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In retrospect, I was thinking what could I have done better regarding this major undertaking? While it is hard to foresee what we were up against, I would like to pass on my experiences to others who may be in a similar situation in the future.
In general, these are some points that should be considered:
- Communicate with everyone! Students, staff and community members that use the library should be advised of the move as soon as possible and the scheduled date. I used signs, campus wide emails, our library web page, and posted flyers in the area. The most effective communication was from the students themselves who texted each other and spread the word.
What I didn't realize is that my beautiful directional signs would be covered up by a chain link fence when the construction crew came and that unaware students would attempt to enter the library. Having limited supplies I then posted paper signs directing patrons, but they soon flew away.
Another issue was that many students did not know where the Viking Inn was. The Viking Inn was the name of a restaurant on campus where culinary training took place at one time. Many younger students hadn't heard of it and the sign was not very noticeable so that must have prevented many from using the temporary location.
Why is this concerning? As a librarian, my job is to assist students and staff with their needs, despite the circumstances. The goal is to help students with their educational needs and not make it so difficult that they give up.
-Give yourself more time than you planned. I underestimated the time needed to pack up what was needed to use in the temporary location, and the items that needed to be stored. Practically everything had to be packed up or covered with plastic.
I had to take what would be needed for six months but yet still keep it handy because I used those items on a daily basis. At the time time I was pulling out and packing mass amounts of novels that would be used for the rest of the semester and for summer assignments.
I was pleased that my excellent Teachers Aides and student volunteers assisted me with packing, marking the boxes and creating a manifest. Still, I was working till 7:30 pm on these tasks, the night before the move.
-Anticipate possible situations such as:
After marking furniture and boxes with a certain room, I was then told that the location was changed. I had to go through and re-designate the items according to the new locations and attach new stickers. I also had to revise the manifest to reflect the new changes.
Some boxes got damp or wet during construction and the stickers came off. I had taped over the stickers on many of the boxes until I ran out of tape. Those boxes held up, but the others were unidentifiable.
You many not get your boxes/materials at all. Our second move from the Viking Inn location to I-3, we didn't receive any of our marked boxes that were scheduled to be moved. Mis-communication will happen, and that is understandable. Nevertheless, it meant coming to work on a Monday morning and not being able to do anything. I was fortunate that I was able to have someone retrieve one box from the construction zone with my most important items in it, so that I could work. The downfall from this was that our processing materials could not be accessed, the consequences being our new math books would not be ready for the beginning of the school year.
The most important thing to remember about moving is to remain flexible and have an open mind. The big picture remains that future students will have a nicer, more efficient campus to use and this can make a positive difference in their educational experience.