The type, quantity, and quality of a depository collection rests in the hands of people who may well never set foot in our libraries let alone touch our documents. Thus, Federal depository collections present a unique set of challenges to space planners. Traditional Considerations Increases of space used to house depository collections in libraries are dependent on how much GPO prints. The number of publications from the GPO has increased over the decades. This has meant planning on increasing space needs year after year.
Individual titles have different space needs.
Space needed for a title may vary from one year to the next. The Census Bureau shelves are a case in point. Every ten years the Census of Population and Housing demands a great deal of space, while every five years the Census of Economics and the Census of Agriculture quickly fill more space. To add to the confusion, parts of series are housed in different locations within the broader collection as a consequence of changes in issuing agencies and SuDocs classification. Changes in format also alter space requirements.