Q &A for the Annex Moving Project

Updated October 10, 2005

1. Why is the Library moving books to the Annex?

Cornell Library’s print collections grow at the rate of over 100,000 volumes a year.  Stacks in a few libraries are already full.  In some other libraries they will be full by 2010.  Moving books to the Annex will not only provide immediate relief of stack pressure but also create adequate stack capacity that will make efficient and cost-effective stacks management possible, which in turn supports long-term, steady growth of the library collection.

2. Who decides which books to send?

The Annex Project Planning Committee recommended selection criteria.  These are reviewed and approved by the Library’s Collection Development Executive Committee.  The responsible selectors work with Library Systems Office to generate pick lists.   Selectors review and decide which items from the pick list to send to the Annex. 

3.When does the move begin?

 This depends on the completion of the construction.  Tentatively, it is planned to begin on Nov. 14th, 2005.

4. How many books will be moved?

 The Project aims to move close to one million volumes in a two year period, at the rate of approximately 2000 volumes a day. 

5. How many books will be moved from my library?

Please check out the Moving Quotas for library-specific details.

6. When will books be moved from my library?

 The Moving Schedule has the specifics.  Please bear in mind the schedule may be changed due to unexpected events.

7. What books will be moved? 

The move targets two groups of materials: first, pre-1851 publications, known as the medium-rare materials.  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 the 80s).

8. How long will a book be inaccessible during the move?

Under normal circumstances the freshly moved materials will be available for requests from the Annex 48 hours after they leave the library shelves.

9. Will the Annex be closed for business during the move?

No, 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.

10. Who moves the books?

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 moving schedule to systematically move volumes from libraries to the Annex.  Special attention is given to keep disruption to the minimum.

11. What does a unit library need to do to prepare for the move? 

Inform all stakeholders.  That is the most important thing to do! 

As far as the physical preparation, the Annex Committee provides bright-colored flyers to the unit libraries.  Using the pick list approved by the selectors, unit library staff identifies the titles in the stacks and flyer them as follows:

Monographs:

Place a “monograph’ flyer in each book.

Place the book spine down and protruding ca. 2 inches from the edge of the shelf.

Serials:

Place a “serials” flyer in the first and last volumes of the serials run to be moved.

Place volumes spine down and protruding ca. 2 inches from the edge of the shelf.

Special formats (e.g. film or fiche):

Special arrangements need to be made for these.  Contact John Marmora (jpm7@cornell.edu).

Unit libraries may choose to stage to be moved materials in an areas separate from the general collection. In such case, no flyers are necessary.

In Olin and Kroch Asia libraries, no flyers will be used.  The moving team will directly pull books from the stacks based on the pick lists approved by selectors.

12. How do the books get moved out of the libraries?

The Project moving team will come into the stacks.  They will use the flyers as visual cues.  They will place the flyered items onto the moving trucks and transport them to the Annex.

13. What is required for the books to be moved?

All items must have linked barcodes.  All editing of bibliographic and/or holding records must be completed prior to the move by the sending unit library.  Without completing this work the titles will not be accessioned into the Annex inventory control system.

14. Who shifts the books after the move?

Unit libraries are responsible for shifting the collections after the Annex Project moving teams have removed the items for the Annex.

15. Whom do I contact if I have questions and concerns?

The Project Contact Information page lists all the Project Planning Committee members and their responsibilities.  We welcome your feedback.