ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


182 /  C & R L News

in damage prevention. On the other hand (need it 
be said?), abandoning the new attendant after a 
few hours’ training, and careless handling of li­
brary materials by staff, will guarantee future 
problems. ■  ■

Letter
Moving Collections

To the Editor:
Mr. Amodeo’s comments regarding the need for 

lots of care and plenty of supervision when it comes 
to moving books are well taken. Documenting the 
details of the move is another excellent idea. Many 
library staff members are so happy to dispose of an 
unpleasant job they are ready to forget it ever hap­
pened. In fact, one of the reasons why some library 
book moving projects go so badly is that they are 
planned from scratch by people who choose to ig­
nore the state of the art in terms of current practice 
and instead have a tendency to reinvent the wheel. 
Investing in a consultant or, at the very least, a lit­
erature search for relevant guidelines and time- 
tested techniques could produce money-saving so­
lu tio n s. T h a t is one reason w hy we still see 
examples of students lined up in a human book 
chain as well as similar quick and dirty approaches 
to handling millions of dollars worth of books.

One of the biggest problems in a move of any size 
is the book truck. T he commercial models avail­
able today are acceptable for shelving purposes, 
but if they are going to be heavily loaded, moved 
over a variety of uneven surfaces and wheeled on 
and off trucks, they present a whole range of seri­
ous problems. Many libraries commonly purchase 
book trucks with swivel casters on all four wheels 
because they are easy to push. They are also impos­
sible to steer accurately and will upset at the slight­
est provocation. An upset on a carpeted floor is bad 
enough, but when the accident occurs during a 
move between buildings while the load is being 
maneuvered across a metal ramp onto a truck 
body, the books may end up in a street which is not 
carpeted and often in the rain. Book spines which 
project beyond the edge of the book truck shelf are 
easily scuffed and frequently removed entirely 
when careless or accidental handling brings them 
into contact with brick walls, door jam bs, and 
other stationary objects. To correct the four-wheel 
swivel stability problem it is possible to have a local 
welding shop tack weld two swivel casters on one 
end of each truck. Thus with two fixed and two 
swivel casters the tracking will be improved dra­
matically and the potential for upsets will be re­
duced.

To handle the big moves safely and economically 
takes a heavy-duty, industrial-type book truck. Be­
cause such a truck is not available commerically it 
has to be custom designed and fabricated locally.

That sounds expensive and beyond the realm of
most moving budgets, but it can be a cost-effective
alternative if approached sensibly. Most colleges
and universities have m aintenance crews popu­
lated with innovators who can create a book truck
from inexpensive materials. Such a book truck can
be designed to protect the books from almost all of
the usual moving abuse, navigate easily over all
sorts of uneven surfaces, remain upright under al­
most all circumstances, and have an anticipated
life expectancy of at least fifteen years under nor­
mal use. At today’s prices the materials and labor
needed to produce such a super book truck with a
capacity of between 100 and 150 books will run in
the neighborhood of $400 a unit. T h at’s a small
price to pay for a piece of equipment which will
serve such a vital role. For plans and a photo con­
sult “A Utility Book Truck Designed for Moving L i­
brary Collections,” L ib r a r y  A cquisitions: P ractice
an d  T h eory  3 (1979):33-37.

When it comes to moving materials within the
library, “super” book truck does an admirable job.
More often than not those moves also result in relo­
cating and rearranging the steel stacks themselves.
When that happens the traditional approach has
been to take the stacks apart, bolt by bolt, and reas­
semble the structure in a new location. This is a
time-consuming, expensive job especially when
union labor rates are involved. In worst case situa­
tions stack ranges have been dragged by brute
force, tearing carpets and damaging the stack
structure.

Another relatively inexpensive, homemade de­
vice will allow a whole range of steel stacks to be
rolled easily from one location to another without
removing so much as one bolt. This device is simple
to use, requiring little or no technical skills, special
physical endurance, or expensive labor. The basic
device is fabricated from scrap steel and recrea­
tional vehicle jacks which are designed to roll on
six-inch casters. Once again, the innovative main­
tenance crew can easily fabricate the stack-moving
device from commercially available components
and scrap steel. A typical unit would cost roughly 
$400 to manufacture in this manner, and four such 
units will easily handle most stack-moving jobs. 
For plans and photographs consult “Moving Steel 
Stacks W ith a Special D o lly ,” L ib r a r y  A cq u isi­
tions: P ra ctice a n d  T h eory 6 (1982): 2 53-57.

As a profession we tend to give little attention to 
the m echanics of m aterials handling. W e fre­
quently tend to ignore the fine points of moving 
and often at the last minute give the chore to a com- 
merical mover or, worse yet, a fraternity in need of 
a fund-raising project. I f  we take time to consider 
the value of the collections we possess we will easily 
recognize the need to devote more effort to devel- 
oping safer and less costly methods when it comes 
o moving our stock in trade.— Brian A lley, Uni­
ersity L ib ra r ia n  an d  A ssociate D ean  f o r  L ib ra r y  
nstru ctional Services, S angam on S tate University, 
prin gfield, Illinois. ■  ■

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

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