Connecticut Company to Move 1.5 Million USU Library Books in Late Summer

By Tamber Weston, the Hard News Cafe

 

April 30, 2005 | The long-awaited Merrill-Cazier Library is almost complete and Utah State University is gearing up for the move. Associate Director for Public Services John Elsweiler confirmed that the university has hired a moving company from Connecticut.

 

William B. Meyer Inc. specializes in moving library collections and plans to relocate an estimated 1.5 million books from the Milton R. Merrill and Cazier Science and Technology (Sci-Tech) Libraries into the new Merrill-Cazier Library.

 

The move will begin as soon as the new library's construction company turns occupancy over to the university sometime in August. Elsweiler said the university should know a date in June.

 

William B. Meyers Inc. plans to send a team of three to five people to Logan who will then train 25 to 35 locally hired movers to work full time on the project.

 

The company estimates that the move will take seven to eight weeks to complete. Once the move has begun, the first step will be to move journals, microforms and other lesser-used items of the Sci-Tech Library into the new library's automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). This move will clear space for books coming by box truck from Merrill Library.

 

In the ASRS, items will be stored in shelving units in a five-story rack structure that has four aisles. A robotic crane will operate in each aisle, accessing the shelving units.

 

The crane will deliver the appropriate shelving unit to a station in the circulation or serials work areas, where a staff member will pick the requested item from the shelving unit and bring it to the service area for delivery to the patron.

 

The system is thought to be accurate, fast and cost effective, allowing for increased storage at a lower cost per book than traditional library storage.

 

The university expects this new system to allow for the expected growth of its library's collections for the next 25 to 30 years.

 

The Merrill Library is at its limit, with no room for growth. This, plus seismic stability and emergency routing concerns, are the main reasons for the move. Not to mention airflow and plumbing problems.

 

"We're making the move at the right time," said Elsweiler. "It's a great opportunity for the university . . . I'm excited."