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Re: stacking file cabinets



 Laurie,

I have been there and done that and my short advice is, "Don't do it unless
you absolutely have to." I was once involved in stacking microfilm cabinets.
These had the safety feature of only allowing one drawer at a time to open.
Over time the safely catches wore out and one day we had a potentially
serious accident where a researcher was able to open several drawers at once
and the thing came over on him.  Luckily the cabinets opposite caught the
tilting one or he would have killed instead of merely scared nearly to
death.

I have also seen situations where two-drawer file cabinets have been placed
on top of four- and five-drawer cabinets.  Even when they're bolted and
braced, over time the weight of the upper ones deforms the lower ones,
making the drawers harder and harder to open.  Also, all that space
supposedly created is mostly unused.  There is tremedous resistance to
standing on tip-toes or climbing up on ladders to retrieve files.  Unless
you have truely dead-storage needs, it is still wasted space for all intends
and purposes.

I am sure that there have been successful installations of that type but I
haven't seen them.  Good luck.

Regards,

Tom

J. Thomas Converse, CA, CRM
Chief, Records Management Section
Inter-American Development Bank
1300 New York AV, NW
Washington, DC 20577
(202) 623-3010
thomasc@iadb.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Laurie Langland
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Sent: 4/8/2002 1:06 PM
Subject: stacking file cabinets

I'm curious as to people's thoughts on stacking filing cabinets. Until
we
have a new library, we are constantly working on ways to make the most
efficient use of space. One suggestion has been to stack file cabinets -
either on the carpeted concrete basement floor where they currently are,
or
in remote storage.

Even though framing was mentioned, I'm concerned that the top cabinet
could
slide forward over time. These are 4-drawer, letter-size file cabinets;
they
are not fireproof. (We do have quite a few 4-drawer, legal-size
fireproof
file cabinets, but since we're told that each weighs 800 pounds when
empty,
we aren't anxious to rearrange those.)

Floor load would definitely be a consideration in remote storage. My
primary
concern at the moment, though, is safety - particularly if the cabinets
are
stacked in an area that has any public access.

I've searched the list archives but didn't find anything other than
stacking
map cases. I would appreciate your comments - particularly if you have
experience with stacking file cabinets or deciding not to.

Sincerely,

Laurie Langland
Project Archivist
Layne Library, Dakota Wesleyan University
1200 W. University Ave.
Mitchell, SD 57301
lalangla@dwu.edu

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