NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 24 number 1 - Fall 2003

With a severe shortage of stacks and seating space, the NCSU Libraries has added a new shelving location for its least-used materials. Called the Satellite Shelving Facility (SSF), it is located on Sullivan Drive in the former Central Stores building. The SSF project began in 2000, renovations to the building and shelving installation were completed in 2001/02, volumes were identified and moved in 2002/03, and the facility opened in March 2003. In the 2003/04 academic year, the final sections of compact shelving will be installed, and--with the transfer of additional materials over the next two years from the D. H. Hill Library and branch libraries--the SSF will be at capacity. The transfer of collections from the D. H. Hill Library will create 450 additional study seats within the library.

The Satellite Shelving Facility provides 20,000 square feet of high-density, environmentally controlled shelving for low-use books; bound journals; and audiovisual, microform, and Special Collections materials. The building currently houses 250,000 volumes and over 7,000 linear feet of special collections, and more materials are being identified for location there over the next few years. It is estimated that the facility will be at total capacity by early 2007, if the addition of new collection materials continues at the same rate.

Library staff developed criteria for selecting materials appropriate for satellite shelving in consultation with the University Library Committee (ULC). Nearly 96 percent of the items shelved at the facility are bound journal titles that ceased publication or had subscriptions cancelled prior to 1995. More than sixty cabinets of low-use microform materials, as well as archival and manuscript materials from the Libraries' Special Collections Department, are also housed in the building. The library recognizes that both the assignment of specific item locations and the services for satellite shelving will be modified over time in response to user needs.

A program of rapid delivery services for materials located at the SSF has been developed in collaboration with the ULC and library users. The user community's response to these services has been extremely positive. Items housed at the SSF are identified in the Libraries' catalog with a location of "Satellite Shelving Facility." A "Request Item" feature provides a link to an online request form. Journal articles requested by faculty, students, staff, and registered borrowers are scanned and delivered via the Web, often within only a few hours. At the user's request, articles may alternatively be faxed or photocopied, with a cost-recovery charge for photocopies. Books and entire journal volumes (if needed) are delivered to the user's selected NCSU library location for pick up or to a campus office address. A small reading room at the facility, equipped with a computer and photocopier, is available by appointment for use by NCSU faculty, students, staff, and registered library borrowers. All services can be requested via the Web, electronic mail, fax, or telephone.

For further information, visit the Web at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/ads/satellite.html. Staff at the SSF can be reached by telephone at (919) 513-7190 or via an electronic-mail message sent to satellite@ncsu.edu.