Wild, Wild but Innocent: The Big Move

Well by now the move to the new Church History Library is well underway. Two weeks ago we started loading everything into boxes and on carts. It is quite the project and it's not your typical move. There are a few more steps in the whole moving process. It all started last year when we barcoded every item in the collection so we would have a way to account for everything. The whole Church History Department staff took their turn coming to the stacks to "tag". The perk was you got to wear jeans so you would be able to squat down to the bottom shelf to scan without flashing everyone. Even though we, as the circulation staff, have to do that kind of stuff everyday to pull things and we do it all in a dress (well, Alison and I do). We just have to make sure no one is around. :) Here's a picture of us (Gaylen and all).

Anyway, barcoding was a huge project and I still have carpal tunnel from using a scanner so much. During the move, when we take an item off the shelf we have to scan it to the box or cart we put it on and then when it gets to the new building we have to scan it again to the new shelf. It's a bit tedious, but we obviously want to make sure we don't lose anything. Kinda important stuff. Since I work in circulation and I know the collection and the computer program better than some I was made a room lead, which gives me a lot more responibiliy and pressure to make sure everything is done right and we don't lose anything.

The whole trek getting it over to the new building is pretty crazy too. Bailey's moving company is helping us. They are basically a bunch of huge guys and they're great! Definitely come in handy with the heavy stuff. They take all the boxes and carts and shrink wrap them and then they have to haul them down the elevator and through the parking lot.

The missionaries (we call them sentinals) sit all along the move route to the new building just supervising. The route is through a tunnel underneath North Temple and City Creek. There is even a missionary who sits in the elevator just going up and down all day picking people up. The other day one of them got a little car sick. It wasn't pretty. But so far things are going pretty well. We haven't lost anything or had any huge catastrophes. It's crazy to see the archives empty out. You realize just how much stuff we really have. Here's a couple pictures where you can kind of see what it looked like before and after.

Hopefully the whole moving part will be done within the next couple weeks and then the hard part starts of cleaning it up and making sure everything is organized and where it needs to be. I have to be honest, it's going to be really rough getting used to the cold inside the new stacks. Even though it's a lot better for the collection, it stinks for those of us who have to go in there everyday to pull stuff. The shelves are a lot higher also so we all had to be certified to drive a "Wave". It's this machine that we can drive around the stacks and it lifts of up to the top shelf. It's a pretty heavy duty piece of machinery and frankly, it kind of scares me. I'm just hoping I don't crash into a shelf and knock over something important. I'm sure it will take some getting used to, but I am so thankful to be working for the Church during such a historic event and I really am looking forward to working in such a beautiful building. Everyone be sure to come to the open house in June!