Moving and/or storing early printed books and manuscripts

[Janet McMullin <janet.mcmullin@christ-church.oxford.ac.uk>]

Dear Exlibrans,

I wonder whether anyone can give some advice.  We may be faced with moving
out from the Library for a period of about nine months all our manuscripts
and a very large number of early printed books (approximately 20,000
volumes in total, covering approximately 1,000 metres of shelving).  I am
investigating all the options, including storage elsewhere in the college
(by commandeering other rooms, erecting shelving and alarms, etc.) and
also using a commercial firm for specialised storage.  Has anyone out
there (preferably from British libraries) faced similar problems, and how
have they been solved?  Are there any experiences from which we may be
able to learn?

Please reply to me or to the list.

Janet McMullin,
Assistant Librarian,
Christ Church,
Oxford OX1 1DP