When I was at CU-Boulder we did several small-ish moves. In addition to the experiences others have mentioned, I'll just add a few comments. We removed the drawers (we had in-house movers and the full cases w/ drawers were just too heavy). We had success with leaving the folders in the drawers and shrink-wrapping each drawer. (I think they just used the rolls of plastic wrap you can buy in the moving supplies section of a hardware store.) That kept the maps from being wrinkled or falling out during the move. I think Heather's comments about labeling help a lot and we also experienced similar issues to Rick about drawers not fitting into a different slot and bumpers falling off and metal pieces bending. (You can order replacement parts usually, if you need to.) As map librarians many of us are experts and finessing the drawers and perhaps demonstrating to the movers how to put a drawer back in might be helpful. Good luck! -Katie Katie Lage Librarian MLML/MBARI Research Library Moss Landing Marine Labs / Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 8272 Moss Landing Rd., Moss Landing, CA 95039 https://library.mlml.calstate.edu/ 831-771-4415 [log in to unmask] On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 9:55 AM, Heather Ross <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > When Penn State had water intrusion into our space five times over three > years, we had to remove the bottom 5 drawers of the cabinets so the > facilities folks could suck the water out and then let them air dry. We > labeled each cabinet a number and then each of drawers got a letter (e.g. > 5A). Then we labeled tall 5 tiered trucks/carts with the same labels. We > used colored dot labels. Our collection is mostly in folders, so we would > take the folders out one at a time to not get them messed up. We then > would then remove the drawers and move them out of the way. Putting things > back together was a snap as everything was labeled properly. > > You could use this system when moving the maps yourselves. You would need > help moving the carcasses but your local facilities/union folks would be > able to do that. > > Heather Ross > Manager, Donald W. Hamer Maps Library > Penn State University Libraries > 1 Pattee Library > University Park, PA 16802 > 814-863-1349 <(814)%20863-1349> > 40°47'52.0" N 77°51'57.4"W > > > ------------------------------ > *From: *"March, Greg" <[log in to unmask]> > *To: *"MAPS-L" <[log in to unmask]> > *Sent: *Monday, June 19, 2017 12:13:29 PM > *Subject: *Re: Moving map collections > > Hi Dennis, > > > > We’ve moved our entire maps collection back in 2007, then again in two > stages about five years later. We had too many map cases and too little > resources to do the move ourselves, so the first time, we used a > professional local moving company. The last two times, we used in-house > facilities. Both did a good job, but the professional moving company did a > better job since this is what they do for a living. I’d be happy to help > answer any moving related question that you have. Just email or give me a > call. > > > > Regards, > > > > -Greg > > > > Gregory H. March > > Map & Government Information Librarian > > Associate Professor > > University of Tennessee > > 152 Hodges Library > > Knoxville, TN 37996 > > 865-974-3878 <(865)%20974-3878> > > Research Guides – Anthropology <http://libguides.utk.edu/anthropology>, Earth > & Planetary Sciences <http://libguides.utk.edu/subject/eps>, Geography > <http://libguides.utk.edu/geography>, Maps <http://libguides.utk.edu/map>, > Government <http://libguides.utk.edu/sb.php?subject_id=39793> > Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names <http://libguides.utk.edu/TNCOGN> > > > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On > Behalf Of *Rick Grapes > *Sent:* Monday, June 19, 2017 11:49 AM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Re: Moving map collections > > > > Dennis G. Matthews, et. al. > > > > We here at BYU moved our whole collection between floors about 18 years > ago, and again partially last year. We did it ourselves, in house, both > times. No matter if you do the move yourselves, or have professionals do > the lifting for you, there’s one issue you’ll have to keep in mind. > > > > You cannot mix up the various drawers from their accompanying map cases. > > > > In our “case”, because of elevator size, we had to disassemble everything, > transporting the contents, drawers, and outer shells separately. We had > room to move the contents of 2 cases per trip, followed by 10 drawers, and > then the 2 boxes. Resulting in 9 trips to assemble 2 stacks, 3 cases > high. The problem arose when we lost track of which drawers went into > which of the boxes. The map cases and their drawers are set in the factory > to work specifically together. If we mixed them up, the drawers would slid > into the case too far, drop in the back, and lock shut. Another issue is, > during manhandling and transport, sometimes the little rubber bumpers on > the back of the drawers would drop off. Before we realized what had > happened, custodial vacuumed them up. Which again, resulted in the drawers > locking shut. So once in your new location, test the drawers before you > fill them. If the drawers do lock shut, have someone thin and young > enough, Not Me, crawl under the drawer, and in back push up and out. You > can also lean thru from above, and grab the back of the drawer, up and > out. But leverage can be an issue. If the drawers continue to lock shut, > take a vice grip and at both back corners of the drawer, gently bend the > metal tabs outward. Just a centimeter or so. This may result in the front > 5 drawers looking uneven, but the alternative is… > > > > Sorry for rambling. Hope this helps. > > > > Rick Grapes > > BYU Map Cataloger > > > > > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask] > <[log in to unmask]>] *On Behalf Of *Dennis Matthews > *Sent:* Friday, June 16, 2017 1:54 PM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Moving map collections > > > > Hi all, > > > > We are moving our map collection to a different floor in our library and > we’re considering hiring a professional moving firm to relocate the > collection. If anyone has done this I’d like to know the name of the firm, > what was the experience like, would they recommend, etc. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Dennis > > > > Dennis G. Matthews > > Library & Archives Paraprofessional 6 > > Western Washington University > > Western Libraries > > 516 High Street > > Bellingham, WA 98225 > > Email: [log in to unmask] > > Telephone: 360.650.3098 <(360)%20650-3098> (Collection > Services--Cataloging Dept.) > > 360.650.3272 <(360)%20650-3272> (Map Collection) > > Fax: 360.650.3044 <(360)%20650-3044> > > > >