Mobile shelving

A mobile shelving (also Mobile rack, sliding shelf or thrust lever system) is a shelving system, in which the shelves are on mobile substructures which are guided in rails. The shelves can be moved, so that the corresponding row of shelves opens up the next but closes again. Mobile racks are mainly used in the library and archives.

While they were initially built mainly in closed stacks, they are found in more recent times more often in areas frequented by the public. An increased risk of accidents seems to be lacking, at least there has been no corresponding reports.

Mobile shelving can be used with simple hand-push, manual crank drive or electric motors according to the weight. With electric drive motors are installed in the carriage. In the 1960s and 1970s also rolling shelves with pneumatic and cable drive were built.

Pros and Cons

• Unlike the side pull-out shelves used in pharmacy shelves are pushed together to a single transition. By saving the roads results in a gain in magazine space of up to 100 % compared to traditional rack systems.

• However, this ( m² approximately 12.5 kN / m² compared to about 7.2 kN / in conventional shelves in libraries) also increases the static load of the soil at.

• The capacity gain comes at the cost of infrastructure. Thus, the throughput of media and media storage withdrawals in mobile shelving is limited in comparison to traditional storage systems, which prohibits the use in areas of high public transport. Libraries can roll shelves therefore publicly accessible use only in areas with low user frequency, such as for the storage of old journal volumes, but not for high traffic literature, such as encyclopedias, textbooks, bibliographies and current magazines. But mobile shelving can be used in closed stacks of libraries. These can be scheduled namely the order of the media operation.

• From a conservation point of view mobile shelving can be problematic because they are worse ventilated. At high ambient humidity can lead to increased risk of mold.

• The ventilation can be improved motorized transport and mobile shelving, drive by during breaks, at night and on weekends all the shelves on hiatus. The transition width is divided into gaps between the shelves. In addition, fans can provide an air flow between the shelves.