ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 288 / C&RL News Pulling the rug out from under the stacks (revisited) By Darrel M. Meinke Dean of Instructional Resources Moorhead State University, Moorhead, Minnesota Another library makes use of the stack-mover for refurbishing. I n the sum m er of 1986, M oorhead State Univer­ sity began th e task of rem oving asbestos from 30,000 square feet of Livingston Lord Library. At the same tim e we began the construction of a third and fourth floor of 28,000 square feet, and p re­ pared to totally refurbish the original building of 100,000 square feet. Early on in the planning for this project it was recognized th a t this project w ould require an inor­ dinate am ount of book and stack moving. A search for solutions began, and in the July/August issue appeared James Segesta’s article, “Pulling the rug out from under the stacks.” It served as a catalyst for our director of facilities m anagem ent, Lester Johnson, who is well known in Minnesota State University circles for his creativity in solving m e­ chanical and technical problems, resulting in m a­ jor savings to the System. After a good deal of discussion, examining the varied shelving in the building, and surveying the types of m aterials housed on the shelves, Johnson called to tell me he had a solution and a stack­ mover was in the process of being built. I wish I had recorded the actual date, because I consider it something of an historic occasion, bu t I recall it was early in September th a t the stack-mover was ready for a test run. The stack moving system was brought to the li­ brary. W e selected a 21' range of double-faced shelving, loaded w ith bound periodicals, twelve shelves per section, for the test. It took us about 15 minutes to attach the system, after w hich we ele­ vated the jacks attached to the system. W ith no com plications, the stack cleared th e floor, a n d three of us gingerly applied pressure and w ithout difficulty moved the stack the distance of its length. W e then rolled it back and returned it to its original position. Since th a t day we have moved tens of thousands of volumes and hundreds of stack ranges varying in length from six to th irty feet, all w ithout dam age to m aterials, stacks, or the floor covering. The system is most com fortably operated by six to eight people w hen moving ranges th a t are 2 1 ' or more in length. To illustrate, in order to clear a large area for carpeting, eight students moved tw enty-tw o fully loaded 2 1 ' double-faced periodi­ cal ranges in tw o hours and forty minutes. After the carpet was installed we replaced the stacks in an equal am ount of time. The move involved 42.72 hours of person tim e at $5/hour, a total cost of $213.60. Based on our experience elsewhere in the building project, the same move, assuming the cost of removing the m aterials to carts or boxes, dis­ m antling and storing the shelving, and then revers­ ing the process w ould take at the very m inim um 262 person-hours at $5/hour, a total cost of $1,310, more th an six times the cost. The system consists of m etal racks on large cast- May 1988 / 289 The stack-mover allows for easy shifting of stack ranges. Each rack is six feet in length. Three of these racks on each side of a double-faced range of stacks, when joined by m etal extenders, and metal cross braces a t­ tached to each of the uprights of the stacks and rest­ ing on the side racks will comfortably move a fully loaded 3 0 ' double-faced range. The lifting power is supplied by tw o hydraulic jacks attached to each of the side racks. T he system requires no prior prepara­ tion of the stacks, except for an occasional adjust­ m ent of a shelf to allow the cross brace to extend through the stacks comfortably. The stack is lifted from the top. The loader rolls easily on carpet as well as tile. W e occasionally used plywood runners over newly installed carpet tile because of the “setting tim e” required by this type of carpet installation. All of my doubts about the capability of the system dis­ appeared w hen we moved a 3 0 ' oversize double­ faced range loaded four shelves high w ith the N a­ tional Union Catalog a distance of 1 7 5 ', the full length of the building. Our library is built in 18' x 2 4 ' modules, so anything beyond 30' would become very difficult to navigate. D u rin g several expansion phases of Livingston L ord L ib rary , we have accum ulated steel stacks from four m ajor m anufacturers, and we moved them all w ith equal ease and no ill effects to the stacks. W e obviously have not solved the problem of m oving from floor to floor, neither have we had to cope w ith doors th a t w ere not high enough or w ide enough. H owever, as Johnson pointed out to me w hen 1 m entioned the door problem , “It w ould be cheaper to knock out th e d o o r.” W e know it elim inates the storing of a collection on carts or in boxes, m aking m aterials inaccessible to users. It also elim inates th e dam age to m aterials almost cer­ tain to occur w hen being h andled in the process of m o v in g o r s to rin g . H o u rs a n d h o u rs of s h e lf­ reading are elim inated. W ith the stack-mover, to ­ tal recarpeting is the obvious choice. T he biggest problem seems to be providing adequate signage to let the user know w here the collection “rolled off to to d a y .” O ur $3.4 million building program was success­ fully com pleted eight m onths ahead of schedule be­ cause of o u ts ta n d in g co o p e ra tiv e p la n n in g b e ­ tw een the architect, Yeater, Hennings and Ruff; the general contractor, John T. Jones Construction C o.; and the owners. W e have all agreed, how ­ ever, th a t th e c o n trib u tio n of th e stack-m over played a significant role in keeping construction and library services out of each others w ay, allow ­ ing scheduled projects to move forw ard w ithout delay. Johnson is now pursuing the m arketing of his in­ n o v a tio n . In q u irie s fo r a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n m ay be addressed to the author. ■ ■ Correction Tw o errors crept into the profile of Law rence D ow ler p ublished in th e M arch 1988 issue. D ow ler served as special assistant to the direc­ to r of H arv ard University L ibrary since 1985, and he will assist the lib rarian of H arv ard C ol­ lege and w ork closely w ith senior m em bers of the Public Services D ep artm en t on the program for im plem entation of the online catalog.