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  • 1.  Designing Storage

    Posted 06-22-2022 08:17 AM
    Good morning, 
    My colleague and I are lucky enough to have been offered space and a sizable budget for new archives & special collections storage space. For those of you who've retrofitted storage recently (this is not from the ground up construction) what were your three takeaways, and what are the things you might do differently.
    Thanks,
    J. Baldwin

    --
    Joan H. Baldwin
    Curator of Special Collections
    The Hotchkiss School
    11 Interlaken Road
    Lakeville CT 06039
    860-435-3251
    She/Her/Hers



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  • 2.  RE: Designing Storage

    Posted 06-23-2022 08:58 AM
    Hello Joan,

    I would definitely encourage anyone to do retractable storage for their archives but that does not sound like an option since you are not doing a ground up construction. With that being said, I would encourage you to maximize your vertical storage space. Most do not think about this in archives. Most have map case or file cabinets and do not do anything with the space above this. From personal experience building vertical units on top of cabinets or cases that can house large paintings or framed pictures will help maximize all the space you have. ​

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    Eldon Yeakel
    Registrar
    Smoky Hill Museum
    Salina KS
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  • 3.  RE: Designing Storage

    Posted 06-23-2022 12:58 PM
    Hi Joan, 

    My museum moved into a new building in 2014, and four spaces within collections storage were designated for the storage of archival documents. Here are my takeaways:

    1. We have quickly outgrown these four spaces and are in need of more space. We only need more storage space, but more "free" space is also needed for the safe accessing, handling, and viewing of the archives. Believe you me, there will come a day when you have to pull an obscure 48 x 78" map out of storage and you realize that you have absolutely no place to lay it where it can be viewed safely. 

    2. The need for a central, designated storage location for the museum's institutional records was not fully considered prior to the move. These institutional records are currently being stored all throughout the museum, wherever space is available. 

    3. The storage spaces that are designated for the archives is really not conducive for sets of large archival collections. These collections now have to be stored in a different area within storage, apart from the rest of the archives 

    My advice would be to seriously consider how your collections might grow over the years, and to develop a storage plan to safely accommodate said growth. Think of the various kinds and sizes of spaces you will need to safely access and examine your collections (i.e. various "stations" such as map, photo, or book). Also, I second that of Eldon - make every effort to maximize vertical storage space. 

    Hope this helps! 



    ------------------------------
    Cherish Thomas
    Florence County Museum
    Florence, South Carolina
    All views and opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
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  • 4.  RE: Designing Storage

    Posted 06-23-2022 02:34 PM
    Dear Joan & colleagues:

    Not recent, but passage of time does not affect import:
    • Re putting specifications into effect:
      • storage section of my specs for a reno project called up future installation of mobile storage system units
      • architect's structural engineer apparently did not read the storage spec section, so reno construction did not include the necessary addition of structural steel to carry mobile shelving system
      • result?  We unavoidably ended up with aisles between every range of static shelving & the storage space was full the day we finished unpacking & installing our collections.
      • Before ordering the phase 2 storage equipment, I checked with the architect to confirm the load bearing limit for the mobile storage units I wanted & was only then told mobile units could not be accommodated.
      • Takeaway?  'Devil is always in the details'!  Upon receipt of your first draft of architectural drawings & specs, sit down with the architect & ask about EVERY critical detail in your specs to ensure they actually have been designed into the tender documents.
      • Don't wait to do this because 'change orders' to the construction documents once the contracts have been signed are VERY expensive.
    • Re oversight of reno construction:
      • my project was a brick heritage building reno for museum purposes & so, in order to be able to control humidity in a Canadian winter, we had to build a double wall system, circulate dry air between them, & install 2 vapour barriers to prevent vapour pressure from forcing moisture injected into our interior spaces into the brick where it would then freeze & crumble the masonry.
      • In this situation, architect specified a best quality brand of mastic "or approved equal" for the vapour barrier.
      • I walked into the construction site the day the contractor stared to install the first vapour barrier & saw the cheapest available empty mastic tubes on the floor.  Of course, this material would have been soon covered with drywall.  Phone call to the architect immediately ensued & contractor was ordered to remove work done & to re-do following the mastic specs.
      • Takeaways? 1) owner's representative who knows & understands ALL of the specs must be on-site EVERY work day in order be able to hold the tendered specs to the nose of the contractor--with the authority of the architect ruling how construction is actually carried out.
    • Re fire danger: Reno work all too often causes fires.  More than one cathedral & museum has burned when just 'fixing the roof'! 
      • Takeaway?  Best to move collections off-site during renos to avoid all your construction dust as well as potential fire & smoke damage to collections.
    Best of luck with your reno.

    Respectfully yours

    Paul C. Thistle



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  • 5.  RE: Designing Storage

    Posted 06-25-2022 09:38 AM
    Details matter... be sure to do a furniture fit plan for work tables, materials storage and computer stations etc in addition to the collection storage solutions. Also, if possible be strategic with placement of electrical outlets as needed for any tools or electronics your team uses.

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    Virginia Seay
    Registrar
    Fidelity Investments
    Boston MA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
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