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National Library News |
Irene Szkudlarek,
Office of the National Librarian
The National Library of Canada is running out of space to house its collections. The Library currently holds 17 million items and the number continues to grow by more than half a million items per year. The steady rate of growth in collections has begun to severely tax the physical limits of the main building and its two satellite locations. It is becoming increasingly difficult to house the materials within the current space. This shortage of space has become one of the Library’s most urgent concerns.
As part of the efforts to address the Library’s immediate accommodation needs, and to plan and execute a long-term solution, a study was undertaken to determine the current amount of available collection space and to project the growth of holdings for the next 25 years, with a view to estimating future space requirements.
The study examined various data sources within the National Library: the NLC Collections Inventory; the results of a comprehensive, statistical survey of collections; and interviews with Library staff. It provided both an overall view of the relevant issues and a more detailed understanding of the collections, their rates of growth and specific storage requirements.
The study involved surveys of 94 separate categories of material which were derived from the NLC Collections Inventory. The samples for the surveys were drawn from a total population of 144 000 shelves and more than 300 cabinets of material. The surveys established the base line of the sizes of the collections and also established a set of density estimates (items per linear foot/metre of shelf space) for each format of material collected by the Library. The net number of new items added to each collection per year was estimated, using data from the Collections Inventory statistics, and then projected to the year 2025. Based on current acquisition growth patterns, it is estimated that the National Library collection will double in size over the next 25 years.
In terms of current available collections space, survey results indicate an average shelf occupancy of 88 percent, which is causing operational problems and necessitating constant shifting of material. Results also show that 37 percent of the shelves are overcrowded, meaning that collections are stored too tightly together, hang over the shelves excessively, or are stacked too high, thus potentially causing damage to fragile materials.
The move of libraries full throttle into the digital age has led some to predict that digitizing collections would be a panacea for library storage problems. The reality, however, has turned out to be quite different. According to Statistics Canada, the percentage of titles published in print format has remained high at 95 percent. The remaining 5 percent represents audio, CD-ROM, on-line and other formats. Paper persists, and print collections continue to grow and to maintain their central position in the mandate of the National Library, which is to collect and preserve Canadian collections in all formats.
Ensuring adequate and appropriately secure accommodations that meet environmental standards for the long-term preservation of its collections is a critical priority for the National Library. The Library is working with Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage and Treasury Board to find solutions to the critical shortage of adequate collections space, and to implement a long-term accommodation strategy that will enable the Library to fulfill its mandate to collect, preserve and make accessible Canada’s published heritage into the new millennium.
For additional information concerning the NLC Collections Space Study, please contact
Irene Szkudlarek
Corporate Policy and Communications
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON
K1A 0N4
Telephone: (613) 996-7388
Fax: (613) 996-7941
E-mail: irene.szkudlarek@nlc-bnc.ca