The Collection Shift Estimation and Visualization Tool assists library staff with planning and preparing for collection shifts by calculating linear feet required for a given call number range, identifying sections that need to be relocated, and visually displaying the location of materials before, during, and after the move. Building on the work of the StackLife project, this tool uses information in the standard MARC record, such as number of pages in a volume, to estimate the space required on a shelf and visually plot the result on a CAD representation of the building and library stacks.

The benefits of using the tool include reducing the number of hours required to plan a shift and minimizing the imprecision and inaccuracies involved in calculating temporary swing space and shelf space required for affected call number ranges.