I would personally recommend shallower shelves, with the individual objects grouped in trays (with sides slightly lower than the height of the drawer) without the boxes so that everything is one layer and visible but still able to be moved in groups to be studied or otherwise accessed. This reduces unnecessary movement that is caused when you have things stacked in boxes and increases visibility which is very important since you will see any potential problems/damage/mold/etc much sooner. If the trays are measured to fit the slide out drawers, the space use can be very efficient and is much much easier for people who are managing the collection. It can be done in a more budget friendly way with trays made from cardboard instead of bought pre-made. You can make a template with some calculations and make them very quickly (or put interns or volunteers to work on them). Elizabeth Walton At 06:29 PM 5/11/2009, you wrote: >Dear Museum-Lers – > >I am once again appealing to you with a question >about laboratory/curation equipment – many >belated thanks to those of you who responded to >my last query about fume hoods. > >This time around, I’m curious to hear from >anyone who has worked with compact storage (high >density mobile storage) for large archaeology >collections. We are committed to this type of >storage system, and I’ve been asked by the >architects to figure out what kind of options >we’d like for shelving configuration. Right now >I’m split as to which option will be best: open >shelving + file-sized archival boxes packed with >artifacts (typical of many working archaeology >labs and companies), versus units with pull out >drawers where artifacts would be housed in bags >but not large boxes. There are positives and >negatives to both, and ultimately cost may >determine what we choose. Either way, we’ll also >have some shelving space set aside for oversize >items and some allotted for records storage. I’m >curious to hear from anyone who has experience >with this type of storage system used for >sizeable archaeology collections. What was your >configuration like? Were there specific things >you loved? Things you wish you’d done differently? > >Thanks in advance your advice – >aloha >~Liz > >Presidio Archaeology Lab ><http://www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology>www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology >(415) 561-ARCH > >Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You >may obtain detailed information about the >listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail >message to [log in to unmask] . The >body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a >one line e-mail message to >[log in to unmask] . The body of the >message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).