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Re: Compact Storage



We purchased a brand new mobile shelving system in 1998 for our archives.
The shelving is 10 feet high and the rows are 44 feet long.
We built one large temperature and humidity controlled room to house all of
the collections.
We went with compact shelving to get the most use out of the space.
After visiting the National Archives in MD we liked the system they had from
the SpaceSaver Co.
Our units move by electric motors because of their size.  If power goes out
we have a battery backup system.
The electronic system has the advantage of being able to connect to the fire
protection system.  This means that the isles can be automatically opened to
allow water from sprinklers to immediately extinguish the flame.
(We were required to use sprinklers in our facility so we went with a dry
pipe system.)
The isles can also be programmed to open and close on a timer allowing for
ventilation of the entire collection on a schedule.
We also can lock the units in place.  This comes in handy when we have to
have any kind of maintainance done in the space.  We lock the units that
have valuable or proprietary material.
This is the second archive that I have outfitted with mobile shelving and we
have never had any serious problems.
It certainly wasn't cheap but in the long run you gain space.  You can also
save money by taking your existing static shelving and putting them up on
mobile carrier platforms.

The only minor problem we've experienced is when two staff members need to
access material that is in the same vicinity.  Since you can only open one
isle at a time in a given section of the room sometimes you have to wait.
You can reduce the occurrence of this by spreading out your most active
collections as much as possible.

Ed Eckert
Corporate Archivist
Lucent Technologies


> ----------
> From:         Pat Perreault[SMTP:pperreault@MONH.ORG]
> Reply To:     Pat Perreault
> Sent:         Friday, July 20, 2001 1:43 PM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Compact Storage
>
> Hi,
>
> I would be interested in hearing from those who have compact storage.
> What
> are the pros and cons?  Who did you get them from, etc.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Pat Perreault
> Museum of Our National Heritage
> Lexington, MA
>
> pperreault@monh.org
>
>
> ----------
> From:         Pat Perreault[SMTP:pperreault@MONH.ORG]
> Reply To:     Pat Perreault
> Sent:         Friday, July 20, 2001 1:43 PM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Compact Storage
>
> Hi,
>
> I would be interested in hearing from those who have compact storage.
> What
> are the pros and cons?  Who did you get them from, etc.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Pat Perreault
> Museum of Our National Heritage
> Lexington, MA
>
> pperreault@monh.org
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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>
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>      http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>