The following update on Alderman Collections was authored by Esther Onega, Senior Project Manager for Alderman Renovation, and John Unsworth, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries. (December 3, 2018)
Many faculty and students are interested in knowing how the renovation of Alderman Library is going to affect the size and nature of humanities and social science collections available on central Grounds. Exact numbers for the current state have been hard to come by because library collections circulate, because the library at any given moment contains collections not yet represented in its catalogs, and because until the completion of the recent inventory we could only estimate collections on hand. Exact numbers for the future state have also been a moving target, as the plans for new construction have been evolving steadily throughout the last year.
Now, however, our inventory (September 2017-December 2018) is complete and our plans for the new construction are stable with respect to projected shelving, so we are pleased to present our final projections for Alderman and Clemons collections post-renovation, as well as our most authoritative account of the current state of those collections, for purposes of comparison. We have also included a December 2018 snapshot of the number of books currently checked out from those collections. Note that the number used for the Clemons Library’s current collection is the number of books that were in Clemons before the 2016/2017 renovation of Clemons’ second floor: at present, those collections are being held elsewhere while Clemons 1 is renovated for high-density collection storage.
The following chart outlines the current and future size of collections in both Alderman and Clemons libraries, assuming ten volumes per linear foot of shelving. That number and the definition of a “volume” are both drawn from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) statistics questionnaire for 2017 (retrieved on 11/20/2018).
What IS included:
“... single physical unit of any printed, typewritten, handwritten, mimeographed, or processed work, distinguished from other units by a separate binding, encasement, portfolio, or other clear distinction, which has been cataloged, classified, and made ready for use, and which is typically the unit used to charge circulation transactions. Either a serial volume is bound, or it comprises the serial issues that would be bound together if the library bound all serials ... Include government document volumes that are accessible through the library's catalogs regardless of whether they are separately shelved.” [emphasis added]
What IS NOT included:
“Exclude microforms, maps, nonprint materials, and uncatalogued items. Exclude electronic serials and other virtual serial volumes.” [emphasis added]
Open Stacks
Open stacks are areas freely available for public browsing.
| Alderman Library | Clemons Library | |
|---|---|---|
| Current collection |
Volumes classed with Library of Congress (LC) call numbers:
Government documents (GD) volumes: Virginia, U.S., and international, government documents
|
131,714 LC volumes in Clemons prior to the renovation of the second floor for Total Advising (2016). Of these...
|
| Post-renovation collection |
Number of volumes with LC call numbers:
Anticipated number of Government Documents: U.S. State Dept., Virginia, and others
|
442,610 volumes |
Closed stacks
Closed stacks* are areas reserved for staff to process and evaluate incoming collections; manage existing library materials; and execute collections projects. They are restricted to the general public.
| Alderman Library | Clemons Library | |
|---|---|---|
| Current collection |
17,937 volume Tibetan collection (other materials are non-print and/or uncatalogued) |
n/a |
| Post-renovation collection |
120,540 volumes |
n/a |
Totals
All numbers below are in volumes.
|
Alderman: |
Alderman: |
Alderman: |
Clemons: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current collection |
1,675,346 LC |
17,937 |
48,640 |
131,714 |
| Post-renovation collection |
917,190 LC |
120,540 |
48,640 |
442,610 |
* Current square footage for closed stacks in Alderman is 20,173 SF (1M old, 2 new and old, and 2M old). Renovated Alderman will have 4,255 SF of closed stacks (rooms 001 and 004) in the basement, but that space will be used much more efficiently. Current closed stacks in Alderman, which formerly housed Special Collections materials, have been mostly empty since Harrison Small Special Collections was built.
If we look at the total LC collection across both Alderman and Clemons, before and after the renovation, the numbers for books in open stacks are 1,807,060 books before the renovation and 1,359,800 after the renovation. Put another way, after the renovation, open stacks in Alderman and Clemons will contain 75% of the number of print volumes that are now in open stacks in those two buildings. If we add in the number for books in closed stacks (including Rare Book School collections), our totals are 1,873,637 volumes before renovation and 1,528,980 after renovation, which is to say that, post-renovation, Alderman and Clemons will contain 82% of the number of current holdings in both closed and open stacks.
Should there be changes in the renovation plans that cause these numbers to vary more than 5% from what is presented here, public updates will be provided.