Mary,

Your descriptions of how to set up the two rooms, and number the locations, are not the way that commercial records centers handle their set-ups.  I see no reason to deviate from what has been described by the previous posters, and what obviously works for commercial centers.  

I think we all have assumed that the boxes have a unique box number that is separate from the location, so when a box moves to another location, it is simply a matter of decoupling that box from that location and assigning the box to the new location. This can be done in most records management programs by a simple overwrite of the existing data, whether by manual entry or barcode.

The OP did not suggest any growth rate or need to expand beyond the rooms already in use, so I think your assumption on that issue is at least premature, possibly incorrect, but it s always helpful to know what assumptions you are making.

I don't see why your suggestion is in any way superior to the solutions already offered, so could you please expound on that issue?

It seems to me that you are suggesting that the box warehouse be set up more like a file room, than a box storage facility.  I don't think being "locked in" to a specific room or aisle is a problem in a system of this size, and I also think it up scales easily.  Nor would doing a room, aisle, shelf system confuse staff.  I know of a facility in Philadelphia that hires former prisoners transitioning to the community that uses this type of system, and they did not seem confused.

Actually, I think that in any system, staff would prefer to know ahead of filing a box, that it will generally be going where it came from, since there is space there to accommodate it, in the front or back position.  

I think the suggestions already discussed are pretty simple, and standard practice for setting up a box storage facility.  They also match the actual steps you would logically use to locate a box. First you go to the room, the to the aisle, then to the shelf.  I also think that declaring the room, aisle and shelf within the location field is very efficient and allows for seamless increases to other rooms, should that be desirable in the future.  Using a straight numerical progression would be problematic if there were multiple rooms, if only because, as in your scenario, you need to look at a map to see where a given sequential number is located.  With the schemes already suggested, no map is needed, since the room designation is declared as part of the location data.

Please enlighten me on why your suggestion is superior, and not just, at best, different.

I'd sincerely like to know because I don't get it.

Bill Creamer
NY, NY
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