by Hee Jung Lee on 2022-01-19T00:00:00-05:00 | 0 Comments
LIBRARY NEWSLETTER
Special Edition
Issue 7 ‖ December 2021/January 2022
Final Issue
Dear Readers,
This past December 13th, the Main Library move officially began. As we approach the home stretch of this relocation process, we are confident that the move will be completed by the end of January as planned.
The new library spaces are ready to receive books and staff. Books have currently been moved to off-site storage and the basement shelvings that were previously closed are now accessible to the staff.
This will be the last issue of the Special Edition newsletter. The newsletter launched with the intention of communicating about the moving process with a special focus on the collection evaluation. I sincerely hope that this newsletter has served as an informative resource for the MFA library community.
I would like to thank those who supported us over the past several months: the MFA’s Facilities Team has been integral in assessing and ensuring the safety of the basement, and the Keypoint Management of Northeastern University has graciously accommodated our evolving needs.
Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without the commitment and hard work of the library staff members. Throughout the process of planning for, and executing, this relocation, COVID-19 has been yet another challenge on top of our already monumental undertaking.
Big shout-out to our team for their efforts and dedication to these special operations over the past year in the midst of the global health crisis.
Lastly, on behalf of the library team, I thank you for reading the newsletter. I would appreciate your continued support in the weeks ahead, as we complete the move and settle into our new space on campus. We are so excited to be near our users and visitors and continue providing resources and services to you.
Sincerely,
Hee Jung Lee
Head Librarian
and Library Staff
LIBRARY NEWS
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
ON-SITE OR OFF-SITE?
As described in the last issue of the newsletter, we selected Iron Mountain to store our resources in their off-site storage located in Dighton, MA. Iron Mountain is also responsible for moving the remainder of the collection to the Museum. Approximately 30 percent of the Main Library collection will be moved to the Museum, divided between the Reading Room and the collection space on the 3rd floor.
The materials available at the Museum will include auction catalogs, dealers' catalogs, pamphlets, and the reference collection, as well as the special collections. Meanwhile, most monograph collections (books) and periodicals are being sent to the Iron Mountain facilities and will be available on request. In determining the destinations of these materials, usage patterns such as circulation frequency were the most important consideration. We also took into account the ease of discovery through our online catalog when moving materials off-site. We hope that this will be a good balance of space and accessibility.
MOVING PARTS
A library move is so much more than physically moving items from A to B, as the items have to be moved in order and their movement has to be recorded in the catalog so that the resources are searchable at the end of the process. In our case, the basement being inaccessible since March 2021 added to the logistical challenge. Items housed in this area account for 40% of the Main Library collection, with close to 20% of items being inaccessible at all under any circumstances due to safety concerns.
The closure of this area means that these items were not included in the ongoing collection review and now are being done on the fly as part of the packing process.
Indeed, every week, small portions of these stacks are gradually becoming available. Staff are working hard to perform necessary prep work to process the collection so that we can ensure accurate transportation of these materials to the carefully pre-planned destinations. This has meant that staff have been working on-site despite the recent COVID surge. As of today, we have processed 70% of the off-limit areas, and are working to complete the remaining portion before the end of the move.
LET IT SLIDE
According to Iron Mountain’s on-site manager, Nancy Marche, the biggest challenge of this move for her team has been transporting the books out of the current space. Currently, Horticultural Hall, the current home to the library, is located on Massachusetts Avenue and does not have a loading dock. As a result, heavy books need to be transported by one small elevator and through doorways in small batches, as opposed to in pallets directly through the freight elevator to the truck. Once they arrive in the parking area which is in the back of the building, they can be sent to their next destination. There are some small steps in the front entrance that take visitors to the lobby. From there they can access the elevator since it is not at street level. On the ground level, there are no elevators except for a small handicap-accessible lift, but it's not able to support this large-scale move. Hence, a ramp or rail is a must.
Moreover, inside the library, there are two other major areas that are only accessible by staircase. To ease the move of books shelved here, ramps were built or in some cases, items had to be hand-carried by the moving crew because the ramps were unstable and too steep.
COMING HOME
The first shipment of books returned to their home at the Museum on December 22, 2021. This included books on Dutch and Flemish Art transferred to the Center for Netherlandish Art and pamphlet collections going to the Reading Room. After this initial transfer, books have been moved in carts and boxes to their planned destinations. The library staff will move back on-site the last week of January, and it is our goal to have everyone back working in 465 Huntington starting from Feburary 1, 2022.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Once library resources are shipped to off-site storage, they will be scanned and assigned a location in the warehouse. This initial processing at the Iron Mountain facilities is essential in making the resources searchable and locatable in the storage. Based on this report, the library will update the library catalog to indicate the new location. Until this work is complete, the library request service will remain closed to users. We expect that the process will take 6-8 weeks after the physical move is completed on January 31st. Items brought on-site, however, will be available shortly after the items are put on the shelf, and an initial shelf reading is completed. Once completed, we are confident that the materials can be circulated once again.
SERVICE UPDATE
The library services will remain unavailable until further notice.
Please press the "Service Changes" button below for further details.
We look forward to resuming our regular service when we reopen in our new location in the Museum.
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