Creating a Multimedia Display and Storage Strategy (2003)

INTRODUCTION rate at which storage requirements change has progressively increased as new types of media quickly migrate into the library environment. Demand for faster access time, reduced cost-of-access, better protection of stored media, and the increasing cost of floor space require continuous improvement of storage equipment and the complete storage process. --This quote from a manufacturer of multimedia storage equipment for libraries, Russ Bassett, expresses the raison d'etre for this report. The story of how one manufacturer of display equipment got its start and how it sees its future is a cautionary tale for librarians developing a multimedia shelving strategy. PS Professional Store's founder owned a record store in Germany. When the CD first emerged as the replacement for vinyl records, no equipment was available for housing CDs. The founder decided to fill that gap. Now the DVD is changing that shelving strategy. In the meantime, PS developed a scan-and-play music preview system that a few libraries are currently using to encourage use of their multimedia collection. PS sees Compact Flash technology as the future. This technology needs no CD players, no computer hard drives and scanners. Everything is programmed onto a flash card that can be reprogrammed 50,000 times. Academic institutions also see the future with no rotating media; everything will be stored in solid-state chip memory. The future is an indeterminate length of time away. Future predictions do not necessarily mean future exclusions. The book is still with us, contrary to past predictions, and thriving, with little evidence of fading soon. For libraries, especially academic libraries, this variety of media just translates into more layers of media formats to be housed. The trick is to house them efficiently and at the same time provide for their effective retrieval. Appropriate storage in specialized storage equipment for multimedia is needed to better organize, access, and preserve it. Knowing the equipment needs for the collection is key to determining the space required for the collection. Equipment manufacturers have developed cabinets, shelving units, and racks to store virtually any type of object or collection. Knowledge of the types of equipment available helps you make the best decision about the equipment to be used for a specific collection. Many companies manufacture multimedia storage equipment--some are aimed at the library market, others at other markets but with products that could be used in libraries. Increasingly, manufacturers provide custom-designed solutions to meet a single client's collection storage challenge. Five basic equipment types may be used for storing multimedia: * Cabinets, lateral and vertical * Cabinets for large flat files * Cabinets for vertical filing of large documents * Shelving, racks, and slat walls with accessories for storing many media formats * Carousels These equipment types also may become high-density storage systems. Side-to-side sliding shelving/drawer systems and mobile aisle systems with all types of equipment installed on their carriages save space by eliminating the multiple aisles required for stationary equipment. Rotary equipment increases the amount of material that can be stored within a single footprint. Manufacturers' variations within the equipment types and high-density systems are nearly endless. For this report, examples of the basic equipment types have been provided with a few variations represented by a handful of manufacturers. This report does not provide an exhaustive list of all manufacturers of multimedia storage equipment nor all the possible variations of storage techniques. In determining what type of storage system to use for a specific medium to be stored, account for the following factors: * Types of users and their needs * Size and characteristics of media to be stored * Media capacity required * Fragility of medium * Susceptibility to environmental conditions, including possible reaction to contact materials, such as materials from which envelopes, boxes, and file folders are constructed or coatings on shelves * Mixed or changing media requirements * Shelving and retrieval activity levels * Ease of use, including access for the able-bodied and the physically disabled * Security required * Costs * Relocation requirements * Combined weight of equipment and media and adequacy of floor-load capacity of the building where equipment to be located * Floor area available or to be planned; space savings is a particularly important criterion * Quality of construction of equipment under consideration, especially durability under conditions of heavy loading and use * Maintenance requirements for different equipment types * Protection from fire and other environmental hazards Types of users and their needs Types of media users and their needs differ widely among the types of libraries requiring various equipment to house media collections. …