Comparing Music Library Storage Systems

pull-out cabinets for storing sheet music

On a standard piano, there are 88 keys, luckily there are not that many ways to store sheet music folios in a music library system. The cheapest way to store sheet music is in stacks and piles, but that is also the quickest way to damage sheet music (not to mention driving yourself nuts trying to find a piece when you need it). Historically, most people store their music library in vertical file cabinets (click to see our lateral file cabinets storage solutions). While that worked great when your music library was just a view cabinets, it doesn’t work now that your library has grown and the cabinets are taking over your space. Thanks to Southwest Solutions Group® you now have several viable options for organizing your music library economically, in less space. While there are several other ways to store sheet music we would like to compare two of the most efficient music library storage systems, Pull-out Music Cabinets vs Sliding Music Shelving. The comparison between storage systems will include storage capacity, cost, and space savings. (view images of Pull-out Cabinets and Sliding Music Library Shelving)

sliding shelving for music library shelving

Pull-out Music Cabinets vs Sliding Music Shelving: Storage Capacity

One of the most essential factors in deciding which type of music library storage system to invest in is its storage capacity. For comparison purposes we will use an 18’x30’ room (540 sq. ft.) and use letter sized sheet music. To give you a perspective on the storage capacities, we will be comparing vertical file cabinets, Pull-out Music Cabinets and Sliding Music Shelving in linear feet of sheet music. Based on the 18′ x 30′ room using four-drawer vertical file cabinets the room would store 600 linear feet of sheet music or 1.1 linear feet over square foot. The same room using Pull-out Music Cabinets 7’ tall with seven levels will store 1,890 total linear feet of sheet music or 3.5 linear feet per square foot. The same room using Sliding Music Shelving will store 1,728 total linear feet of sheet music or 3.2 linear feet per square foot. For the most part, the Pull-out Music Cabinets and Sliding Music Library Shelving are about equal in regards to storage capacity.

shopping cart iconSliding Cabinets & Shelving Prices

See specifications and pricing for sliding tambour, lateral & flipper door cabinets, sliding mobile shelves, and pull-out shelving.

Pull-out Music Cabinets vs Sliding Music Shelving: Cost

What does it cost to increase sheet music storage space? Assuming everything is still the same (the room and the size of each storage system), the vertical file cabinets cost $40 per linear foot, Pull-out Music Cabinets cost $48 per linear foot, and the Sliding Music Shelving costs $36. As you can see from the pricing, Sliding Music Shelving is about 25% less expensive than the Pull-out Music Cabinets. That is a big difference.

sheet-music-storage-comparison-file-cabinets-folio-shelving

File Cabinets Vs Space Saving Music Cabinets and Shelving

store your sheet music in cost-effetive sliding shelving

Both of these music library storage systems provide dramatic space savings compared to vertical file cabinets. To give you a better idea of the space savings you can experience using space saving cabinets and shelving, let’s compare how much floor space would be required by the space saving equipment to house 600 linear feet of sheet music (75 four drawer vertical file cabinets). The 600 linear feet represents how much sheet music storage the 18′ x 30′ room would store using vertical file cabinets. To store 600 linear feet of sheet music in the Pull-out Music Cabinets would require just 200 square feet of floorspace or 37% of the space required by vertical file cabinets. The Sliding Music Shelving would require just 210 square feet or 39% of the space required by vertical file cabinets. That is a big difference.

shopping cart icon Sliding Letter-Size (12” Deep) Shelving Systems

Below are sliding letter-size shelving systems available online at StoreMoreStore. We also have a complete line of stationary letter-size file shelving, stationary legal-size file shelving, stationary binder shelving, stationary box storage shelving, sliding legal-size shelving systems, and sliding box storage shelving systems.

The units below have seven 12″ deep storage levels ranging from 6′ 10″ to 7′ high (Click here to see sliding units with 8 storage levels).

Unit Width
2 Rows Deep Units (27″ Deep)
3 Rows Deep Units (41″ Deep)
4 Rows Deep Units (55″ Deep)
letter-size 2 deep sliding mobile shelves
6′ 4″
SMS-25-B621LT4P7(60 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T621LT4P7(79 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q621LT-4P7(99 linear feet of storage)
7′ 4″
SMS-25-B221LT4P7(70 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T221LT4P7(93 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q221LT-4P7(117 linear feet of storage)
8′ 4″
SMS-25-B821LT4P7(81 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T821LT4P7(107 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q821LT-4P7(134 linear feet of storage)
9′ 4″
SMS-25-B632LT4P7(99 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T632LT4P7(139 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q632LT-4P7(179 linear feet of storage)
10′ 10″
SMS-25-B232LT4P7(117 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T232LT4P7(163 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q232LT-4P7(210 linear feet of storage)
12′ 4″
SMS-25-B832LT4P7(134 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T832LT4P7(188 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q832LT-4P7(242 linear feet of storage)
14′ 4″
SMS-25-B243LT4P7(163 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T243LT4P7(233 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q243LT-4P7(303 linear feet of storage)
15′ 4″
SMS-25-B654LT4P7(179 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T654LT4P7(258 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q654LT-4P7(337 linear feet of storage)
16′ 4″
SMS-25-B843LT4P7(188 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T843LT4P7(268 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q843LT-4P7(349 linear feet of storage)
17′ 10″
SMS-25-B254LT4P7(210 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T254LT4P7(303 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q254LT-4P(397 linear feet of storage)
18′ 8″
SMS-25-B665LT4P7(218 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T665LT4P7(317 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q665LT-4P7(417 linear feet of storage)
20′ 9″
SMS-25-B854LT4P7(242 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T854LT4P7(348 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q854LT-4P7(456 linear feet of storage)
21′ 8″
SMS-25-B265LT4P7(257 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T265LT4P7(373 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q265LT-4P7(490 linear feet of storage)
24′ 8″
SMS-25-B865LT4P7(295 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T865LT4P7(429 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q865LT-4P7(564 linear feet of storage)
25′ 2″
SMS-25-B276LT4P7(303 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T276LT4P7(443 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q276LT-4P7(583 linear feet of storage)
28′ 4″
SMS-25-B876LT4P7(349 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-T876LT4P7(510 linear feet of storage)
SMS-25-Q876LT-4P7(671 linear feet of storage)

 

Contact Us for Music Library Storage Systems

Overall both Pull-out Music Cabinets and Sliding Music Shelving are excellent music library storage systems compared to four drawer vertical file cabinets. They both excel in storage capacity and space savings while Sliding Shelving wins over Pull-out Cabinets as far as cost. Whether you have 75 file cabinets or 8 file cabinets, Southwest Solutions Group® can provide a more efficient storage system for your sheet music. For more information, call us at 1-800-803-1083 or send us a message to speak with one of our storage experts.

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