# Presentation: 832164

## The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:Documents Collections and Off-Site Storage

- Bill Sudduth
- University of South Carolina

## Documents Entrance

## University of South Carolina

- Shared Regional Depository with Clemson University since 1988
- Regional for Commerce, Defense, HHS, Interior, Treasury, Transportation, Congress
- Selects 92.5% of available items
- Paper collection just under 1 million items

## Library Annex and Conservation Facility

## USC Library Annex

- Harvard-style high-density storage
- Capacity for 1.25 to 1.5 million items
- Annex includes storage facility, processing area, rooms for researchers, preservation lab
- Located 10 miles from Campus

## Inside the Box

## Processing Area 

## Conference Room

## Issues to be covered

- Selection – making the tough decision
- Processing – the hard work
- Shipping – letting go
- Recall – maintaining access

## Tight spaces in the collection

## Life under the front doors

## Selecting Items to Annex

- Space – 1999 Documents stacks were at 125% capacity
- Preservation – materials needing a more stable environment
- Use – little used items
- Ease of processing
- Serials = few records many items

## Climate Control

## Processing – The Hard Work

- Identify Cataloging Records to be entered and edited by Cataloging Department
- Each item must have an item record/barcode – preferably on front cover
- Items must be cleaned of mold and dust
- Leather bound items stabilized in mylar bags

## Barcoded Items Ready to Go

## Leather volumes in mylar bags

## Processing - Evolution

- 1999
- Identification of items done by department
- Barcoding and cleaning done in department
- 2001/2002
- Identification of items
- Selection of cataloging records
- Cleaning, barcoding, items records
- Shipping
- ALL DONE BY DOCUMENTS DEPARTMENT

## Causes for Evolution

- Desire for more control of the process
- Staff more familiar with creating holding and item records
- Efficiency – processing done on one-level
- Reductions in Cataloging Staff
- Cataloging lost 2 Professionals & 2 LTAs
- Became a department priority

## Annex containers waiting to go

## Shipping

- Once processed items put into containers
- Usually ship 20-35 containers at a time
- Number of items depends on size
- Containers taken to the loading dock
- Annex runs done twice a day
- 10 AM & 2 PM

## Recall of items

- Request form on Library’s Home Page
- Patron selects form
- Book and other formats
- Serials
- Items are shipped to Library’s Circulation Desk
- Customer retrieves item from Circulation
- Items can be restricted to “in department & “library use only”

## Recall, part 2

- Requests before 11 AM will arrive 3 PM same day
- Requests 11 AM- 4 PM will be available 10 AM the next day
- Requests made after 11 AM on Friday are available Monday by 3 PM

## Selection of Materials

- Serial Set – all items prior to 1950
- Have since sent 1950-1960
- Currently processing 1960-1970
- Readex micro-card collection used as back-up
- 19th Century volumes had to be cleaned, vacuumed, and bagged
- Annex better environment (55 F/45 % Humidity)
- Created needed space quickly

## Serial Set 

## Selection of Materials, 2

- Agriculture – 200+ items; 37 feet
- Civil Service – 250+ items; 21 feet
- Army Manuals – 3580 items; 192 feet
- Interior – 1500+ items; 10 feet
- Treasury Department – 100+; 110 feet
- War Department – 200+ items; 40 feet
- Serial Set – 7300+ items; 1236 feet

## GRA&I

## Evolving Selection Criteria

- Post- 1976 Items
- EPA reports sent because of leak
- (1700+ items; 58 feet)
- Congressional Materials
- House Appropriations (1400+; 150 feet)
- Government Reports & Announcements Index (GRA&I) – 460+ items; 100 feet
- No longer used; available online

## Annex Processing

- Items are sized
- Individual items are linked to container and location codes
- Containers placed on shelf
- Have had only three recall problems in three years; all items were eventually found; in couple of hours

## Processing area

## Sizing Board

## Tray code assigned

## The Good

- Created much needed space
- Reference Collection reduced by 576 feet
- Sections reduced from 7 to 6 shelves
- Documents more integrated in disaster plan
- More willing to accept duplicates and second copies to house in Annex

## More space in Documents

## Better storage at the Annex

## Microfilm 

## Good, part 2

- Sense of accomplishment
- Measurable outcomes
- Over 18,000 items
- Over 2100 linear feet sent
- Continued access, enhanced bibliographic control, awareness of the collection

## Extended Life

## The Bad and the  Ugly

- Increased workload
- Desire to keep up the pace
- Cleaning
- Discovering mold/mold abatement

## Additional Annex Photos

## Double  deep shelves

## Cherry Picker

## 40 feet up

## From 38 feet down