More space for students in Library West could become available within a year as the library's inventory sheds about 400 sets of low-use publications.
These publications are currently shelved but available online, according to Judy Russell, dean of university libraries at UF.
Russell said about 350 sets of journals and periodicals have already been identified for storage and 60 for potential recycling.
She said the third floor's reference section may also be relocated to an off-site storage facility.
Using additional storage is not new for UF. The university already operates an off-site storage space known as the Auxiliary Library Facility and has received verbal approval for the use of a second storage site, Russell said.
The removed books will leave hundreds of square feet that will either be filled with collections from other UF libraries, such as the Architecture and Fine Arts Library, or remodeled to accommodate more students, Russell said.
Parul Shanker, a 19-year-old psychology major, said she would love to see more space for students in the library.
"It's already such a struggle to find space in Library West, and that is the most centralized place to study for me," she said. "If you try to go to Library West during the popular evening hours, it is pretty much impossible to find a place to study."
Russell said she expects to see collections moving out of Library West by October.
