British Library Readers Group

Collection Moves Programme

In January 2009, we will be starting a collection moves programme of low-use items.
This is the largest programme of moves we have undertaken since the opening of St Pancras in 1998.

The transfer of low-use items to a new storage facility in Boston Spa will take place in phases. Reader access to high-use material at St Pancras will not be affected.
We are keen to let you know about the moves in advance, and this is the first of a series of regular bulletins to keep you informed about the programme.

Phase One of the Collection Moves Programme

How will this affect Readers?
During the first phase of moves, some low-use collections will be moving to the new storage facility at Boston Spa and will be unavailable to Readers. The embargo period will be for a minimum of nine months, from January 2009. This period of restricted access will not affect St Pancras’ high-use material e.g. rare books, manuscripts, standard-use monographs, maps, sound archive and music scores. Usage of our collections is measured by numbers of requests made each year per linear metre of shelved stock. Low-use material is stock from which less than three requests per year have been made. By contrast, high-use material is stock from which more than five requests per year have been made. To put that in context, the current stock most in use in the Reading Rooms attracts more than 48 requests annually.

Which items will be moving in Phase One?
This is a rolling programme and in this first phase 10.6% of our total collection will be transferred to the new storage facility at Boston Spa. Once items are moved, they will be unavailable during this minimum nine months move period. The material that will be under restricted access during Phase One is listed below:

Present Storage Location Low-use mats.moving location Phase 1
Micawber Street: Science, Technology and Medicine monographs, serials and patents;Humanities monographs and serials

St Pancras: Low-use Humanities periodicals

Why is the Library moving parts of its collection?
The Library, acting as guardians of the national collection, needs to vacate current leasehold storage buildings, as they fail to provide adequate environmental conditions. We do not have the opportunity to extend the leases on these buildings. The moves will allow us to rationalise our collection storage and provide future growth space.
We are constructing a new storage building at our Boston Spa site in West Yorkshire – to be completed in December 2008. This will be one of the largest and most technologically advanced library repositories in the world, providing us with perfect environmental storage conditions.

Why will this embargo for Phase One moves be for a minimum nine months?
As the new facility at Boston Spa is a complex and unique building in terms of its space and systems, we need to ensure that we get the initial placement of material right and that we minimise risks to the collection. This includes testing the operating systems, as well as training staff.

Will other items be available for use by Readers during the collection moves?
Yes. Apart from the low-use items listed on the previous page, the Library’s material will be available to Readers as usual, with no changes to the services we offer.

Where else could I find items I want access to, during this time?
The Library will continue to provide online and printed advice on other libraries and organisations that offer access to their own collections.

Will the Integrated Catalogue list the items affected by the Phase One embargo?
Yes. The Integrated Catalogue will list the items within our collections you will not be able to order during the move.

Once the minimum nine months Phase One embargo is over, will I be able to access this relocated material again?
Yes, and the system for ordering items will be unchanged.

Is the planned closure of Colindale, the current site of the newspaper collections, and the transfer of these collections part of the Collection Moves programme?
Yes. To improve the storage conditions and therefore the lifespan of the newspaper collection, the hard copy collections will be moving to Boston Spa. Microfilm will be stored and available at St Pancras.
The newspaper collection items moving from Colindale will be part of Phase Two of collection moves, starting at the end of 2009. In this second phase of moves, material will be transferred on a staggered basis, and will only be unavailable to Readers whilst it is in transit. We expect that this will be a matter of weeks.

We will be issuing a News Bulletin specifically on the Phase Two moves this coming Autumn.

We will keep you regularly updated on this Collection Moves programme. The next news bulletin will be available in September 2008. You can also visit www.bl.uk/collectionmoves

For any queries about Collection Moves, please contact Customer Services on
+44 (0)1937 546060 or email customer-services@bl.uk