[Nhcoll-l] budgeting for moving a collection

[John E Simmons]

It all depends on what you are moving and how far. To begin with, you
should download a free copy of "Moving the Museum," which you can do here:
https://www.smm.org/collections/moving

You need to figure out what needs to be packed and how. I always recommend
packing museum objects as if they will be packed long-term because too
often things go wrong and the objects are packed away for a much longer
period of time than anticipated. Don't cut corners. For example,there is a
temptation to move cabinet contents by just wrapping the trays of specimens
and objects (or worse, leaving them in the cabinets) which is a recipe for
disaster such as the amount of vibration endured or what happens when a
cabinet full of trays tips over. In general, museum objects and specimens
must be packed with much more care than household or business goods. By
evaluating the materials you need and the amount of objects or specimens to
be moved, you should be able to make a rough prediction of the time needed
and figure out whether you can train present staff or if you need to hire
temporary staff and train them to do the packing.

Consider also staging areas (space where boxes can be packed and stored),
the volume of boxes and storage furniture to be moved, and the order than
things should be moved in to avoid winding up with an unsorted jumble of
boxes and storage furniture at the new location.

I have been involved in a lot of collection moves, and based on my
experience, once you get your rough estimate of supplies and time needed,
increase each by at least 20% because these things always tend to get
underestimated.

Good luck!

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
*and*
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
*and*
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima


On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 3:53 PM Colleen Evans <cevans at statenislandmuseum.org>
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
>
>
> As my institution starts to plan for moving our natural science
> collections in a few years, does anyone have any guidance or advice for
> determining a budget for the physical move? Are there specific moving
> companies or types of movers I should look into? Non-obvious packing or
> transport supplies? Something else? Note that things such as construction
> costs and cabinetry are already accounted for. I’m talking the actual
> packing and transporting between locations.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance! Responses can be sent off-list.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Colleen
>
>
>
> Colleen Evans
>
> [she/her/hers]
>
> Director of Natural Science Interpretation and Collections
>
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