Damage easily happens when books are moving through the acquisition, cataloguing, transportation, etc. process before they are fully shelf ready. It is important that each team in the libraries has adequate shelving for books going through this process.
Shelves should be made of the same safe materials as mentioned in the Permanent Shelving section. When in doubt of the safety of your shelving, contact preservation.
Long-term storage on carts should be avoided as much as possible. Carts should be for transporting materials only, not storing them as they are in a queue waiting for their next processing stage. If an item is staying in an area longer than a couple of months, place it on adequate, organized shelving. Contact preservation if your area is having issues with this.
Enclosed short-term storage should be regularly checked for micro-climate complications.
Research and course reserve furniture should be made of the same safe materials listed in the Permanent Shelving section.
These shelves for course reserves need bookends for proper, upright storage of materials. Additional magazine containers can also be useful; however, make sure that items in those containers are fully supported and not over or under-filled as both will cause damage even in the short term.
Carts are acceptable for placing items that will be researched in the Grand Reading Room. These carts should still have bookends and/or proper packing to unsure all materials are stable as they are waiting to be used by researchers.
Storage furniture for collection materials located in offices should be of the same safety material as noted in the Permanent Shelving section. When in doubt of the safety of your furniture, contact conservation.
Items stored in offices should have the same considerations as those on our research shelves--making sure shelves are not over-stuffed or under-filled. Bookends should be used to accommodate under-filled shelving. Other books should not be used as bookends in offices.
Remember that only four books should be stacked on top of each other. Brittle books should never be stacked on top of each other.
It is important to keep personal book collections and library collections separate and well-documented in offices. Access is key.
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