Disaster recovery supply estimates

I am currently developing a spreadsheet to assist my library in disaster
recovery. My hope is that, when completed, it will enable the user to
estimate the number of boxes, rolls of tape and possibly freezer paper
needed to pack-out damaged books. In addition, a disaster officer should
be able to enter in the number of staff available to work on the
pack-out and have the program calculate approximately how many hours it
will take to do the job. This should help determine if additional
workers are needed before mold starts to form.

I have a good starting point because the University of California has
conducted studies on the average number of books per section of book
stack. If the spreadsheet works as I hope, I will be happy to make it
available to other libraries.

Obviously, the more accurate the figures, the better spreadsheet.
Therefore, I need confirmation of some of my figures--based mainly on
personal experience--from those of you who have tracked what it takes to
do a pack out.

The system assumes the following:

    *   the majority of boxes to be used will be 1.5 cu (15x12x10)

    *   10-12 books fit into a box

    *   wrapping every book or every other book in freezer paper does
        not affect the dimensions of a book enough to reduce the number
        that can be placed in a box

    *   a group of people average packing 100 books per hour--equivalent
        to 10 boxes per person

Please let me know if you have experience which contradicts, amends, or
confirms these figures. I will also try and make the program flexible
enough to allow for different size boxes (please send box size and
average number of books it holds) or non-standard shelves (unusual size
or number per section).

Please respond to me directly. Thank you all in advance for your help.

Sheryl Davis
University of California, Riverside
909-787-4382
Fax: 909-787-3285

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:45
                Distributed: Thursday, December 16, 1993
                        Message Id: cdl-7-45-007
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