More Storage: “University of New Mexico Libraries Getting Too Full”

Here’s a report about storage issues from the U. of New Mexico student newspaper, The New Mexico Daily Lobo.
From the Article

UNM libraries look to turn a new page as they search for a solution to their mounting problems of overcrowded bookshelves and fewer students checking out books.
Steven Harris, collections strategist for University Libraries, said the number of students who check out volumes from on-campus libraries is declining.
“There are 200,000 circulations in a year,” Harris said. “It’s been going down over the last 10 years and I think the main driver of that is that so much is available online.”
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“What is contributing to that problem is that the fire marshal said that the books were shelved too high and close to the ceiling,” he said. “We have to move books down a row so that there are at least 18 inches between the top of the books shelf and the ceiling. It’s causing crowding as well.”
Harris said unlike neighboring schools that have a storage facility for excess books, such as the University of Texas and Texas A&M University, UNM does not have an off-campus storage facility available for the same purposes.

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Filed under: Libraries, News