University Library & Archive Projects | SHENGMEI Mobile Compactor Shelving
Modern university library building exterior with brick and glass facade
Projects · Universities

Twice the stacks. Same library.

Every growing university faces the same equation: collections grow every year, and the building does not. Mobile shelving turns the overflow problem into a zoning plan — browsing up front, density behind.

The Space Equation

What actually happens to your square metres.

Fixed steel shelving pays for one aisle per run. Mobile shelving pays for one aisle per room. That difference is the whole project.

Fixed shelving — 5 aisles 1,000 volumes Mobile shelving — 1 aisle 2,000 volumes
Same floor area · same run count · double the capacity
2×

Capacity in the same footprint

Compacting the runs removes four of five aisles; the freed floor becomes shelving.

+30%

Growth headroom built in

Shelf pitch and carriage count are specified with a decade of collection growth in mind.

0

New buildings required

Most stack renovations run while the library stays open — zone by zone, shelf by shelf.

Zoning Plan

Three zones. One coherent stack hall.

High-performing academic libraries don’t choose between browsing and density — they zone for both, in one continuous plan.

Zone A
Open access

Browsing collections

Students, self-service, daily traffic
Open browsing shelving with labelled volumes in a university library
  • Fixed open runs at the entrance
  • Face-out display shelves for new titles
  • Wide 1.2 m aisles for wheelchair access
Zone B
Semi-open

Study & course reserves

Reading rooms, taught modules
Semi-open mobile shelving corridor for course reserve collections
  • Manual mobile runs with open cubbies
  • Label holders matched to reading lists
  • Seat-facing runs inside reading zones
Zone C
Closed stacks

Thesis & back-issue archives

Staff-mediated retrieval
High-density closed compactor stacks for theses and back issues
  • Full-height compactor runs, max density
  • Numbered bays matched to catalogue marks
  • Lockable zones for rare and fragile items
EntranceDeep storage
Smart Integration

RFID-ready shelving for modern library systems.

When the campus library runs an RFID self-service chain — check-out kiosks, return sorting, shelf-reading — the physical shelving has to keep up. Our smart compactor platform is designed as the storage layer of that chain.

  • Tag-level positioning links each shelf mark to the catalogue record
  • Miss-aisling: the smart compactor opens only the shelf where the requested item lives
  • Inventory sweeps read a full zone without opening a single aisle
  • Touchscreen terminals log every opening for collection security reviews
Smart compactor touchscreen terminal integrated with the library RFID system Smart terminal · shelf-level control
Library-Grade Details

The small engineering that daily academic use demands.

A

Adjustable shelf pitch

Folios, octavos, archive boxes and back volumes all live in the same run — shelves re-pitch in 25 mm steps without tools, so the range never forces a re-layout.

B

Shelf marks & label holders

Every shelf carries a clear acrylic label holder aligned to the catalogue’s own shelf marks — student staff file correctly from their first shift, without training manuals.

C

Anti-tilt for tall runs

Three-metre compactor runs on a single rail line stay plumb with interlocked anti-tilt guides — a hard requirement when a corridor of students passes a moving aisle every hour.

Collection Planning

What goes where — at a glance.

A stack plan only works when every collection class has a matched home. This is the default matrix we start from, then tune to your catalogue and reading-list data.

CollectionZoneConfigurationSpace outcome
New titles & current journals Zone A · Open Fixed runs at the entrance with face-out display shelves for daily browsing. Baseline
Course reserves & reading lists Zone B · Semi-open Manual mobile runs with open cubbies; label holders matched to reading lists. 1.6×
Undergraduate theses Zone C · Closed Full-height compactor runs with numbered bays matched to catalogue marks. 2.2×
Bound back issues & folios Zone C · Closed Wide-pitch compactor runs; shelves re-pitch in 25 mm steps for folio sizes. 2.4×
Rare & fragile items Zone C · Locked Lockable carriages with sealed dust tops; staff-mediated retrieval only. Secured
University Projects

Bring us the collection count.

Volumes in, floor area available — we return a three-zone stack layout with capacity maths your library committee can defend.

Start the stack layout →