Library Relocations and Collection Shifts

Citation

Osorio, N.L. (2001), "Library Relocations and Collection Shifts", Collection Building, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 146-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/cb.2001.20.3.146.3

This is a practical guide offering in great detail information to librarians about the what, who, where, when and why of the before, during and after of a major collection move. The book is divided into four sections and three appendices. Section 1 deals with the actions that need to take place before the move. It begins with the selection of a move director and goes on to discuss how to prepare the collection. Among topics covered in the first section are weeding, handling periodicals and cleaning books. Additional pre‐move measures such as fumigation and deacidification are also covered.

Section 2 is on the methods of the actual relocation. The author presents six methods for moving library materials: loose books, in book trucks, in trays, in boxes, using vehicles, hiring a professional mover. Also, he dedicates some pages to suggestions on how to communicate with staff and the public, as well as providing guidelines on how to select helpers.

Section 3 is about the actual move. Here Tucker presents real scenarios about what actually happens on the moving day. There is also a chapter in this section about how to handle office equipment and furniture.

In Section 4 Tucker explains the aftermath of the moving process. Particularly important is the chapter on reading the stacks.

In addition, there are three appendices that provide useful information about organizing a major collection shift. One appendix shows how to use a spreadsheet to shift a journal collection. A sample of a moving contract if your library decides to hire a professional mover is also provided, and there is a list of other resources, such as moving companies, Web sites and discussion lists.

This book is a revised and extended revision of From Here to There: Moving a Library published by the same author in 1987. This new edition can serve as a complementary reading to Library Storage Facilities, Management and Services, a 1999 SPEC Kit compiled by J. Merrill‐Oldham and J. Reed‐Scott. A recent publication on the same subject is the work by E. C. Habich, Moving Library Collections: A Management Handbook (1998).

Tucker’s work is recommended to those in administrative positions having the responsibility for the planning and implementation of a major collection relocation, as well for middle management, and librarians involved in the process. The many details clearly explained in this book will save the planning team a great deal of time and effort.