The growth of the literature and its implications for library storage

Abstract

Recent book production is examined from a library point of view, and estimates are made of the total cost of, and space required for, the annual UK book output. It is found that these measures increased rapidly through the 1960s but that since 1971 the cost has stayed roughly constant and the space required has declined. The present situation is found to be too unstable to be able to make even short term predictions of future output. The number, size and cost of current serials, and changes in these since 1960, are examined from the point of view of a UK library. Both the number of current serials and the average UK subscription cost have increased exponentially, while the average thickness appears now to be roughly constant. An estimate of the cost of „information", measured by the cost per metre of shelf space of serials relatíve to the Retail Price Index shows a substantial but irregular increase.