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Relocation Plan

Supervising Move:  Librarian

Personnel:  Library assistant, parent volunteers, student helpers, and custodians

Training of personnel should occur as soon as possible or at least 8 months before the move.  Training should include education in the Dewey Decimal System, how to shelf read, how to inventory, how packing will run, how to label and pack containers, and how unpacking will proceed.  Timelines and color-coded maps displaying which sections will be packed and when will be provided.

Provide incentives to volunteers for their work such as such as snacks or providing pizza or a luncheon during the time they work.  Send out thank you notes and possibly gifts for donating their time to help with the move.  Have a party in the library just for the volunteers and student helpers during or after school.

Notifications:  Students, parents, faculty, and county officials will be made aware of the move.  The notification will describe the move and contain the timeline, emphasizingif/when the library will be closed and books due.  Paper notifications will be given to faculty through faculty mailboxes, students through homeroom teachers, and parents through the mail.  Digital notifications will be sent out to all faculty and staff members through email and to parents if there is an email list.  Paper and digital copies of the notification will be sent to pertinent county personnel such as the Superintendent and Office of Library Services.  Notifications of the closing dates and final due date for books will be announced during morning announcements at least twice a week the month before closing the library.

Weeding:  Weeding the collection will begin at least 6 months before the initial move if not sooner.  Weeding will reduce the number of books to be moved, increasing the packing and moving time, and allowing for growth of the library collection.  Weeding office supplies and other resources may also be necessary.

Space & Growth:  Determine how much space to leave on the new shelves and measure the amount of space left to place books on the shelf.  When unpacking, place books up until that point on the shelf, continue excess books along the next shelves up until the next point and so on.

Labeling:  Sections and shelves are labeled 4 months before the initial move.  Labeling shelves will help those participating in the moving process complete packing in a timely manner.  Labeling will also expedite unpacking time as the books are placed on the new shelves, which will be labeled before unpacking.  Sections should be labeled by color: red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, and gray.  Using colors may not work well if someone on personnel is colorblind so the color may need to be written out on the label.

Closing the Library:  Discuss closing the library with administrators.  If moving during the school year temporary closures of the library may be necessary during packing and moving times.  If moving during the summer a closure may not be necessary.  Closing off only certain sections of the library will help prevent disruption of the sections during the packing process.  Closing off only the stacks area and allowing the instructional rooms to be open could be done the last one or two months of the school year as these rooms seem to get the most use in the media center near the end of the school year.

During library closures, no books should be checked out.  If the library or stacks area will be closed one month before, all books previously checked out must be returned by the closing date.  If students and staff have not returned books by the closing date mailings will be sent out to faculty and parents informing them of the need to return the book.  If books are still not returned and parents have not contacted the librarian regarding the overdue books, the librarian will call the parents of the students informing the parent of the need to return the book.  Faculty will also be contacted through phone or email if books are not returned.  If necessary fines can be placed on books not returned by the closing date to further, encourage students, faculty, and parents to return books.

Shelf Reading:  To ensure the books are in good order before the move shelf reading will take place one month before closing and throughout the time, the library is closed.  Parent volunteers, student helpers, and library staff will be involved in this process.  All those helping in shelf reading should already have a good understanding of the Dewey Decimal system.

Inventorying:  Inventorying should take place 1-2 months before packing and continue during the packing process.  All books will be inventoried; those that students and faculty turn in during inventorying should be placed in a specific location in the library office to be shelved after inventorying that section.  Inventory low traffic sections first as these will be the first to be packed away.

The purchase of a portable scanner will help in the inventory process.  Library staff, parent volunteers, and student helpers are essential to completing the inventory process in a timely manner.

Containers and Supplies:  Containers must be obtained to pack the materials in.  Custodians and local businesses can help in finding and providing cardboard boxes for the move.  If obtaining from local businesses (supermarkets, restaurants, shopping centers, office supply companies, etc.) contact 4-5 months before packing to ensure a good amount of boxes are collected before the move.  Boxes may come flattened so this time can be taken to un-flatten and tape up the bottoms.  Obtain strong, thick boxes for the computers, warehouse stores (Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Costco, etc.) should have these boxes, and they are usually free.  Labeling and packing supplies must be obtained such as labels, tape, rubber bands, markers, and packing peanuts, bubble wrap, or paper for delicate equipment.

Packing:  Packing up the library should begin 4-5 months before the planned move.  Library staff, parent volunteers, student helpers, and custodians will help with the move.  Staff, volunteers, and helpers will be involved with the packing.  Staff and volunteers will help the custodians with moving the boxes to storage areas or into any trucks; students should not be involved in moving heavy boxes as they may be injured and can be considered a liability to the school.

            Depending upon when packing is taking place and closures, the sections with the least amount of traffic should be moved first.  These sections should have been inventoried so continue packing the sections along the same manner they have been inventoried.

            Computers and technological equipment should be packed last and with care.  Any wires connected to the device should be bundled with it.

Storage:  Supplies may be placed in storage, make sure to label delicate equipment that need to be in climate controlled areas such as computers, projectors, and other electronic equipment.

Unpacking:  Library staff, parent volunteers, custodians, and possibly student helpers, will help with moving in.  Maps of the area should be included with areas color coded and labeled to help movers place the boxes in the correct sections.  Unpack the computers and electronic equipment first, and the high traffic book sections next, continuing with unpacking most used items.  It will be essential to have the most used items unpacked if school begins or is in session before the all items are unpacked.

Movement Timeline

The timelines below display the suggested moving plans for a summer move and a move during the school year.

Summer Move

School Year Move