AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

Major building renovations required the complete removal of collections, materials, and staff from two levels in Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas in 2022. Due to an accelerated timeline, Libraries staff had an unexpectedly short timeframe for to plan for the move and to pack materials. This talk will address how the Libraries Preservation Unit collaborated with Special Collections staff to prepare and pack approximately 80,000 collection items for the move out of the building. Preparations began in January 2022, with a deadline of everything moved from the building by November; renovations began mid-December.

The first steps taken by Preservation and Special Collections staff were to establish guiding principles for the project, assess collections, and identify temporary storage locations based on material usage. Preservation staff were familiar with Special Collections materials in general but preparation of various material types for packing required a quick assessment of storage conditions and items needing preservation attention. This assessment allowed for basic triage (e.g., Mylar covers for volumes with red rot, using pre-made four-flap enclosures) while notes were taken on issues to address once collections are moved back into the refurbished space. Preservation staff provided guidance on packing procedures, trained Libraries staff in packing, ordered appropriate supplies, and implemented easy and low-cost solutions for packing a variety of materials, including multimedia, rare books, oversize books, and objects. While there is some literature on packing collections for a move, preservation staff spoke with others in academic libraries who have recently completed a move, learned from their insights, and implemented various tips on packing.

Moving collections inherently carries a degree of uncertainty—timelines shift, or surprises are found on shelves—and this project was not an exception. Unexpected events were experienced over the course of the project: plans to make compact shelving space more accessible did not pan out, issues with the HVAC meant running portable dehumidifiers for a few months, repeated conversations about packing and moving flat files with different moving companies took place, and staff needed to take time from their regular job duties to help pack materials. Preservation and Special Collections staff managed problems as they arose, and ultimately met the final deadline for the move.