Time and Cost Analysis of Preparing and Processing Materials for Off-Site Shelving at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is currently in the process of transferring its first shipment of 700,000 books into a temporary storage facility in preparation of a permanent high-density shelving facility in late 2004. This paper discusses the steps all materials must go through before they can be transferred to and accessed through the high-density shelving facility, and offers time and cost analysis for each step whenever possible. It is the authors' intention that this analysis will assist similar research institutions in their financial and staff planning for a similar off-site shelving facility.