College and Research Libraries The ''Do-it-Yourself'' Move for a 1.5 Million-Volume Library Pauline S. Bayne A decision by university administrators to rely on existing campus resources rather than com- mercial movers for the relocation of library collections and departments is not unusual. For a large library, handling a move this way is far less common but can be accomplished successfully with careful attention to planning. Logistical methods must be formulated and tested and con- tingency plans conceptualized. Planning should be equally detailed in the matters of communi- cations with staff and library users, development of training programs, and establishment of special services to be available during the disruptive period of the move itself. ibrary move planners require a great deal of detailed informa- tion on structuring a move: the decision structure, the organi- zational structure, the communications structure. Descriptions of logistical op- tions and methods used by other libraries were helpful in formulating plans for a major move at the University of Tennes- see, Knoxville (UTK) in 1987. This paper is offered to present planning principles, specific methods of moving and integrat- ing collections, strategies for communica- tion, staffing patterns, supervision, and equipment used at UTK that will be useful background for prospective do-it-yourself movers. Emphasis is placed on communi- cations and training activities because they were key components in the success of this venture. THE SETTING The new John C. Hodges Library, a 350,000-square-foot facility providing cen- tral library collections and services to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, opened to the public on September 14, 1987. 1 Grand dedication ceremonies were held on September 25, 1987, the second day of fall quarter classes. Because moving activities had been completed on Septem- ber 18, library faculty and staff were both proud and relieved to have met the dual deadlines of fall classes and dedication events. Approximately 1,500,000 volumes, computers, furniture, and equipment for twenty-eight departments were moved into the building in a seven-week period, August 4 to September 18. A commercial mover was used only for the computer equipment and furnishings of the Library Automation Department, and expensive equipment such as photocopiers and the Kurzweil reading machine. Moving vans were required, but distance was not a great problem because library materials were housed in four buildings located only .2 to 1 mile from the new building. Three of the four collections (an under- graduate branch of 140,000 volumes, are- mote storage facility of 260,000 volumes, and the old main library collection of 800,000 volumes) were A-Z general collec- tions. These materials required extensive interfiling to become one integrated col- lection in the new building's four stack floors. The remaining materials had been Pauline S. Bayne is Head, Music Library at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2600. 55 56 College & Research Libraries in eleven department collections-such as reference, microforms, periodicals, re- serve, nonprint-and required separate plans to accommodate the transfer of spe- cial materials, new arrangements in the new location, or integration from multiple locations. Planning for the library relocation began in January 1986 for a proposed move pe- riod of June-July 1987. Four commercial movers made campus visits and prepared budget estimates for the work, ranging from $280,000 to $450,000, but the formal bid process was never begun. In late April 1986, campus administrators decided that an in-house move would be feasible and less expensive. Other major factors changed during the planning period. Originally, a science-technology library was to be established in the old main li- brary building, but in September 1986, a campus-level decision to include those 350,000 science volumes in the new build- ing resulted in the immediate revision of building and moving plans. Additional shelving and the reallocation of space in the new facility were required. Not every move planner will encounter so significant a change in project goals, but events such as delays in construction, delivery of shelving and equipment, or even labor strikes are likely and must be met quickly with alternative plans. Less than two weeks before the start day for moving, a delay in delivery and construc- tion of new shelving required resequenc- ing of the entire collection move. "Expect the unexpected and plan for it'' became a wise maxim rather than a cliche when it came to moving this library. Four of the five weeks required to move the general collections occurred during the last month of summer quarter classes. Stack floors, where hooks were being re- moved, were closed to the public, but li- brary pages retrieved materials from these areas as needed. Paging from the new li- brary was instituted on the first day of moving. A daily move log, in printed form and on large chalkboards, allowed staff and patrons to determine which books had been moved to the new building. The library was closed completely for only two weeks immediately following summer January 1990 classes. During that time, a move informa- tion desk provided emergency paging and reference services to researchers on cam- pus. Responsibility for move planning and implementation rested with a move direc- tor appointed from the library faculty. A professional moving company was not used; rather, all materials were moved by teams of temporary employees (primarily students) supervised by regular staff reas- signed from the library or from the univer- sity's physical plant department. While every library relocation requires detailed planning, the do-it-yourself nature of this move combined with its scope under- scored the necessity of attention to detail. Every aspect of the move, from public re- lations to collection measurement to speci- fications for move equipment, was the re- sponsibility of library staff. A small planning team consisting of the move director, two experienced circula- tion managers, and a physical plant ad- ministrator, worked together on plan- ning, data-gathering, testing, and training for a year before moving began. Planning team members met weekly during the planning phase; and in the implementa- tion period, they supervised specific oper- ations while continuing to meet daily for problem-solving sessions. METHODOLOGY The central problem in planning a move of several A-Z collections is interfiling the books by Library of Congress classifica- tion. We discarded several integration op- tions which are used today because, in our assessment, they had potential for slow- downs or were too complex for the stu- dent staffing available to us. 2 We decided to try to make the method as simple as possible, one that would parallel normal reshelving. In the general collections, the pattern of book distribution among source libraries was 63 percent in the main library, 25 per- cent in the storage building, and 12 per- cent in the undergraduate library. As with most plans, we moved the primary collec- tion first, followed by the smaller collec- tions which required interfiling. We iden- tified several goals which became planning principles as we developed the methods for moving general and depart- mental collections. 1. Restrict measurement and planning error by preassigning collection subdivisions to spe- cific range locations. We chose 40 single-face sections as a maximum subdivision size (generally two double-face ranges in the new building). During the move, prob- lems had to be resolved within these lim- its. Therefore, we had no problem with the cumulative effect of measurement er- ror that might have resulted in delivery of more books than could be accommodated on a given floor. The UTK collections had been mea- sured, to the LC double-letter class level, in June and July of 1985. They were re- measured on a sample basis during Sep- tember-December 1986 to verify the pre- vious measurements, to account for collection growth, and to arrive at quanti- fications in smaller subdivisions to meet the 40-section limit. 3 11 All collection layout data were ma- nipulated using Lotus 1-2-3 spread- sheets, from compilation of measure- ment data to 1 What-if' experimenta- tion with possible fill rates." This principle required that collection layout be done in very specific terms. Each range and section of shelving were num- bered on the floor plans; corresponding pre-numbered labels for ranges and single-face sections were placed on the shelving before any books were moved. A chart listed each LC subdivision, the sec- tions to which it was assigned, and the fill- rate (inches per shelf) for books coming from the main library and the total fill-rate for all books to be placed in that shelving group. Delivery of books by LC subdivi- sion to specific shelving sections was pre- planned so that it could be done by inex- perienced movers. All collection layout data were manipu- lated using Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets, from compilation of measurement data to "Do-It-Yourself" Move 57 ''what-if'' experimentation with possible fill rates. The use of spreadsheet software facilitated planning efforts and allowed rapid response to circumstances as they changed during the planning period. 2. Move the primary collection first, work- ing in designated LC subdivision groups and filling the shelves to the marked "main fill- rate. ''This is a common principle for mov- ing books when integration of other col- lections is required. In our case, it allowed the use of minimally trained student staff as book movers. Move teams· in the send- ing library loaded book carts and labeled the carts with the LC subdivision, a se- quence number, and floor destination. Move teams in the new building reshelved the books in their final location by follow- ing the layout chart and the "main fill- rate" markers on the shelves. 3. During the move of the primary collec- tion, minimize later book shifting by reserving space for large sets coming from other loca- tions. We met this goal by measuring all sets of books (journal backfiles and mono- graphic series two feet or greater in length) in the storage and undergraduate collections. For each set, a cardboard plac- ard listing the source library, call number, and length in both feet and inches, was in- terfiled into the main collection and moved along with the surrounding books. Whenever a placard was encountered as books from the main library were being shelved, space was reserved for the set by placing green and red self-adhesive dots on the shelves for the beginning and end of the set to be delivered later from one of the other locations. The placard was then placed in the reserved shelves to alert shelvers to the proper location of the set. Subsequently, as book-shelving teams worked on the integration process, they . were guided by a list of all sets for which space had been reserved. 4. Sequence the move so that upon reloca- tion of an LC subdivision from the primary col- lection (Main Library), books in the same sub- division are moved from the next largest collection (Storage Building) and then the smallest collection (Undergraduate Library). Such sequencing meant that by the end of the second week, we were moving simul- taneously from three locations. Several 58 College & Research Libraries LC subdivisions were moved concur- rently but in each case the subdivision (such as AC1-100) was moved completely from Main, then moved and interfiled from Storage, then moved and interfiled from Undergraduate. Moving teams in the source libraries were positioned to work on different stack floors for as long as possible to keep staff and equipment from crowding one another. At UTK, the Storage collection consisted primarily of journal backfiles, some of them in very long runs. It was fairly easy to integrate these materials because most were shelved in s~aces which had been re- served for them. By moving these materi- als second in the sequence, the first stage of integration could be accomplished with little delay. In a move plan, it is desirable to schedule the easiest relocations and the largest quantity of materials early in the moving sequence. When this rule is fol- lowed, unexpected delays may have less impact on the overall progress of the move. Because the Undergraduate Library col- lection was primarily monographic, its re- location most resembled the everyday op- eration of reshelving books. We knew this process would be the most time- consuming, but it also involved the fewest number of books (only 12 percent of the total). This final integration task, by occur- , ring last in the sequence, allowed most of the books in a given LC classification to be already in place. Interfiling of undergrad- uate books required less shifting than the relocation of sets from storage because it was a volume-by-volume shelving opera- tion. To compensate for the slowness of integration work, more shelving teams were needed. These teams were staffed by experienced library student assistants who were given special training and com- petency testing in LC classification and shelving principles. The relocation plan provided for additional library staff to be assigned to interfiling if necessary at this final stage. 5. Concurrently move books on to two or more floors of the new building while confining the removal of books from the primary collec- tion to a maximum of two stack floors. When a library is moving from an old and crowded January 1990 building, certain factors, such as lack of el- evators or few exit points, can limit the number of teams effectively able to re- move books. If services must be main- tained, it is even more important to restrict the areas of move activity. In the new building, however, there are advantages to spreading out the teams and allowing reshelving to occur in a number of areas. The integration of collections may cause a backlog of loaded carts; therefore, having teams working on several floors avoids crowding of staging areas. In fact, we could not follow this princi- ple during the first week of moving due to a delay in new shelving construction. Forced to work with four rather than two teams in the Main Library, we had to close all stack floors and one of two public en- trances to the building. This temporary departure from our plan caused inconve- nience and misunderstandings for both patrons and staff. Although the situation was unavoidable and short-lived, it was clearly evident that adherence to this plan- ning principle would have been prefer- able. ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING The organizational structures and staff- ing patterns of a move will depend on the methodology used and the move schedule permitted by local circumstances. At Ten- nessee, the first critical factor was there- strictive calendar: no moving of materials could begin before August 4, and all move activities needed to be completed by Sep- tember 23. With an eight-week calendar, we quickly realized we needed a double- shift operation. We chose to move collec- tions on a five-day week, working from 7:30 a.m. to midnight, knowing that weekends would be available if needed. In fact, we never had to vary from this sched- ule and required no overtime. The second critical factor was the directive by univer- sity administration that the move be han- dled by library and physical plant staff (two separate campus organizational units) plus temporary staff, primarily stu- dents, for the move period itself. Creation of a project-based organization was begun by naming a library faculty member as As- sistant to the Director for Library Reloca- tion to serve as move director and the As- sociate Director of Physical Plant as coordinator for physical plant involve- ment. Approximately 450 individuals were involved in the project, 200 working directly on the move of collection materi- als (see table 1). How were these people to be organized? A clear and specific organi- zation had to be defined for both library staff and physical plant personnel. For the collection move, the library was responsible for removing books from shelves, loading and labelling book carts, and delivering the carts to exit points in all sending locations. Physical plant staff were charged with transporting the book carts on moving vans between buildings and with delivering the carts to the proper floor in the new building. Library staff then took over again to reshelve the books at the new building. Physical plant had the additional responsibilities of moving all furniture and equipment that was to be reused and 508 double-face sections of shelving from the Storage Building. Relo- cation of furniture and shelving was done primarily on a day-shift basis, although some shelving disassembly and reassem- bly took place in the evenings. Regular and temporary staff were orga- nized into teams for the collection moving operations. Each team was led by a regular staff member from the library or physical plant, and many of these people had su- ''Do-It-Yourself" Move 59 pervisory experience. Those from the li- brary came primarily from departments such as circulation, reserve, current peri- odicals, and interlibrary loan-units that provided experience shelving materials. It is important to note that team leaders were recruited rather than merely reas- signed. They contributed materially to the development of work routines and proce- dural decisions during the two to three months prior to implementation. Library teams, of five to seven individ- uals, were divided into book-moving teams and book-shelving teams. Students hired as temporary employees on moving teams were not required to have previous library experience. They were trained to handle books carefully, to keep the books in order, and to follow the removal andre- shelving procedures. Those on book- moving teams in the new building had the additional task of measuring for and leav- ing space on shelves for large sets to come from the smaller collections. The book- shelving teams worked in the new build- ing to interfile books from the smaller col- lections among books already delivered from the primary collection. Student as- sistants already working for the library were recruited to join the shelving teams and a few library staff members from both technical and public services were reas- signed on a part-time basis to these teams. Shelvers were given retraining in Library TABLE 1 Job Title Move Director* Buildin~ Coordinator* Relocation Secretary Relocation Assistant Personnel Assistant Auxiliary Services Assistant Team Leaders Paging Supervisors Pages Book Movers Book Shelvers Book Shelvers Physical Plant Coordinator* Truck Team Supervisors Truck Team Members Total *Members of Move-Planning Team UTI< LIBRARY MOVE PERSONNEL Source of Personnel Library faculty Library supervisors Library staff Student library assistant Student library assistant Student library assistant Library staff Library staff Student library assistant Temporary student assistants Student library assistants Library staff Physical Plant administrator Physical Plant staff Temporary employees FTE 1.0 2.0 0.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 19.0 4.0 10.0 47.0 28.0 6.0 0.5 16.0 63.0 200.0 Time Period (months) 22.0 6.0 22.0 18.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 5.0 2.5 2.0 60 College & Research Libraries of Congress classification and shelving rules before the move began. The optimum number of teams to use in a move depends on such factors as build- ing exits and delivery routes, the number of elevators in the buildings, the afford- able number of moving vans and staff that can be maintained. We used three sending teams on each shift, and therefore calcu- lated the move rate for collections on the basis of six teams per day. However, to in- tegrate collections, which takes more time than simple sequential delivery of books, we provided five receiving teams per shift. Two book-moving teams and three book-shelving teams worked in the new building during each shift. The book- moving rate was predicted to be 1,120 lin- ear feet per team day or 6,720 feet per day using six sending teams. At this rate, we projected 25 days to move the 1.2 million- volume general collection; and the reloca- January 1990 tion of these materials was completed in exactly this time frame. Table 2 shows the team and supervisory structure used for the overall moving op- eration. Two members of the planning team were named as building coordina- tors for the implementation period. They functioned in a communications and problem-solving role facilitating both up- ward and downward communication be- tween team leaders and the move direc- tor. The move director and physical plant coordinator, having built a strong rela- tionship of trust during the planning pe- riod, felt free to communicate and resolve any problems occurring between the two divisions responsible for this move. All four members of the planning team were available by means of rented cellular tele- phones during both shifts so that major problems could be handled quickly and with the proper authority. TABLE2 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR UTK LIBRARY MOVE . ~:~~H:ltor (Kala) Book·Korlog feu I Book·Korhg fen 2 Balldlog Sapenllor (Storage) Laook - KOYlag fen 3 Baljdlog Superrllor (hiD) ~Book-KOYlog feu 4 Laook-KDYlog feu 5 UHH;I famrllor Laook-Korlog feu ' DAY SHIFT Library Director Pby!lcal Plaot I D rrtor • Km Director- - - - - - - - - - - - • m~!iHt~~aot • ~:mt:gi r (lev uf hog) Book·KOYlog ren lA Book - KOYlog fen ll Book-Sbehiog Ten 3A Book-Sbehlog Ten 38 Book-Sbehlog reu 3C f;!!d~:hmwllor ! Book-IOYiDg Ten U Book-Korlog Ten 5l Book-Sbehlog feu U Book-Sbelrlog reu 18 Book-Sbehlog Ten H Track fen I Truck fen 2 Track Ten 3 raroitare ren Sbelrlog-Coutractloo Ten ~~·::::: ::::d:oator Track Ten 5 Track feu 6 Sbelrlog-Coostractloo Ten EVENING SHIFT ' lnben of lore-Plaoolog feu Physical plant teams performed the tra- ditional role of movers in our project. There were three to five moving vans in use each shift for the collection move, plus two day-shift vans for furniture and shelv- ing. Teams were formed using the driver (an experienced physical plant employee) as the team supervisor and assigning tem- porary employees to the sending and re- ceiving locations to load and unload the vans. 11 A move· manual, containing pack- ing and labeling instructions, floor plans, overall procedures, schedules, and supervisory personnel, was dis- tributed to all staff members." Omitted from the organization chart are many staff members who assisted with the move of departmental furniture, equipment, and office contents. Supervi- sion was arranged by asking department heads to name at least two coordinators for each library department: one to super- vise removal of materials and the other to oversee proper delivery in the new facil- ity. A move manual, containing packing and labeling instructions, floor plans, overall procedures, schedules, and super- visory personnel, was distributed to all staff members. Each department was re- sponsible for packing its own materials, using the manual as a guide. The relocation of departmental collec- tions, such as those in Reference and Gov- ernment Documents, also required that individuals from the department be desig- nated as coordinators to ensure the correct delivery of materials. In each case, these individuals worked with the move direc- tor to devise specific move methods and layouts for their collections. MICROCOMPUTER ADVANTAGE The availability of microcomputers facil- itated the calculations and projections re- quired for a move of this scope. Spread- sheet, database, project management, and word processing software were all "Do-It-Yourself" Move 61 used in the library's Relocation Office. De- scription of the specific plan for moving current periodicals will illustrate the spe- cial advantage that the use of microcom- puters gives today. Current issues of periodicals were lo- cated in two libraries prior to the move. They were integrated on paper by prepar- ing a database using dBase Ill+ . The data- base included fields for sequence number, call number, title, current location, and space required (one to six feet) for each ti- tle. The data were sorted by call number- the desired arrangement for the new loca- tion. In the planning stage, an initial printed list was used to identify dupli- · cates, remove ceased titles, plan space for new titles, and measure for space needed for each title. The move method required that preprinted number labels (two labels for each sequence number in the dBase list) be produced. One set of labels was af- fixed to the shelving in the new building so that an exact location with the appropri- ate amount of space was reserved for each title. The steps for moving the issues were: (1) wrap all issues for a title with a binding tie, (2) affix a preprinted number label to the title (the sequence number from the dBase list), (3) pack the issues in fiber book boxes, (4) transport the boxes, (5) shelve the journals. Shelving was accomplished very quickly because it required only the matching of sequence numbers on issues to numbers on shelves. Matching a one- to four-digit number is much faster than matching an entire Library of Congress classification and author number. It was not even essential to deliver the boxes of periodicals in any specific order. Finishing tasks included removal of the binding ties and placement of shelf labels, which were machine-generated as a by-product of the computerized database. The automatic production of call number/title labels saved the department hundreds of hours of typing of over 6,900 shelf labels. Similar special move plans based on computerized lists were developed for moving the microforms collection and the reference collection. In these cases, too, integration was achieved on paper and se- quence numbers provided the guide to 62 College & Research Libraries moving the materials. For the general col- lections, computerized lists were used to create the placards needed to reserve space for large sets and to provide a guide to the titles designated for a preservation collection rather than the open stacks. Lotus 1-2-3 was the primary tool used in collection measurement and layout activi- ties (see tables 3 and 4). Spreadsheet soft- ware is particularly appropriate for the many calculations and recalculations nec- essary here. The sample measurements were entered and used to predict the size of each call number group after integra- tion from the three source libraries. Tenta- tive assignment to shelf sections was done and various fill rates were tested at the computer until final decisions were made. Prior to moving, we generated lists show- January 1990 ing the call numbers assigned to specific ranges and numbered sections on each floor of the new building. These lists, along with graphic presentations of the ranges, were compiled into range note- books used by each team leader as a guide to the delivery of books in the new build- ing. All of this work could have been done without a microcomputer, but the extra time required might have limited flexibil- ity in response to changing circumstances. EQUIPMENT Rolling carts were used for the transport of book collections, card catalog cabinets, microform and other large and heavy equipment items. Specifications were drawn up by the planning team, and the carts were built by the carpentry shop on TABLE 3 A SAMPLE OF DATA MANIPULATION FOR PLANNING THE COLLECTION LAYOUT USING LOTUS 1-2-3 Linear Feet Subclass Fill Sections Sections/ Main Storage UGL Total Total Rate Allotted Subclass HQ1-763 51.3 3.0 21.0 75.3 13 5.8 HQTotal 499.4 80.3 180.8 760.4 760.4 58.5 HS1-3353 19.9 3.0 3.0 25.9 13 2.0 HS Total 19.9 3.0 3.0 25.9 25.9 2.0 HT1-391 198.0 30.8 30.8 257.5 13 19.8 HT392-1581 98.2 6.0 16.5 120.7 13 9.3 HTTotal 294.2 36.8 47.3 378.2 378.2 29.1 HV1-847 262.2 153.8 29.3 445.2 14 31.8 HV848-5825 188.8 15.0 61.5 265.3 14 19.0 HV5831-5825 181.4 14.3 53.3 248.9 14 17.8 HV8141-9955 125.0 16.5 25.5 167.0 14 11.9 HVTotal 757.4 199.5 169.5 1126.4 1126.4 80.5 A. Input data from measurement of the collection was totaled. Various fill rates were tested until the appropriate capacity for the floor was reached . The spreadsheet formulations then converted footage to shelving sections required. TABLE4 OUTPUT DATA FOR SHELF MARKING, DELIVERY OF THE COLLECTION, AND FOR ACCESS TO THE COLLECTION BY PAGES Oass Begin End Sections/ .Starting Sesment Section Section Oass mRanse HQ1402-3290 1192 1197 74B HS1-3353 1198 1199 75A HT1.391 1200 1219 75A HT392-1581 1220 1228 76A HVl-847 1229 1261 76B HV848-5825 1262 1281 78A HV5831-8138 1282 1300 79A HV8141-9955 1301 1312 BOA HX2-273 1313 1331 81A HX274-947 1332 1343 1182 81B campus. Book carts (see figure 1) were de- signed to carry 12linear feet of books at an average of 550 pounds. Testing of a 4-foot- wide cart, a size often used, showed it was too large for easy maneuverability in the narrow aisles of some of our sites, so the 3- foot cart was chosen. BOOK CART SPECIFICATIONS: • 36"w X 15"d X 48"h • 4 shelves with 13" space between shelves • Shelves supported along back and sides, covered with tight-textured car- peting • 4 straps with quick-release buckles, mounted on outside of cart, pulled to in- side through holes in side 5" from front of cart and 5" above shelves A library staff member pushing a fully loaded book cart. 11Do-It-Yourself" Move 63 • Constructed of 3/4" plywood for shelves and sides, 1/4" plywood for full back, 1112" layered plywood for bottom shelf • 2 swivel and 2 fixed casters (5" wheel with 11/s" hard rubber tread) mounted with bolts going through bottom shelf with countersunk bolt heads to create flat surface on bottom shelf. The number of book carts needed was determined by considering the maximum number of book-moving teams working at any one time. For each team, four times the quantity for a truck load was needed: two sets in transit, one set being loaded, and one set being unloaded. In 14-foot moving vans, 19 book carts could be ac- commodated. [NB: Tie-downs and ramps 64 College & Research Libraries were required for each van.] Some extra carts were specified to permit replacement of damaged carts. At UTI<, 260 carts were requested but only 185 were built. There were some short periods when more carts were needed, but most of the time this · number was satisfactory to keep three sending teams working each shift. Carts for card catalog cabinets and other equipment were designed as four-sided boxes, open at the top and front and mounted on rubber-wheeled casters. Cat- alog carts were designed to hold the larg- est catalog cabinet, which was 43"w x 21" d x 69"h. Due to the loaded cabinet weight of 800 or more pounds, these carts were fitted with a two-foot-high hinged door to give better stability to the walls of the cart, 3/4" plywood was used, and the wood was layered to make a 11/2" cart floor. Card catalogs were loaded on the carts using a fork lift, placing the drawer- side of the cabinet to the solid back of the cart. In this way the cabinets could be moved with drawers in place but with lit- tle danger of loss of contents. Because nine catalog carts fit on one moving van, that was the number of carts built and used repeatedly until all 73 cabinets were transferred to the new building. Six equipment carts were made either with no shelf above the bottom or with one shelf above. They were built exactly as the book carts but fitted with only one or two straps. These carts proved to be very handy for moving typewriters, microform readers, and a variety of library equip- ment items. The carts held up very well during the move, although a repair team was needed early in the project to com- pensate for incorrectly mounted casters and strap mountings which had loosened. COMMUNICATIONS, TRAINING, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Good communications at every level are essential for a major library move. The success of strategies for fostering leader- ship, confidence, motivation, and task ori- entation rests to a great extent on frequent and appropriate communications. When inexperienced workers and staff from dif- ferent organizational units must work to- gether under stressful conditions, contin- January 1990 uous communication and good training programs are essential. The library must develop programs for campus constituen- cies and the general public to avoid confu- sion, inconvenience, and ill-will during the disruption of the move. And last, di- rect one-on-one communication provides the move director with a means of coordi- nating and resolving the people problems that result from a variety of interdepen- dent groups working together under tight deadlines. Because the UTK move-planning team had been deliberately limited in size to im- prove efficiency, it was very important for the move director to have person-to- person and person-to-group discussions with administrators and groups of staff. The move director held several rounds of meetings with each of the twenty-eight li- brary department heads and departmen- tal staff. These meetings (1) gave needed information to the move director regard- ing special requirements for moving, working dependencies between depart- ments, etc.; (2) provided staff with infor- mation and reassurances about the sched- ule, operational plans, and progress of the project; (3) increased mutual trust and both individual and organizational confi- dence; and (4) permitted instruction from the move director and suggestions from the staff for packing, scheduling, security, safety precautions, appropriate responses to emergency situations, etc. Two-way communication was always the goal of these meetings. Once the sixteen team leaders were re- cruited from library staff, they met with the move director over a two-month pe- riod to develop detailed plans including specific move methods, daily work rou- tines (work hours, breaks, etc.), emer- gency supplies and routines, placement of the limited number of telephones in the new building, handling of student time- sheets, daily move logs, and routines for emergency calls to moving staff. The op- portunity to work through these details together meant we were able to reach con- sensus on policies and procedures through participative decision making with the result that staff leaders ''bought into" the process. Two-way communica- ''The opportunity to work through these details together meant we were able to reach consensus on policies and procedures through participative decision making with the result that staff leaders 'bought into' the pro- cess.'' tion resulted in greater commitment from these essential project personnel and pro- vided assistance to the move director in making many small but important oper- ational decisions. Very early in the planning process, the need for training was identified as a vital project component. To ensure the effec- tive work of 200 individuals, either reas- signed or newly hired, communication of basic concepts about the move became ex- tremely important. These individuals had to be told what their responsibilities and objectives would be, how to accomplish tasks safely, how they contributed to the entire project, and why the established procedures were important. Training modules were developed using a variety of communication media: large group lec- tures with presentation graphics, small group meetings with team leaders, question-answer discussion sessions for supervisors, videotapes, and hands-on simulations. Training topics included: physical safety, book handling and pres- ervation concepts, packing instructions, access to the collections during the move, Library of Congress Classification system, orientation to the move plan, daily work routines and university work rules, emer- gency plans, specific team methods, and CPR training for supervisory personnel. Public relations activities for the UTK li- brary move were in no way limited to the Relocation Office, but those of the move director included presentations to the UTK Faculty Senate, meetings of the ad- ministrators and/or faculty of each col- lege, the Faculty Senate Library Commit- tee, student government groups, the Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council, and even to interested civic groups. It became obvious that since the li- 11 Do-It-Yourself" Move 65 brary' s constituencies must endure the in- conveniences of a library move, their sup- port was important. Early in the planning process many faculty and staff expressed doubts that the move could be accom- plished in the time frame allowed. Many students and faculty felt that all of their own work would be disrupted and de- layed. We hoped that when students and faculty understood the complexity of the undertaking and saw that detailed plans were being made to accomplish the task, they would be likely to offer support in- stead of roadblocks. By announcing and discussing specific operational decisions as they were made, we succeeded in get- ting the support of our constituents. A two- to six-page monthly newsletter, the Relocation Bulletin, was published as a communications and public relations ve- hicle. It was distributed to library faculty and staff, but certain issues were designed for distribution also to campus faculty and administrators. The newsletter provided a means to give recognition and praise to li- brary staff who were contributing to the project. Such recognition aided the overall team spirit needed for success. The use of the newsletter to inform the library orga- nization and the campus of schedules, methods, and tasks completed brought in- creased confidence that the library could and would accomplish the move with dis- patch. The human face of communication-the interaction between independently work- ing groups-becomes critical when mov- ing activities must begin in a yet unfin- ished building. Architects, construction workers, circulation pages, reference li- brarians, and inexperienced movers differ in their responsibilities and methods of working. Proactive and continuing com- munications of the move-planning team with leaders of these groups are essential. At UTK, coordination with contractors and university facility planning personnel was enhanced by weekly meetings; both the move director and physical plant coor- dinator were a part of this group. Here problems relating to installation work, col- lection or departmental problems, diffi- culties in scheduling, building access, and security were shared and solved. 66 College & Research Libraries SUMMARY It took thirty-eight workdays to relocate the UTK Library collections, furniture, and equipment using existing campus resources-library and physical plant staff and students hired on a temporary basis. All schedules were met; the multiple col- lections were cleaned, moved, and inte- grated; even shelf-reading, shifting, and adjustments in book placement were com- pleted before the start of classes. How- . ever, it took more than eighteen months of planning, testing, organizing, and com- municating before the first book was moved. The detailed planning for all as- pects of a move, even over-planning, al- lowed line administrators to handle the unknown and unexpected situations that occurred during the move itself. Time and energy spent in staff training programs were worthwhile investments, and con- stant communication generated both con- fidence in leaders and improved project plans. What about the costs of a do-it-yourself move? Does this method save money? Es- timates for budget purposes, not official bids, from four commercial movers ranged from $280,000 to $450,000. Our es- timate of new monies actually spent at UTK for temporary employees, construc- tion and rental of moving equipment, and use of a mover for computer equipment totaled $250,000. However, the costs for January 1990 reallocating staff to work on the project are not accounted for in this figure; probably, another $250,000 were used. The total cost to the university, if both new and reallo- cated resources are considered, was higher than the direct charges of a com- mercial mover. Yet, had a mover been hired, the library still would have incurred costs above the contract amount due to necessary involvement of library staff in planning and implementing the move. Depending on terms established between a library and mover, the amount of staff involvement and, therefore, this cost com- ponent will vary. For instance, will library staff clean books prior to the move, inte- grate collections, or read shelves after it? How many staff members will actually co- ordinate and plan the move with the mov- ing company, and for how long? The costs of reallocated staff for these activities must be factored into any comparison of move costs with or without a commercial mover. Certainly, administrators should also con- sider hidden costs including stress and po~sible injury to staff, loss of productiv- Ity m regular job tasks, and the possibility of some degree of failure if professional as- sistance is not sought. Administrators need to consider many factors in planning a major move. Whether or not doing it yourself is the least expensive method, it is a viable option that can work even for a large library move. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. For a description of the John C. Hodges Library building and its transformation from the former ~odges Un~ergraduate Library, see Myers, Marcia and Betsey Creekmore, "Tennessee Recycles a Library." Lzbrary ]ournal113:73-75 (Dec. 1988). 2. ~ cornrno~ method use~ by professional library movers involves integration of collections at stag- mg areas m ~he new buil~g. Books are moved on rolling carts from each library, taken to class- number stagmg areas, and m~egrated on to ~ther rolling carts. The newly filled carts, completely in order, are then mo~ed to therr proper location and shelved. The integration staff must be able to ord~r the books qwckly and correctly, but the shelvers need be trained only to follow instructions on.fill rate and careful book handling. A large number of carts and multiple staging areas are re- qurred. 3. William H. Kurth and Ray W. Grim, Moving a Library (New York: Scarecrow Press 1966) p.44-55. 4. Kurth and Grim, Moving a Library. ' RECOMMENDED READINGS Bayne, Pa~~ S., "Moving.a l.S,Million-Volume Library: A. S~dyofCommunicationinProjectMan­ agement, m LAMA Preszdent s Program Papers: Commumcatwn and the Language of Leadership (Chi- 11Do-It-Yourself" Move 67 cago: American Library Assn., 1988). ERIC document ED 304149. Fraley, Ruth A., and Carol Lee Anderson, Library Space Planning: How to Assess, Allocate, and Reorganize Collections, Resources, and Physical Facilities (New York: Neal-Schuman 1985), Chapters 7-9, p.89-132. Kurkel, Donna Lee, "The Planning, Implementation, and Movement of an Academic Library Collec- tion,'' College & Research Libraries 44:220-34 Guly 1983). Kurth, William H., and Ray W. Grim, Moving a Library (New York: Scarecrow 1966). Moran, Robert F., Jr., "Moving a Large Library," Special Libraries 70:163-71 (April1979). Weaver-Meyers, Pat, and Dale Francis Wasowski, "A Committee Approach to Moving a Library: Planning, Personnel, and Stress," Journal of Library Administration 5:21-32 (Winter 1984). How does your collection measure up? You need reliable quantitative data to justify collection management decisions. You need a flexible analysis system designed with your library's goals in mind. Introducing ........................ OCLC/ AM/COS Collection Analysis Systems. Collection Analysis CD compares your holdings against those of similar institutions, using a subset of the OCLC database on compact disc. Tape Analysis gives you a custom-designed MARC tape analysis for your library or group. A Tape Match against Books for College Libraries is also offered. OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis Systems Available exclusively in the U.S. from AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, Inc. 11300 North Central Expressway, Suite 321 Dallas, Texas 75243 (800)843-8482 (214)750-6130 How can you locate crime statistics for Australia? • Next time you face a tough question, next time you need an answer other print and electronic indexes can't provide, start your search where you're bound to find the right answer: PAIS. 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