General Collections Care for Staff

The transport of books, journals and other library materials between units, departments, buildings and remote locations is always a challenge, including when considered from the point of view of the preservation of materials.

This has been especially so since both the Cataloging and Preservation units moved in 2001 to the West Campus location -- over a mile away from the Olin (Main) Library.

See: When Preservation Moves Off Campus: Trends and Effective Practices in ARL Libraries.

These guidelines help ensure that materials are moved safely with minimum wear-and-tear or other damage:

1. When packing materials, it is best to pack in such a way that they do not rub or shift when they are moved. At the same time, they should not be packed so tightly that force is required to remove them from boxes or crates.
   
2. Whenever possible, library materials should be moved using rolling carts.
3. All boxes containing library collections should be handled such that they remain in an upright position when they are picked up, moved, and reshelved.
   
4. If bound materials from the general collections are put in boxes or crates, they should be placed either laid flat or positioned spine down. Books and journals should not be placed in boxes or crates spine up.
   
5. It is best to use plastic totes or crates with nonlocking hinged lids to move loose periodicals, books, and other materials that cannot be moved safely on booktrucks. Crates without hinged lids -- that is, with no top -- have several problems. Materials can be directly exposed to rain, inclement weather, dirt and other damage (such as the bottom of one crate sitting on top of the books or journals in another if the crates are stacked during transport).
6. In addition, stacking crates in this can sometimes cause materials to be forced downwards (crushed) and can cause structural damage.