If you are going to drill internally, be sure to place your maps in folders before placing them in the drawers to prevent them from catching on anything.

If earthquakes are a concern, you have a whole other set of worries. No matter how firmly attached the cases are to each other or a wall, the drawers can shake loose and fall out unless a locking bar or some other mechanism is installed. (Or so I've heard.)


Kathy Stroud
David and Nancy Petrone Cartographic and Spatial Data Librarian
Knight Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
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541-346-3051

"A map is not just a picture-it's also the data behind the map, the methodology used to collect and parse that data, the people doing that work, the choices made in terms of visualization and the software used to make them."



From: Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of R Sean Evans
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 1:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Anchoring map cases

Bolt them together. External straps can be used with short sheet metal screws, or the cabinets can be drilled internally (there are usually plugs that can be punched or drilled out), and bolts or screws can be inserted through, one to the other.
The short of it is you really want to do this. The cabinets are no more stable and much more dangerous when loaded.


R. Sean Evans
Archivist
Special Collections and Archives, Cline Library
Box 6022 Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ. 86011-6022
(928) 523-4395
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Northern Arizona University sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, on homelands sacred to Native Americans throughout the region. We honor their past, present, and future generations, who have lived here for millennia and will forever call this place home.



From: Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> On Behalf Of Special Collections Dept ID Weeks
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 12:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Anchoring map cases

My library has recently purchased new 5-drawer map cases that are perfectly flat on the bottom and top, and the movers noticed while they were stacking them that the cases do slide where the bottom of one case sits on the top of another. We will be stacking them 3 cases high. Will the cases be stable when the drawers are full or is this a safety problem? What do others do? I did not find in the listserv archives a discussing of anchoring or attaching cases to each other or the wall.