Another Edition of Moving with the Manuscripts: The Great Archive Adventure
Welcome back, fellow archival adventurers! We’re so glad you’re following along on this journey as the Archives & Special Collections team prepares for our big summer move. Over the coming months, we’ll share stories from the stacks, sneak peeks of our new storage space, and maybe even a few archival oddities discovered along the way.
Today, we’re opening the lid (very gently!) on how we’re packing up our collections with care and what it takes to protect them for the long haul. One of our trusty sidekicks in this process? The humble Hollinger box. These acid-free, archival-quality containers are the gold standard for safely storing paper-based collections. They help shield items from common agents of deterioration like light, dust, fluctuating temperatures, and physical handling.
As we pack, we’re also carefully re-housing materials that need a little extra TLC such as sleeving photographs, wrapping fragile bindings, and making sure each item is labeled for easy retrieval later. A huge thank-you to Jessica Cottle-Hart, our Archivist for Community Records and Collections Curation, for lending her expertise and steady hands to this delicate process. We’re so lucky to have her on the team!
We’re so lucky to have her on the team! And a big shoutout to Molly Kunkel, our Archivist for College Records and Collections Curation, who has been doing incredible work preparing our photographs and sound and moving image materials for their new home. Her attention to detail and deep care for these materials are helping preserve Davidson’s audiovisual history for generations to come.
We’re also thrilled to share that our new off-site storage facility is a major level up for our collections. This climate-controlled building is designed with the specific needs of archival materials in mind. From consistent temperature and humidity levels to filtered air and secure shelving, the new space creates an ecosystem that minimizes environmental stress and extends the life of our materials. It’s a safe, stable home for the treasures we’re packing and a huge step forward for the care of the story of Davidson and the future histories to come.
From our March visit to the Annex construction site
None of this would be possible without the support of our incredible library colleagues. A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated staff who have volunteered their time to help us sort, label, lift, and move. We see you, Leah Duncan! She is new-ish to the library on the Digital Learning team and re-housed our massive collection of scrapbooks safe and snug in their new boxes.
Stay tuned for more updates in Moving with the Manuscripts: The Great Archive Adventure. Until next time!