920K
Volumes moved safely
340
Researcher visits served
On time
10-week target met
The Brief
Hartwell University's main library — housing 920,000 volumes including medieval manuscripts, 16th-century printed books, and Nobel laureate personal papers — required full evacuation for emergency structural remediation lasting 26 weeks. Researcher access to key collections had to be maintained throughout.
"Some of these items are irreplaceable. We have medieval manuscripts, 16th-century printed books, and personal papers from Nobel laureates. The environmental conditions during transit and storage had to be as controlled as those in the library itself." — University Librarian, Hartwell University
Our Solution
- Specialist heritage logistics partner engaged for special collections; general stock managed directly
- Qualified conservator produced individual handling notes for the 1,200 most sensitive items
- General stock shelved in classified order in a university-owned warehouse to maintain browsable access
- Special collections relocated to a climate-controlled facility with continuous temperature and humidity data-logging
- Reading room service operating three days per week established at the temporary storage site for researchers
Key learning
Heritage logistics is a specialism, not a variation. Partnering with conservation experts rather than improvising our own methodology was the decisive decision. Maintaining researcher access throughout a move is operationally complex but reputationally essential — and it is entirely achievable with the right storage and scheduling plan.
