needed. The costs of
this approach were therefore calculated, not only because it is the
most obvious, but also to serve as a base for consideration of other
alternatives.
For open-stack facilities, as indicated above, most planning
documents estimate storage of bound volumes at 10 to 15 volumes per
square foot. For the purposes of calculations in the model, a median
figure of 12.5 volumes per asf (0.08 asf per volume) was used. This
factor was applied to the projected number of volumes to be housed
(as outlined in Chapter VIII), and the result added to space required
for all other purposes. The result was a projection of total
library asf required for each campus for the next 10 years. From
this total, the existing asf already available on each campus (including
approved projects under construction or about to be
completed) was subtracted. For each year in which the result was a
negative figure, the existing space was assumed to be adequate. A
positive number indicated the additional space needed. The projections
for the University as a whole on this basis, and assuming a
continuation of past research library staffing patterns, are shown in
Table 26. Table 27 indicates the projections for each campus based
on the staffing recommended in this plan.
The costs of providing the required new facilities for each
campus, including the necessary shelving, were then calculated, using
figures supplied by the Office of the Coordinator of Physical Planning
in Systemwide Administration. For libraries on campuses in the
South, the average cost is estimated to be between $98 and $113 per