[Nhcoll-l] Shelf depth for EtOH jar collections

[Dirk Neumann]

Hi Tonya,

we recommend in our book<https://www.universityproducts.com/best-practices-in-the-preservation-and-management.html> (p. 94) to prefer 300 mm deep shelves. You can do deeper shelves (in Munich we had 450 mm), but this doesn't save space, as you cannot place more large jars on such such shelves.

Usually, large glass cylinders are rarely deeper than 300 mm. If there are larger containers, it might be worth considering 1 isle with deeper shelves (e.g., 450 mm) for these jars, or to arrange all large jars on special heavy duty shelves, as for example in the tank room at the NHM in London.

If you choose 440 mm deep shelves for the entire collection, you increase the required staff time for monitoring and maintenance, because usually the number of small jars is much higher, and there is a tendency that small jars are crowding on deeper shelves as the offer more space. Visual inspection of such densely packed shelves however needs more time. If staff time is a critical variable, 300 mm would be preferable.

Another point worth considering: deep shelves usually require wider isles and operating areas. This may not be intuitive right from the start, but you need to reach deeper into the (crowded) shelf. If the isle is as narrow as it would be for a 300 mm deep shelf, the risk to knock other jars is higher.

If available space in the new storage room is not the limiting factor, I would choose 300 mm deep shelves.

Hope this helps
Dirk


Am 15.02.2023 um 04:26 schrieb Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace):
Hi again everyone,

We are getting down to the pointy bit of having to confirm the desired depth of shelving for our new ethanol vault storage. Right now our shelves are only about 300mm deep, which is really not deep enough for some larger containers. We have specified 440mm deep shelving for the new space, but before pushing ‘go’ I thought I would ask if any of you have thoughts or very strong opinions about optimal shelf depth for storing jars of various sizes and smaller drums.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Cheers,

Tonya

-------------------------------------------------
Dr. Tonya M. Haff
Collection Manager
Australian National Wildlife Collection
CSIRO
+61(0)419569109
https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/collections/anwc




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Dirk Neumann
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--
Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn
Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst
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