More Information on The ArchAngel



Any File may be precisely located by its LocationCode
(such as A04020645)

What does A04020645 mean?

‘A’ refers to the Site (each Site is labelled with a letter)
04 refers to the Rack number
02 refers to the Bay number
06 refers to the Shelf number
45 refers to the Position along the shelf.

Each shelf is organised into a number of Positions.
We allocated about 1cm (or half an inch) for each position.
This measure of 1cm is called 1 SU (Storage Unit).

The key to the ArchAngel system is the way the program positions files/boxes. A file or box location is defined by its location code. The location code tells you precisely where the file/box is to be found, using the method shown above.

Since files may be of any width it is necessary to store a file’s ‘width’ (not required for box storage) so that ArchAngel can ascertain where there is space to place it when it is originally entered. Storage positions on shelves are defined to be 1cm (or half-inch) wide. A storage position is called a Storage Unit (SU). Thus a 3-foot (36 inch) shelf will contain 72 SUs. When entering a new file into the system you enter its SU figure a new Box can have its SU set by default). The computer will then place the file where there is space, using the ‘first’ (i.e. checking from the beginning onwards) available position that is ‘wide’ enough to hold the file/box. Gaps that appear as files/boxes are destroyed are thus automatically filled when new files/boxes are added. Gaps caused by files/boxes being taken out for reference are not available places and will not be filled by new files/boxes.