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Library on the move
09/11/05
Deciding which journals will move to the library’s new home at Pohutukawa House and which will be stored for the next four years is a complex logistical exercise for librarian Raewyn Adams.
The hospital’s library will move to the old dining room at Pohutukawa House before Christmas and will remain there for around four years before moving to its permanent home on the fourth floor of the east wing building.
Raewyn says the library, which currently occupies 200sqm at its premises in the blue corridor, will have to downsize in order to fit into the 135sqm available at Pohutukawa House. This means some journals will be stored until the library moves into its permanent home. The library has around 2600 books and houses 260 journal titles, including 130 subscriptions which have varying numbers of issues per year.
Before a journal is packed, Raewyn checks a national database to make sure copies are available at other medical libraries so Tauranga Hospital staff can access them if they need to. User groups are also consulted.
If Tauranga Hospital has the only copy of a journal in the country, it is not put into storage, as the library has reciprocal borrowing and lending arrangements with other libraries throughout the country.
“Because we borrow from other libraries, we also need to be in a position to lend to other libraries,” Raewyn says. “Therefore if we are the only holder of a journal, we won’t store it away because other libraries may need it.”
Mainly older publications are being stored, she says – some dating back to the 1950s. Around 40 shelves need to be cleared, which amounts to around 130 boxes of journals. Other departments, also planning their moves, are donating surplus books and journals, so Raewyn says this also needs to be factored into planning.
All journals to be moved are being placed on shelves in photocopy boxes, which means the box can be placed on its new shelf without risk of any copies being misplaced or getting into the wrong order. Vacant shelving, created by the journals going into storage, will be installed at the new library prior to moving day so some shelving will be available to start the flow of books and journals as they are moved across to the new premises.
Raewyn says staff can help by dropping off photocopy boxes to the library and taking out books they may require two or three weeks prior to the move. The library will be closed for 2-3 days only, she says.
Although the new library’s new location will be smaller, there are several design features that will make it an attractive environment. It will have a suspended ceiling and lights will wash across the beams. A sunny courtyard at the rear of the building means people will be able to sit outside and read, and computer stations will face a garden area.
There will be a new swipe card system for after hours use, making access more convenient for regular users.
Raewyn says the library’s final destination will be bigger than both its previous locations. On the wish list is more study carrels, more places for people to sit and “really relax” and more efficient workstations.