Moving Plans.

Hello.

Plans are in the making for the Billings Curation Center to move into a new facility in approx. 18 months and I am in the process of laying out plans for the actual move.

QUESTION(S): Has anyone on the list ever gone through the process of moving an entire repository? In particular, one with ethnographic/archaeological collections?

At the moment, the very thought seems a tad overwhelming. So, in order for me to cover all bases, I would welcome any input, assistance, ideas, concerns, helpful tips, etc, that you would care to share.

Most appreciative,

Get in touch with Alan Hoover, Head of Ethnology at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC. I worked on a contract with many 'movers' in the archy/ethnology depts during 1990-1992 when the entire collections had to be moved for retrofit due to asbestos sprayed on the ceilings decades earlier. They had quite a system and must have, by now, published some of their insights into moving collections!

I'll put this on the list; other folks might have something to add.

Moving a large collection - be it paper, cultural art, natural history or any other sort of it material - IS a daunting task. John Bing made some great suggestions; you are very fortunate if you can do all of those things in preparation for your move. Every issue you investigate and plan a response or goal for is one less disaster waiting to happen. This is my second time to deal with such an adventure, and it is one I try to view as an unparalleled opportunity to fix all the little things that have always been just short of ideal (or farther afield).

First, I want to make some points to help you avoid future angst. Plan your move, but be prepared to adapt as you discover either a) things you just didn't know were there, or b) great ideas for improved access, preservation, or space utilization that may reveal themselves as you go. The better you have investigated the collection first and planned for its needs, the fewer the surprises, but just mentally prepare yourself for the possibility of change to avoid heartache later. Also, know that every new space built is too small the minute it is approved. As well, anticipate budget cuts.

I would recommend that you tour facilities with similar collections and ask to see their storage areas. Ask them questions about what has gone right and wrong for them, and what they would change if they could. Seeing it firsthand can really help!

Also, use the opportunity to find new vendors or get price cuts from those you already deal with - you will probably be spending some money on supplies, and who knows - there might be something new and better out there.

Finally, if you use outside labor, get the best. When you are putting trust in the abilities of a stranger, it is not the time to cut corners or use someone inexperienced. Beating yourself up about it later or spending time with insurance agents or lawyers will never replace what you lose.

Best of luck!

David, Whether you know it or not, you are now a Project Manager, or maybe it should be you are in a job that is a natural for a trained Project manager. Moving a company or a department is a Project. As such, for best chance of success, manage it as a Project. This entails the following basic steps of the profession.

Step one! Define just what you are supposed to accomplish. Or a better way of putting it: By what criteria or definition will the project be done and accepted by the person who assigned you the task. By rights, he or she should have clearly defined the goal, but in real life it is often very vague. As such, you should define your understanding and then get the boss to confirm or amend it. This may sound simplistic, but it will prove invaluable all the way through the project.

Step Two. Assess the job, the amount of work, the changes from what you have now to what is wanted at the new location and when.

Step three, Talk to all the people who will be involved, both in doing the work, deciding how they want the new facility, whether anyone wants to do something with the collections before they are moved.

Step four, Write out a step by step plan of the work or tasks needed eg: inventory all the items to be moved; label all items/boxes etc.

Step five, Working with those who will be doing the work, make estimates of how much time, labor and money will be needed for each of the main steps.

Step six, prepare a first schedule and budget for the project and present it to the boss. You may well find that some of the early assumptions and hopes may cause people to rethink the plan, and even the goal. So be it, but it is far better to do it at the begriming rather than 'discover' some land mine half way through the project.

Publish the approved plan, schedule and budget to all concerned. If they are realistic and blessed, you will find far more support and help than not having a plan or having only vague words.

Constantly monitor the work and the plan and adjust the plan as needed or, if say you are falling behind schedule, call for reinforcements.

Keep you boss fully apprised of the work; the good as well as any problems that come up. No boss wants to hear of a problem that has been festering for a long time out of fear of criticism.

Never lose sight of the goal. Good luck John Bing, PMP

Laguna Beach, CA

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is about to move into a new headquarters that's part of the Virginia Historical Society complex. The DHR has both ethnographic and archaeological collections; they may be able to help you avoid pitfalls

Experience in movin a complete museum has:

Technisches Museum Wien Mariahilfer Strasse 212 A-1140 Vienna/Austria Tel.: (... 43 1) 89998 - 1000 Fax: (... 43 1) 89998 - 1111

The moved with about 30.000 objects (including cars, planes, locomotives and glasses dating back to the Biedermeier) to another location some years ago. Now they are in the process of moving back to the refurnished house.

Greeetings Peter, the Rebernik ....

Dear David,

I recently read an article on the move of a whole ethnology museum in one od the Low Countries or Denmark. It was indexed in BMUSE, the online museology bibliography accessed through the CHIN website at
http://www.chin.gc.ca

I know, I indexed it. You should be able to find it using the search terms 'anthropology' for category of museum and 'in or later than 1995'. If you don't see it, write back to me offline and I will try to get it for you.

What was intersting was the total reorganization of the collections storage that the museum undertook, and the heavy load on proper cataloguing before the move took place.

Hope this helps,

Leslie Munro.

collections in his lifetime and could provide some enormous insight.

Gary Acord Acord Information Management

Thanks - Boston didn't pay my phone bill and I have been down for a week - go