This week began the drawn out process of managing the protection of special collections when the library we are housed in gets a new roof! The process began with a walk through by the facilities management people, along with the Dean of Libraries, the Special Collections librarian, and the representative of the construction company handling the new roofing project.

This walk through gave me insight into how the various parts of the library would be impacted, the major and minor concerns for the library as a whole, and the particular concerns for Special Collections. The construction professionals wanted to know about previous leaks, but also about what needed protection and how that protection needed to work within a working special collections and reading room.

Of course, protecting the collections from construction dust, dirt, and water heads the list of major concerns. But facilitating access to the collections required some thought, as well–creating access points that could be closed up so that staff could get down the aisles proved important! Realizing that plastic-draped shelves restricted air circulation, keeping warm air in place, also caused concern. Security procedures required a quick review to make sure that everyone knew how to handle construction personnel coming and going at different times.

The roofing project is welcome after years of leaks and provides the opportunity for Special Collections staff to consider taking advantage of the plastic draping to tackle a major cleaning project: vacuuming the ceiling and walls to remove dust build up–a necessary, but time-consuming task that cannot be completed very often.