  For the static list update problem, given an ordered list $\rho_0$ (an
ordering of the list $L$ = \{ $a_a, a_2, ..., a_l$ \}), and a sequence $\sigma
= (\sigma_1, \sigma_2, ..., \sigma_m)$ of requests for items in $L$, we
characterize the list reorganizations in an optimal offline solution in terms
of an initial permutation of the list followed by a sequence of $m$ {\em
element transfers}, where an element transfer is a type of list reorganization
where only the requested item can be moved. Then we make use of this
characterization to design an $O(l^{2} (l-1)!m)$ time optimal offline
algorithm.
