[NHCOLL-L:1811] Collection cabinets from the ANSP

[Paul Callomon]

Dear Colleagues,

The Malacology department of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia has just obtained a grant to rehouse its collections. As a result, the present storage cabinets will become available for disposal from late 2003. This is an unusual opportunity to obtain high-volume storage cabinets of good quality.
There are 243 cabinets in all, with a total of roughly 12,000 drawers, and we anticipate that they will become available in batches of 30-50 between Autumn 2003 and the end of 2006. A brief specification is included below. The trays and dividers in current use will also be available.
The cabinets may be disposed singly or in any number, and disposal can be staged over a period of time.
All interested parties should contact me in the first instance. I can provide digital images of the cabinets and any further details required.

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These are steel cabinets approximately seven feet tall by three and a half feet wide by two feet deep, with double doors. Each has two plywood liners and a center divider, and holds between 60 and 78 shallow wooden drawers in two bays. We will have a total of 12,000 drawers to go with the cabinets. Conditions vary from mint to fair, and all the cabinets are currently in regular use. They are ideal for housing large collections of objects or papers. All have locks, which use one key. 
Outside dimensions of cabinets : 87" high, 44" wide, 26.5" deep. Most have a 6" plinth (kick plate), which is internally reinforced with a 3x2" timber frame.
Inside dimensions of drawers : 18 3/8" - 18 ¾" width, 24 - 24 ¼" depth.
Specimens within the drawers are housed in cardboard trays, whose sizes are multiples of three inches (1¼ x3; 3x3; 3x6; 6x6; 6x9; 9x12). The basic unit of space division is the 1¼ x 3" tray. Though nominally three inches, the actual size of the 1¼ x 3 inch trays is 1¼ x 3 1/32. Where all trays within a drawer are of three inches' width, a full drawer currently contains seven lanes. The lanes are divided by planed softwood strips of between ¼ and 3/8 inches' width. The current drawers have wooden sides and ends of ½ inch thickness, and floors of 1/8 inch Masonite.

Approximate weight of one cabinet, empty: 230 lbs.
Average weight of each drawer (n = 10): 3.09 lbs.

Recommended minimum floor loading rating (with nominal 400 lb of contents): 125 lbs/sq ft.

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Paul Callomon
Collections Manager
Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates

Department of Malacology
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA

Paul Callomon
Collections Manager
Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates

Department of Malacology
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA