Construction projects in cultural heritage institutions can be challenging for their collections. This 5 part presentation offers some suggestions for a successful build.

1. Under Construction:
Preservation Concerns During
Construction and Renovation
LYRASIS Preservation Services
Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the
Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and
Preservation and Access.
Unit 2

2. Unit 2
– To Move or Not to Move?
– Who is Responsible?
– Internal vs. External Movers
– Temporary Storage
– Preparing to Move Collections

3. To Move or Not to Move?
• Lets examine a few possible
issues involved with moving a
collection…

4. To Move or Not to Move?
• Evaluate risks: It is essential that a risk manager, or
perhaps someone from your institution’s facilities office,
be involved in helping you calculate the risk to your
collections. The decision to temporarily move collection
away from spaces being renovated needs to be made
early on in the planning process so that there is enough
time to prepare the collections. The risks associated
with moving a collection must be balanced with the risks
associated with the collection remaining in a building that
is undergoing renovation. It is usually recommended that
staff and collections be moved outside of construction
areas, but that may not always be feasible due to
financial or spatial limitations.

5. To Move or Not to Move?
• Estimate costs: There will be financial costs associated
with either decision. If you decide to move the collection,
you will need to consider the cost of the supplies to
prepare items to move, the move itself, and the costs of
storage. The costs of a large scale reboxing project,
even if temporary like shrink-wrapping materials for
transport, can be expensive. If you decide not to move,
you will have to consider the costs of the measures you
will need to implement to protect the materials in situ as
well as the potential costs of disaster recovery and
replacement if collections remain in a building being
renovated.

6. To Move or Not to Move?
• Examine Insurance: Insurance issues should be
carefully evaluated as well. For example, if a contractor
recommends that collections be moved and you decide
not to follow this advice, your institution will likely be
responsible for any construction-related damage.
Consult your insurance policy – often collections are
insured only in their original location; you may need to
purchase an additional policy for the items that are
stored off-site. The advice of a qualified risk manager
and your insurance agent will be crucial in dealing with
these issues.

7. To Move or Not to Move?
• Consider accessibility: You must also consider
accessibility and issues of bibliographic control. Are you
going to try and remain open during the construction
process? How will you access your materials if they are
off-site, or boxed up? The status and locations of these
items should be accurately reflected in the library
catalog.

8. Moving Collections:
Who is Responsible?
• Gather together potential players: If you are moving
your collections temporarily or to a more permanent
location, it is important to get all the potential players
involved early. If you have a preservation or
conservation department, it is essential that they play an
early and active role in the process so that they have
time to order appropriate moving materials and train staff
in the appropriate preparation of materials for moving.
You will also need input from those departments who are
responsible for collections that will be moving, as well as
the IT department. You should also get input from
facilities and security staff.

9. Moving Collections:
Who is Responsible?
• Appoint move supervisor: You should appoint a move
manager to supervise the move. This person will
provide leadership and head the moving
committee/team. You can hire an outside consultant,
who may have the expertise but will cost you money, or
utilize staff from the inside, who may lack the expertise
of time to do the job effectively. Whoever you choose,
this person must be able to work well with a variety of
people from both inside and outside the institution.
• Put all decisions in writing: Make sure that all
decisions regarding the move and the responsibility for
each portion be put in writing so that there is no
confusion.

10. Internal vs. External Movers
• What is right for you?

11. Internal vs. External Movers
• Internal:
– You may be able to utilize various people to assist
you with your move.
• Staff
• Volunteers
• Student workers
– One of the advantages to internal movers is that
many are already familiar with collections and
appropriate care and handling procedures.
– It may also be a cheaper alternative than hiring
outside workers.

12. Internal vs. External Movers
• Internal:
– For example, larger universities may have crews
specifically devoted to moving things from one
building to another,
– Other factors to consider include:
• Size of items being moved
• Type of material
• Value
• Condition of items being moved

13. Internal vs. External Movers
• External: If you decide to hire someone from the outside
to move your collections, conduct an interview to make
sure that they have experience working with cultural
institutions. Go over types of materials and the specific
needs of each. (For example, a fragile rare volume
needs to be treated differently than an oversized map.)
Train them in proper care and handling. Let them know
that speed is not as important in this move as the safe
handling of the materials.
*Be aware that staff at moving companies may frequently change,
so you may have to provide this training more than once.*

14. Internal vs. External Movers
• External: Get to know the person in charge of the move
and understand their expectations as well. Professional
movers have their own procedures. For example, can
map cases be moves with the materials inside?
– Although you need to be sure that these processes will not
damage your collections, they also may have suggestions that
you may not have thought of, like how to safely transport objects
of an unusual size.
• Finally, establish the method of payment upfront – will
they charge y the hour, the linear foot, or the job?

15. Internal vs. External Movers
• For more information on selecting a professional mover,
click on links below to find resources provided by the
American Library Association.
• http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets
• http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet14

16. Temporary Storage
If you decide to temporarily move the collections off-site
during your renovation, you need to select a storage facility
that will protect your collections.
• The facility must be climate controlled. Many storage
companies claim to have climate-controlled facilities, but
they are no all of the same quality. Does the space have
adequate HVAC system? Do they monitor the
environment to ensure that your collections remain in
conditions that meet recommended temperature and
humidity ranges for the materials? Also, how new is the
facility? Never introduce materials into a site which has
just been painted or had its floors sealed.

17. Temporary Storage
• Next, find out what kind of security the
facility provides. Security includes
protection from thievery as well as
protection from water leaks and fires.
• Does the space have an adequate fire
suppression system? Water detectors?
Will your staff have the ability to access
the materials in an emergency.
Regardless of the time of the day?
How close is the facility to your
institution?

18. Temporary Storage
• If you are continuing to provide access
to the materials during the renovation
process, you will want to select a site
that is nearby. Even it you are not
regularly retrieving items, you should
plan to visit regularly to check on your
collection and this will not be
convenient if it is far away.
*All of these factors can influence
whether or not a facility can safely house
your collections during your renovation.

19. Preparing to Move Collections
• Before you begin to move the collections, you must have
a complete inventory of the items in your collection.
For many of us, this is both a challenge and an
opportunity. If working with library materials, you can
start with your card catalog, Museums can stat with the
items officially registered and archives can begin with
their processed collections.

20. Preparing to Move Collections
• But what about all the
unprocessed materials and gift
items waiting to be evaluated?
These items will have to be inventories, at least in
a cursory level. This may take some time, so start
the process early. The good news is that you
have a more complete inventory, and a detailed
list of where materials are located, by the time you
are through with the moving process!

21. Preparing to Move Collections
• In order to ensure a smooth move, everything must be
clearly labeled – from the aisles to shelves to boxes
themselves. Some institutions use this time as an
opportunity to barcode all materials (or boxes) in order to
improve physical control over the material in the new
space.

22. Preparing to Move Collections
• Make sure that every item you are moving has
a location to go to. With a newly renovated
space, you may be relocating oversized items to
special shelving, integrating various accessions
of archival collections into one location, etc.
– Measure twice (or three or four times) so that you only
have to move.
– Factor in space needed for future growth,
– Make sure that new shelving will fit your collections.
– Keep your location guide simple and easy to follow by
both staffers and movers.

23. Preparing to Move Collections
• For more tips on preparing to
move collections, see Alfred
Lemmon’s piece entitled, The
Moving of Collections,
available here:
http://www.lyrasis.org/LYRASIS%20Digital/Documents/Preservation
%20PDFs/Under_Construction_all_pages.pdf
Alfred’s article begins at page 40 in this PDF document.

24. Moving the Collections
• Track materials throughout all stages of the
move, especially if transporting the collections
over great distances. Make sure that all boxes,
books, etc. are where they should be before and
after you move. Make sure that both institution
and moving staff signs off when materials leave
one space and enter another. Have multiple
people verify the arrival of each and every box,
book, or object.

25. Moving the Collections
• Before you begin the actual
process of moving the collections,
walk through the routes you will
be using with the moving
supervisor. Make sure that
elevators and doorways are wide
enough. If you need a key to use a
freight elevator, get it in advance.
Also, consider where the movers
will be able to park.
• Dealing with potential problems
upfront will make the move go
much more smoothly.

26. Moving the Collections
• On the day of the move, make sure that a staff member
is available at all times to answer questions, maintain
security, and ensure that movers are handling materials
appropriately. You may also discover that there are
items that did not get labeled or wrapped properly.
Identify all people involved in the move. Use badges, t-
shirts, or hats, to clearly identify who should be handling
materials.
• Keep your staff safe. You need to do more than
provide proper tools for lifting and work gloves for
working with pallets and carts; you need to make sure
that they use them.
• Do a final walkthrough to make sure nothing is left
behind.

27. Unit 2 Quiz
What Have You Learned?

28. Unit 2 Quiz
• Question 1: What issues should be considered
when collections are moved outside of
construction areas?
– A: Space
– B: Staffing
– C: Insurance
– D: Money
– E: All of the above

29. Unit 2 Quiz
• Question 1: What issues should be considered
when collections are moved outside of
construction areas?
– Answer: E: All of the above
• Many of these issues are interrelated and all need
attention when moving collections.

30. Unit 2 Quiz
• Question 2: What is not a benefit of using
internal versus external movers?
– A: Less expensive
– B: Knowledge of collections
– C: Procedural workflows
– D: Understanding of care and handling procedures

31. Unit 2 Quiz
• Question 2: What is not a benefit of using
internal versus external movers?
– Answer: C: Procedural workflows
• Chances are the external movers will already have
a workflow in place with proper equipment; and
with training, will properly handle the materials
being moved. Using internal staff will take more
planning and organization of equipment and
workflows.

32. Unit 2
• Question 3: When preparing to move collection,
it is acceptable to leave some materials
“temporarily homeless.” These material can find
permanent locations after the move.
– True or False?

33. Unit 2
• Question 3: When preparing to move collection,
it is acceptable to leave some materials
“temporarily homeless.” These material can find
permanent locations after the move.
– Answer: False
• All materials should have a planned location prior
to move for proper space and resource allocation.

34. Thank You!
To continue Under Construction,
View Unit 3
Contact us if you have any questions.
LYRASIS Preservation Services
preservation@lyrasis.org