To maximize the storage density in a localized hologram recording method, each hologram should be recorded as close as possible to its neighboring holograms. In this case, the reference beams used to record two adjacent holograms may overlap in spatial multiplexing. Through simulations and experiments, we show that there exists an optimal reference beam size to minimize the overlap for a given shifting distance of the reference beams in spatial multiplexing. Thus the advantages of the localized hologram recording method can be minimally sacrificed while the storage density is increased.