When our Special Collections Building opened several years ago, all of their map cases had to be moved out of our Main Library and all of the Map Library's map cases had to be moved from an off-campus warehouse into the space that became the Map and Government Information Library (MAGIL).  The space formerly occupied by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies was used as a staging area; a temporary loading dock was constructed using their exterior door and the adjoining parking lot. Professional movers who specialize in moving libraries along with a Libraries-based move crew that included long-time staff members moved the collections. Map case drawers from the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library were individually packed with foam and covered with cardboard, then tilted approximately 30 degrees to fit into the elevator. To my knowledge, no maps, posters, etc were damaged during the move.


Once the Russell Library's collections were moved, work began on remodeling the space to accommodate MAGIL.  This included retrofitting part of their existing compact shelving to accommodate map cases.  While this was going on, my staff and I sorted and shifted maps and marked the map drawers and cases with white china markers to ensure that the drawers and cases didn't get mixed up.  The company that did the work on the compact shelving moved the map cases.  Because our old space had a loading dock the opened directly into the Map Library, all of the map cases were able to be moved flat.  The movers disassembled the map cases, reassembled them in inverse order (bottom set of drawers on top and vice versa) on wooden frames made from 4x4s and strapped them down so the drawers wouldn't slide out, then used pallet jacks to move the entire stack to a semi.  We did not use any packing materials on any of the of drawers; as all of our maps are in folders in the drawers and all of the drawers have dust covers, the maps themselves did not move around during transport.


At the Main Library, the movers used what looked like a combination cherry picker/forklift to move the map cases from the semi across the parking lot and into the building (there was some concern that the wooden temporary loading dock wouldn't be able to withstand the weight of the loaded map cases - the cherry picker/forklift was able to bypass it and set the cases down just inside the door).  Once inside, the map cases were disassembled again and reassembled in the correct order (bottom set of drawers on the bottom, etc) on the compact shelving carriages.  It took a week or so and a moving crew of 15-20 people to move and install 258 5-drawer map cases.  Fortunately, the map cases were moved in late April/early May so the weather was not a factor (it gets ridiculously hot and humid in Georgia starting around mid-May and stays that way well into October).  No maps were damaged during the move and everything more or less wound up in its proper place; the few drawers got dinged up and wound up sticking were easily repaired.  Our student employees spent a few days removing the movers' stickers and erasing the china marker numbers on the map cases.


Of course, this was only one part of a much larger move that included sorting, packing, and unpacking books and atlases, ~240,000 Georgia air photos, globes, and the various and sundry things like government documents that make up our new Map and Government Information Library. An article (with pictures!) about our move adventures can be found in issue 72 (2012) of Cartographic Perspectives<http://cartographicperspectives.org/index.php/journal/article/view/cp72-pritchett/268>.


Hallie Pritchett
Head, Map and Government Information Library
Map and Federal Regional Depository Librarian
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens, GA 30602
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706-542-0664
Map and Government Information Library -
http://www.libs.uga.edu/magil/