Planning for Library Collections – March 26, 2020
Librarians planned for the inevitable reduction of the main circulating collection. Using data gathered from the current library catalog and data harvested from the previous system, as well as a holdings analysis conducted by SUNY Library Services to identify which titles had few or zero holdings within SUNY, librarians put together several scenarios to share with campus project stakeholders. Regardless of which scenario was selected, the collection would have to be reduced in size to fit into any temporary location on campus while Milne Library underwent abatement and renovation. The College Archives and Special Collections and the TERC collection would..Read more and view photos
Book Project Phase 1: Flagging (Summer 2020)
Starting in June 2020, eight library staff members began a project to flag more than 100,000 books, using blue painter’s tape, to indicate which books in the main circulating collection should be cleaned of asbestos and retrieved from Milne Library. The 100,000 books were selected based on circulation history, date of publication, availability among SUNY libraries, local and regional value, date of purchase by the Library, and titles selected by faculty for retention. Armed with dozens of rolls of painter’s tape, clipboards, lists, and pencils, the staff visited Milne daily for the next two and a half months to apply..Read more and view photos
Book Project Phase 2: Preparing to Receive Physical Collections (January 2021)
Crews were now turning their efforts toward installing shelving in Fraser’s closed stacks area (as well as in Schrader), in preparation for the much-anticipated books that would soon be moved from Milne. Planning and Construction secured two locations to store print books for the duration of the Library’s occupancy of Fraser Hall: the former periodicals room in Fraser Hall (Fraser 210) and a satellite location in Schrader Hall. Books would be requestable in the library catalog (GLOCAT) and library staff would retrieve materials and make them available for checkout at the Service Desk. In preparation, the former periodicals room was..Read more and view photos
Book Project Phase 2: Book Receipt (February 25–March 30, 2021)
After much anticipation and space planning, print books and other physical materials from Milne were cleaned of asbestos and delivered to Fraser and Schrader Halls. Materials from the College Archives and Special Collections arrived first as these items required the greatest care. Researchers were notified as soon as materials were available, as these collections had been inaccessible to users for more than a year. Books were delivered to Fraser Hall on book trucks twice a day. Library staff worked furiously to unload the books onto shelves so the asbestos contractors could bring the empty trucks with them back to Milne..Read more and view photos
Book Project Phase 3: Book Scan, Shift, and Sort (April 12–July 19, 2021)
After all collections were received from Milne Library, the library staff worked to sort books and shelve them into their proper location, scan barcodes of books in the main and TERC collections to ensure an accurate inventory, and shift all books in all collections so each area in the collection occupied a footprint that would accommodate current holdings and allow space for future growth. This phase of the project took the longest, and required a great deal of space planning to measure and mark where each collection and each Library of Congress class and subclass would be located in the..Read more and view photos