AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

In November of 2022, Columbia University Libraries’ staff were notified that the entire contents of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library had to be moved off-site before the end of the academic year. Required construction to update the historic building’s fire suppression system would begin in June 2023, leaving the library six months to relocate a circulating collection of roughly 1 million volumes, and an extensive special collection of artifacts, scrolls, rare books, and archival material. While there was ample precedent for transport and off-site storage of the circulating collection, the special collections presented a different set of challenges. Portions of the collection were not fully cataloged on an item-level, creating an initial hurdle as the size and scope of the project was not clear. Another major issue was housing, as many of the 3D objects were not housed suitably for a move.

Given the tight time constraints and project scale, a team of object conservators, archivists, packers, riggers, and movers were contracted to augment in-house expertise and capacity. This collaborative group comprising more than 30 team members managed to complete the project on time and within budget. Over five months, the contract team created over 4,000 inventory records in a custom-designed Airtable database representing over 17,300 items. Standard and custom sized boxes, designed to fit on the University’s library shelving were used to pack the collection for transport in a manner and with materials designed to also be safe for long-term storage upon the return of the items after construction is complete. What initially seemed like an unexpected ordeal for the library wound up becoming a fortuitous opportunity, providing construction money for an inventory and rehousing project that would likely not have been otherwise funded.

While it is widely known that libraries hold more than books and works on paper, the depth and breadth of the 3D collections at Starr posed a challenge requiring cross-specialty collaborations and solutions. Each storage room, cabinet, and bank of shelving held surprises. The partnership between the Libraries’ Preservation Division and the contractors enhanced the project as every firm contributed their expertise and experience in housing and moving artifacts, small and large. This paper will focus on the collaborative tools, workflows, mistakes, and lessons that allowed the team to invent and adapt solutions throughout the fast-paced project.