I have an interesting (I hope) question for you.

On July 1 I'll be taking up the post of Director of the library of VCU
School of Design Arts in Qatar. This program, and the library, are about
4 years old; the program has recently received accreditation from SACS
and NASAD, with a library collection of 12,000 volumes, 89 periodical
titles, 850 videos and CDs, and 20,000 slides.

I'm already involved in planning a new facility for this library, which
has outgrown its original space. Since the library is so new, I'm having
difficulty at the very outset in projecting the amount of stack space
we'll need. I'd be very interested in hearing from other librarians,
particularly those in very small schools, about collection size.

The school is offering undergraduate degrees in three areas: Fashion
design and merchandizing, Interior design, and Communication arts and
design. Art history, which is now just offered as a support area, is
going to be promoted to another major area; classes are also offered in
basic arts & sciences subjects to support the BFA degree. Currently,
there are 150 students, 26 faculty; I've been told the school does not
expect to grow beyond about 200 students.

For space planning purposes, how large should a collection be to support
this type and size of program? Are there well-established libraries out
there serving small schools, and if so, could you share your collection
statistics with me?

All feedback will be much appreciated.

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Dana Beth                          [log in to unmask]
Art & Architecture Librarian        phone: 1-314-935-5218
Washington University, St Louis       fax: 1-314-935-4362

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