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Packing and Moving Library and Archive Collections

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Packing and Moving Library and Archive Collections Preservation Advisory Centre Moving collections The Preservation Advisory Centre is supported by: The Pilgrim Trust The Marsh Christian Trust and the John Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust ISBN 978 0 7123 0691 9 Author Caroline Bendix, ACR, Accredited Library Conservator Design The British Library Design Office First published January 2005 as Packing and moving library and archive collecitons Revised August 2013 Moving library and archive collections 1 Project management 2 Risk management 3 Inventories 4 Storage furniture 5 Buildings 6 Transportation 7 Personnel 8 Conservation 9 Packing 10 Moving 11 Conclusion There are a number of reasons for moving collections, such as relocation, renovation, or rearrangement of collections. Moves may involve relocating the whole or part of a collection, within a building or complex of buildings or offsite altogether. This booklet provides guidance on best practice for moving library and archive collections, but is not intended to address the routine movement of books within a library or archive. A move presents a one-off chance for improving collection care and management, an opportunity to undertake a stock audit, rearrange and upgrade storage, improve housekeeping, and to clean, stabilise and re-house collections. 1 Project Management A single member of staff should take on the role of project manager, if necessary full time, to manage the complex job of keeping all aspects of a move under control. It is likely that the project manager will need to liaise with a range of in-house staff and external contractors to ensure the smooth running of the project. These are likely to include: • Library and archive managers/personnel • Transport/relocation companies 1 • Health and safety personnel • Estates personnel • Architects/builders • Insurers • Security personnel • Equipment suppliers • Conservators • Local authorities. Budgets for all stages of the project should be discussed, estimated and information centralised with the project manager to ensure that the likely overall cost is assessed before any work is undertaken. A timetable with start and finish dates for each element of the move should be prepared for all those involved, with allowances to minimise the effect of unforeseen problems, which may dramatically affect the project. 2 Risk management Risks in collection moves can arise from: • The sheer number of items to be handled • Incomplete/inaccurate records • Lack of (trained) personnel • Lack of time • Unrealistic access requirements • Lack of space • Restricted finances • Constraints imposed by other contractors e.g. over-running building works. Early assessment of risks to both collections and personnel allows input at the planning stage, when extra finance may be made available for protection of the material to be moved and maintenance of sensible staffing levels throughout the project. The example below highlights some of the most common risks and suggests ways to mitigate those risks. Organisations should carry out their own risk assessments. 2 Threat Risk level Risk mitigation Physical High Condition assessment well in advance of move. damage to Conservation: stabilisation and re-housing. collection Handling training for staff, contractors and volunteers. Adequate vetting of contractors. Appropriate packing methodology and materials. Adequate time allowed for each stage with additional contingency of 10%. Physical High Selection of appropriate personnel for physical roles. problems Training in all tasks. for Regular changing of tasks when carrying out repetitive actions, personnel such as packing. Use of correct equipment e.g. work surfaces set at the right height. Theft Medium Use of library and archive staff in security roles to oversee packing and move, especially if external contractors are on site. Barcoding/tracking of collection and crates. Use of secure fastenings for crate lids. Audit of stock at each stage of move. Adequate insurance cover. Accidental Low Accurate catalogue records/shelf-lists in electronic format. loss Methodical sequence/production line for packing and placing items in crates and crates in/out of vehicles, and removing items from crates. 3 Inventories A collection may comprise many different formats: rare books, modern books, bound and loose archives, albums, journals, gramophone records, videos, CDs, DVDs or any combination of these. Storage areas may also contain non-collection items, such as desks and chairs, busts, ink-stands and library steps, which may also need to be moved. At the planning stage, it is essential to count the number of individual items being moved. Cataloguing systems often identify sets of books as a single item, but each volume must be counted individually for the move. Conversely, archives may be listed as individual items but stored in groups in archive boxes. The number of boxes to be moved should be counted, not the number of items. Electronic catalogue records/shelf-lists must be accurate, and a complete stock audit should be undertaken prior to packing. Desks and tables may be kept in situ if they are likely to be appropriate as packing surfaces. 3 4 Storage furniture It will be necessary to calculate storage requirements at the destination store (as well as any interim store) based on current shelving arrangements, factoring in any collection rearrangement/repackaging and expansion room. The length and depth of shelving should be measured at the current store and at the destination store (as well as any interim storage area). Shelving can be broken down into units, and the maximum and minimum height/depth and actual space occupied recorded for each unit. A move presents a one-off chance to upgrade the arrangement of a collection, and time spent at this stage often saves months of work later. Arranging bound material by size, whether in the interim storage area or a new building, uses space more efficiently and reduces the risk of distortion and structural damage. It is likely that space savings can be made in some areas, but more space will be required for storage upgrades and rearrangement. A move provides an ideal opportunity to upgrade storage furniture, for example, by providing horizontal shelving for elephant folios or large drawings. It may be possible to provide for future space requirements if the collection is still growing1. An allowance of 3-5mm per item should be made for any additional book boxes or bookshoes. If the floor can take the weight and if access to the collection is not required, shelving in an interim storage area can be deeper than in permanent storage. Books may be double or treble banked, with less headroom than normal, and archival boxes may be stacked higher than usual, subject to the weight and nature of their contents. Adjustable metal shelving is often ideal for interim storage, provided that the ends are packed out with board to prevent screws or bolts damaging books or unprotected items. Wooden shelving is generally acceptable but should be lined with archival board if it is rough or new. The load-bearing of the shelving must be assessed, as some metal shelving is not as strong as it looks. Some manufacturers include a 10% allowance for shelf deflection. It is not advisable to store collections (bound materials in particular) on sagging shelves, so understanding the weight of collections is crucial when buying shelving2. 1 A minimum expansion capacity of 20 years is recommended in PD 5454:2012 Guide for the storage and exhibition of archival materials 2 For more information refer to the Preservation Advisory Centre booklet, Library and archive storage furniture www.bl.uk/blpac/pdf/storage.pdf 4 5 Buildings The move may take place between a number of different rooms or buildings. The main areas of concern will be the environment, floor strength, and physical protection for the building. During a move collection items may pass through a number of different environments: their original location, rooms leading to the outside of the building, the removals truck, interim storage and their final destination. Collections items are sensitive to changes in environment, especially parchment/vellum books, bound archives and documents, which are at greatest risk of distortion, caused by fluctuations in relative humidity levels. Relative humidity (RH) and temperature levels should, if possible, be monitored for at least a year in advance of a move, especially at the original location and final destination3. A stable environment or gradual transition between two different environments will reduce the risk of damage to sensitive items. It may not be possible to control the environment during transportation (although air- conditioned trucks are available), but books and archives may be wrapped in such a way as to buffer against environmental changes during transit e.g by using several layers of acid-free tissue followed by 3-4 layers of bubble-wrap. Interim storage areas may not have ideal conditions but it is possible to create environmentally-controlled areas within a building or store by making rooms within rooms, heated with oil-filled radiators controlled by a humidistat. Expert advice should be sought on the best type of equipment for this. New or renovated buildings may have materials and surface finishes that require drying. Builders’ and manufacturers’ advice on safe drying and offgassing times should be sought well in advance. Before books are moved, floor loading capacities must be assessed by the architect, surveyor or structural engineer. Their findings will determine how the collection is moved and stored, the rate at which items are removed from shelves, the number of people required, the area available for stacking crates and the frequency with which they have to be removed from the premises and unloaded at their destination. It may be necessary to protect parts of the building, for example banisters, carpets, fixtures or fittings: • Materials used should, if possible, be fire-retardant or fire-resistant. 3 For more information refer to the Preservation Advisory Centre booklet, Managing the library and archive environment www.bl.uk/blpac/pdf/environment.pdf 5 • Free-standing frameworks may be built around immovable objects, such as sculptures.
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