the big shift: how vcu libraries moved 1.5 million volumes to prepare for the construction of a new...
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2014 Charleston Conference Thursday, Nov 6, 11:30 AMTRANSCRIPT
The Big ShiftCharleston Library Conference
November 4-8, 2014Ibironke Lawal ([email protected])
Patricia Selinger ([email protected] )Barbara Anderson ([email protected])
AbstractVCU Libraries grappled with space problems for years.
All initiatives to create functional learning spaces failed to get us to where we wanted to be until now.
This presentation is about the process of weeding, withdrawing, re-shelving, moving and storing over 1 million volumes to prepare for the construction of a new library
OutlineIntroduction – Fast Facts
The Problem
Literature Review
Plan
Execution
Conclusion
Q & A
Fast FactsOne of the nation’s top public research universities
Located in Richmond Virginia, the state’s capital
Enrolls over 31,000 students
Two campuses: Monroe Park Campus James Branch Cabell Library (JBC) Medical College of Virginia Campus Tompkins McCaw Library (TML)
VCU Medical Center including the university health system Offers state of the art care in more than 200 specialty areas Serves as the region’s only level 1 Trauma Center
Fast FactsOne of Virginia’s Outstanding Library Systems
Holdings exceed two million volumes
61,000 Serials
60,000 E-booksNationally Prominent Collections in Health & Biological Sciences
Comic Books
One of the Largest Comic Books Collections in the Country
DiverseStudents -Global Living Experience
Our Students Study Hard
They Create Great Works of Art
Multitasking
Students relaxing or having a stimulating conversation
The Problem
Backgroud
The ProblemOvercrowded stacks
Inadequate number of seats
Insufficient infrastructure
Dissatisfied customers
Serious Space Problems
Part of the problem can be found in Cabell’s history
Cabell built in 1970, Addition in 1975
Maximum Capacity of 750,000 volumes
The Problem
Between 1995 & 200Between 1995 & 2009 We added 813,0009 We added 813,000
Growth was too rapid.Between 1995 & 2009 We added 813,000
The Problem
Growth in the VCU Community
1970-1971-672 Faculty-12,000 Students
2013-2014-3,000 Faculty-31,000 Students
Action Taken 2002 & 200417,289 linear feet of compact shelving
-We moved materials, journals 1990 and older
- Stopped subscribing to print journals
-Low use monographs
-Non book materials of enduring value
-Print versions of electronic Abstracts and Indexes
GOALSRelieve the overflowing stacks
Reduce the frustration of our users
Increase usability of the collections
Graduate and Faculty Reading Room
Graduate & Faculty Reading Room
The ProblemLibQUAL results of 2008 showed significant dissatisfaction.
The cry for more seats, more study rooms, and less crowded stacks was loud and clear.
LibQUAL Results – comment by a student
“A library is a unique place for quiet study, reflection and intellectual meditation. Cabell library does not foster that environment because of limitations of the physical space. It is very difficult to find a quiet spot. There is little I believe can be done to remedy the situation in the current library space. A new library is needed…”
ACTION
Hence we decided to do something about it.
The University acquired a former grocery store and repurposed part of it for an off-site storage facility.
2009 Off-Site Facility500 Academic Center-We started moving low use materials on a regular basis
500 Academic Center
Layout of the LibraryFirst floor - Reference, Government Documents, Current Periodicals
Second floor – Bound Journals
Third floor – A-M, Media services, Microforms, Oversize
Fourth floor - N-Z, Art Browsery, Juvenile Literature, Oversize
The Problem Continues
In 2010, the provost teamed up with VCU Libraries to construct the Learning Commons.
2010 – Construction of the Learning Commons
2010 – Construction of the Learning Commons
2010 – Construction of the Learning Commons
The New Learning Commons
18,000 square feet of study and work space
1,100 square feet multipurpose room
7 new study rooms
438 new seats
83 PC’s
12 Apple
White Boards
The new Learning CommonsCollaborative space
The new Learning Commons
Gate Count
Our Gate count skyrocketed
We got compliments
LibQUAL 2011 Results show excitement about the new space
“The new second floor is the best gift VCU has ever given its students. I use the library for group study mostly and without it, I know my GPA would suffer”.
Problem continues
Solution was short lived
LibQUAL 2013
Results show we are back to where we started
General dissatisfaction with the space came through in the quantitative as well as in qualitative parts of the results.
Funds allocatedAgain we knew we had to do something
2013, State allocated money for the construction of a new building and the renovation of the old.
Could not have come at a more opportune time.
Literature Review Freeman (2005)Traditional Library cannot serve today’s needsStudents at all academic levels want to go to the Library more than everExpectation – the library is where the action isFaculty sees Library as an extension of the classroomStudents engage in a collaborative learning process
Literature ReviewFreeman’s vivid description of a modern academic library suits our needs
Kent State Math Emporium and Lounge/Study areaPulled 600,000 books from four floors and send to storage to make room for the Math Emporium and Lounge study area
NCSU – goal was to provide a space for different constituents to interact collaborate, and innovatebookBot – an automated book delivery mechanism also served as a storage for low use items
So it Begins
In the BeginningReview of materials in both storage facilities.
Identified those to withdraw by putting a black line on the spine, using sharpies
Barcodes scanned into an excel files to be used for updating the records
Review of materials in referenceIntegrating essential reference materials into circulating collection;Deaccessioning outdated ones and electronically duplicated ones.
Review of Government Documents
Two simultaneous processesDeaccessioning of those neither relevant to our curriculum nor
our mission, 17,421One cataloging staff spent 25-50% during this time processing
withdrawals
Deaccessioning of superseded items
The other process is identifying those to be offered to other institutions in consultation with the head of the regional center
Review of Government documents contd.
In keeping with the regulation, we offered those items that qualify to other institutions and waited 45 days.
If no institution requested them, then it will be safe to deaccession and remove from the collection. About 37, 695 fit this category
The Plan
Phase I
At least five rows of shelving removedLevel 1 Phase 1A
OLD Entrance
New Temporary Entrance
First floor
Newspapers and current periodicals give way for new temporary entrance study space, and security post
Circulation staff preparing to move to their temporary space
Temporary Circulation area
Collections A-E moved from 3rd Floor to First Floor
Phase 2 Level 3 Phase 1A
3rd FloorRelocate oversize booksMove collection N from 4th floor to 3rd floorCollections F-N now on the 3rd floorOver 3 million microforms and 2000 square feet of floor spaceKeep 35 cabinets containing major newspapers and store remainingStore microforms and convert to user spaceStore microforms and construct stacksRelocate sorting area
3rd floor moving books from one side to the other
3rd Floor - Innovative mediaOutdated computer files, outdated formats were withdrawn.
Cd’s that accompanied monographs were filed alongside their parents
Music scores were interfiled with the rest of the general collection.
3rd floor Media – admin offices
Level 4 Phase 3A
Fourth floor
Relocate Juvenile literature
Relocate Art Browsery
Release space for Special Collections
Level 4 Phase 3B
Special Collections
Fourth Floor
Space relinquished with moving N to third floor will be part of Special Collections
Consolidate the oversize collections into one location
Oversize collection took the space
Moving Oversized books from 3rd floor to 4th floor
Left side left empty for removal later for construction wall for special collections
Locator
Consolidating the spaces reclaimed
After all the weeding and moving was completed
Next step was to consolidate the spaces, shift, and re-shelve
The last floor was 4th floor
We made our director shelf the last books
We made our Director shelve the bottom shelf
Celebration of the completion of the Big Shift
Celebration of the completion of the Big Shift
ConclusionOur endeavor to create functional spaces started in the late 1990’sEssentially we touched 1.5million volumes and thousands of bibliographic records
We did it with 90 staff, helpers, and volunteers in four major departments
We reviewed, touched, moved, stored, or daccessioned in a mammoth glacier we call
Conclusion
The Big Shift
The New Building
References Anonymous. (1975). A library with room to grow. VCU Magazine, no. 44. p. 20.
Barry, J. (1970). New library is ‘service organization’. Commonwealth Times, vol. 2, no. 2.
Brown, S., Bennett, C., Henson, B., and Valk, A. (2014). Next-Gen learning spaces. Washington, DC, Association of Research Libraries (SPEC kit 342).
Day, A.; Vickery, J. Davis, H. (2012). Accidental collection assessment: The NCSU library’s collection move. Charleston, Charleston Library Conference Proceedings.
References Duke, J. K. (2013). The shift. Richmond, VCU Libraries, Internal Memorandum, 12p.
Freeman, G.T. (2005). The library as place: Changes in learning patterns, collections, technology, and use, In: Library as place: Rethinking roles, rethinking space. Washington D.C., Council on Library and Information Resources.
Klinger, T. (2012). Smart pull for remote storage: How to keep (mostly) everyone happy when making a large collection move to remote storage. Charleston, Charleston Library Conference Proceedings.
The End
Thank You
The End
Questions