we have had dollies like these, but here's the thing.  The places we had to move from and to had to involve, at some point, a passenger elevator.  That is an elevator designed to take people and not freight.  One of the main differences as that passenger elevators have narrow doors.  They will not accommodate a map case sitting flat.  They are even too narrow for drawers sitting flat on a flat cart.

We had to take down the cases, remove the drawers, empty them, ideally.  Sometimes we had to put the drawers on their sides with the maps in them.  In those situations, the drawers should be numbered so they go back in order!

The biggest thing I recommend is to respect the crew who do the heavy lifting.  Getting acquainted with them is step one.  Step 2 is to lay out what you want to do, and how you want it done.  Step 3 is to stay with them throughout the moving process.

This paid off for me many times over.  I have had to move map cases several times.  Several of the same people have been involved, and they seemed to enjoy working with me as much as I did with them.  They took very good care of my maps and equipment during each move I have done.  To you those maps are your babies.  If you work closely with the crew, they'll make them their babies, too.

Ken Grabach
Maps Librarian
Miami University Libraries
Oxford, OH  45056 USA

On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 11:08 AM, Linda R Zellmer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hello,

I have not seen this option mentioned for moving map cabinets, so I thought that I would chip in:

There are dollies that can slide under cabinets (including flat map cabinets) that can be used to jack up an entire stack:

http://handtrucks2go.com/Twin-Dolly-Trucks-for-Pianos-and-Appliances.html

If you have an elevator of sufficient size, these can be used to move an entire stack of cabinets (flat) all at once. You will have to slide the cabinets so that you can get to either side and slip the dollies under the cabinet. Run straps from one dolly to the other so that they stay in place once they are under the cabinet. Stepping on the lever on the dollies will jack the cabinet up a few inches so that it will roll. Note that these dollies have wheels that will swivel 360 degrees so it is easier to maneuver the cabinets.

If a library has elevators of sufficient size, I highly recommend these dollies, as they can be used to move one cabinet at a time. Linda Zellmer

--
Linda Zellmer
Government Information & Data Services Librarian
Liaison to Natural & Physical Sciences & Agriculture
415 Malpass Library
Macomb, IL 61455
[log in to unmask]
Phone: 309-298-2723
Fax: 309-298-2791



--
Ken Grabach
Maps Librarian
BEST Library, 219D
Miami University Libraries
Oxford, OH  45056  USA

513-529-1726