Annex Moving Project
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Overview of the Annex Moving Project
- Contents
- Background
- Project Goals and Scope
- Project Planning
- Selection Strategies
- Physical Move
- Services
Cornell Library print collections continue to grow at a rate of over 100,000 volumes a year. Since the expansion of the Library Annex in 1997, Library added more than one million volumes to its holdings. The existing Annex facility reached full capacity in 2004. Based on a 2003 feasibility study on the Annex, the Cornell Capital Funding and Priorities Committee approved a schematic design and authorized construction of three new high bay modules and an auxiliary loading facility. The construction work began in October 2004. Completion is expected in October 2005. Once finished, the facility will have a steady temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of 30%.
The three storage modules will each provide 1.6 million volume equivalent storage space. When outfitted completely, the expanded Annex will add a total capacity of 4.8 million volumes. At its completion the first module will be fully constructed with shelving installed. The second one will have HVAC and vertical shelf posts but will not have shelves. The third module will be built as a shell with neither HVAC nor shelves. The plan is to complete the shell when the first two modules reach capacity.
The goal of the moving project is not only to provide immediate relief of stacks pressure but also to create adequate stack capacity that allows efficient and cost-effective stacks management, which in turn supports long-term, steady growth of the library collection. With this in mind and a budget of $867,000, the project aims to move close to one million volumes from libraries on campus to the Annex in a two-year period. Some small-scale moves may extend to the third year due to limited processing capacity.
The project will take place in two phases. The 1 st phase accommodates libraries that will reach full capacity before 2010. The 2 nd phase will cover libraries reaching full capacity after 2010. Moving quotas have been generated based on the growth rate and stack capacity of each library unit. These quotas were discussed and adjusted based on feedback from the libraries.
The Annex Project Planning Committee consists of key staff members from various library departments. Formed in late 2004 and chaired by Xin Li, the Committee meets regularly and works closely with other library committees, individual departments, and unit libraries on a wide variety of planning issues. The Project Presentation delivered by the Project Planning Committee in June 2005 provides a quick overview of the project.
The project targets to move two groups of materials into the Annex: first, pre-1851 publications, known as the medium-rare materials that are currently stored in the open stacks. The controlled environment at the Annex is ideal to safeguard and to preserve these valuable collections.
The second group to be moved is low-use materials. It includes ceased serials, as well as monographs that have not circulated since its record existed in Cornell’s on-line catalog (dating back to NOTIS). The low-use nature makes the materials ideal candidates for remote storage.
To prepare for the move, pick lists of titles are generated from Voyager and distributed to responsible selectors. The selectors review the titles and often check the physical items in the stacks. Materials that selectors decide to keep in the stacks are crossed out from the lists. All medium-rare materials are manually pulled by selectors and staff from the stacks, under the leadership of Katherine Reagan and Ross Atkinson.
After review/pulling, Library Technical Services completes bar coding and record updating. The Physical Task Checklist outlines the detailed work for the project as well as the responsible parties for each of the tasks.
The moving schedule is jointly developed by the Project Committee and unit libraries. Special accommodations are planned whenever possible. The Project will hire several term-appointment staff members. Under the supervision of John Marmora and Cammie Hoffmier, they will work in teams and follow a well-planned schedule to systematically move volumes from libraries to the Annex. Special attention is given to keep disruption to the minimum.
During the move, the Annex regular operation will continue uninterrupted. It is open for business from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. Users can request materials or visit the reading room for on-site collection use as usual. The freshly moved materials will be available for requests from the Annex 48 hours after they leave the library shelves.
For more information about Annex and its services, please check out the Annex website.