For several years now, we have been hoping to install some specially-fitted custom compact shelving in a secure space on the Lower Level.  We intend this area to house rare and unique items for which there is no room in the current Archives facility.

Well, it has actually happened!  We were able to obtain and install some spacious brand-new moveable shelving that will make that formerly inadequate space much cleaner and more functional.  It’s always amusing to see a writer or reporter refer to Archives as “musty” or “dusty” hiding places where objects go to die.  A modern, well-managed Archives facility is relentlessly organized and almost antiseptically clean, with everything boxed or wrapped in appropriate enclosures and placed in order on the shelves.  We have not yet reached that ideal, but we are moving toward it as steadily as possible.

These new shelves will initially be used to hold our pamphlet and church records collections.  When we are able to add more compact shelving in a larger space, this storage area will become essential for carrying out the large-scale stacks shifting necessary for our Library of Congress reclassification project.

We’re celebrating this step forward!