Rare Latin American Library (LAL) Collections to Return from Off-site; Elevator Access Limited During the Move

The returning move of rare Latin American  Library (LAL) collections from storage off-site back to Howard-Tilton's 4th floor LAL closed stacks area is set to begin this Monday, August 10.  During the move, it is expected that the mover will have control of the elevator. Otherwise, use of the elevator will be limited to library users and staff physically unable to use the stairs at the Freret Street (south) and Dixon Hall (north) ends of the building.

Hallett Moving Co. has been contracted to perform the move, which the company is expecting to take about a week. The company plans to finish in five days--on Friday, August 14. Moving operations are scheduled to begin each day at 7 am (a little later on the first day Monday) and continue through until 6 pm. Initially, it was thought thought that the move might begin earlier in the mornings, but the need for the library to provide supervised access and staff “spotters” during the move simultaneously at both the library off-site facility and the LAL closed stacks rare book area in H-TML’s 4th floor made the earlier start unpractical.

Hallett staff members have been at the library all this week mapping out their plans (in consultation with LAL staff), measuring and flagging materials, and readjusting shelf heights where needed.

The returning materials will be brought into the library through its 1st floor loading dock and then to the elevator. Hallett is national firm that specializes in library moving; its crews are used to working in library settings and with library materials including rare materials.

The move will encompass more than 6,000 linear feet of material, which was moved to the off-site facility at 900 S. Jeff Davis Parkway just prior to the 5th and 6th floor construction project as a means of protecting these collections while new mechanical and HVAC systems were being built overhead. A special high-density mobile shelving system was purchased and installed off-site for this purpose. It will be dismantled, moved, then reassembled on the new HTML 6th floor for use in housing recorded music and media collections.

A team from the shelving company Associated Office Systems (AOS) examined the mobile shelving off-site earlier this week to begin their plans to deassemble, transport, and then reassemble the shelving on the 6th floor. They’re expecting to begin this operation very soon after the move of rare materials is complete.

It is likely that, like the other shelving for the 5th and 6th floors, this shelving will be craned to a balcony area where a window has been removed at the 5th floor level and then hoisted into the building there. Crews have then carried shelving components destined for the 6th floor up the Dixon side stairwell by hand.