Tips for moving your library
When your library is to shift into another building there are many issues to plan for, including moving the library’s
contents and, if renovating, providing interim access to resources. Here are some tips to guide your project
planning team to work through the options applicable for your school.
As a starting point, we’ve identified 4 important planning steps:

Form project planning team and prepare action plan.

If remodelling, identify options for continued access to the collections, including whether to set up a
temporary library and the level of services to be provided.

Prepare a communications plan for keeping staff and students informed.

Establish a relocation plan for when remodelling or merging libraries or shifting to a new building.
A template is provided for preparing the relocation plan which addresses issues such as the packing, moving and
unpacking of the library’s contents, together with potential costs and risks or OSH considerations.
Images from http://www.schools.natlib.govt.nz
Supporting resources:
 Further information on aspects of new/remodelled school libraries is available on Services to Schools’ website:
o
Merging school libraries http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/school-libraries/library-learningenvironments/merging-school-libraries
 Contact our Services to Schools’ advisory helpline 0800 LIB LINE 0800 542 5463 for free advice on the building
project’s stages, preferably at the beginning of the process before any plans have been drafted.
 Consult with colleagues in other schools who may have been through a similar process.
 Your school can also use the lending services available from Services to Schools:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/services/curriculum-services
Page 1 of 10
1. Project planning team and action plan
Actions
Resources
Form project planning team
 Composition of team may include
senior leaders, teachers, library staff,
students, parents/whānau and the
consultant/project manager/architect.
Release time
Who
When
Comments / Progress
 Clarify roles, responsibilities, reporting
and communication processes and
timeframes.
 Schedule planning meetings.
Establish budget and required resources
 What funding (if any) has been
allocated for shifting the library?
 What extra resources are required, eg
extra hours, shelving, furniture etc?
Prepare Action Plan
 Profile your school to identify factors
that may impact on what will be
moved or disposed of (shelving,
furniture and collections), which will
have implications for how to set up
the library being moved into.
For example
o Any changes in Year levels?
(eg previously Y9-13, now Y1-13)
o Roll size (much larger now?)
o Changes in needs of students?
(eg ESOL, special education).
 Develop a shared vision for the library
aligned with the school’s educational
goals, in consultation with staff,
students and parents/whānau.
See: The pedagogy of the library
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/supporti
ng-learners/effective-practice/
pedagogy-library
 Use Sections 2 – 4 of this checklist to
identify actions and milestones
applicable to your school’s situation.
 Check your school’s internet policies
and Library Management System
(LMS) for alignment of any proposed
ICT, eg BYOD.
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2. Options for continued access to collections
Your school’s type of building project will have implications as to whether students and staff can continue to have
access to the library’s collections and the level of services that are able to be provided. For example:
 Building a new library: You may be able to continue operating in your current library; then shift into the
new library.
 School mergers: Your options will depend on whether your ‘new’ school’s existing library building is to be
used, or remodelled, or a new library built elsewhere within the school. The time-line for the school’s
rebuilding project may also impact on your library, eg the library building might need to be used as a
temporary classroom until a classroom block is completed, which will require setting up a temporary library.
 Remodelled library: If your school is to remodel its library, the options for continued access to the library’s
resources will depend on how extensive that remodel is going to be. See Flowchart.
Flowchart: How extensive is the library remodel?
As renovations will take a short
time, resources could be stored
in labelled cartons
Library can still operate in
current building (Check
safety issues and insurance)
cover)
As renovations will take one or
more terms, a temporary
library could be set up
elsewhere
Arrange for teachers and students to select
loans before boxing the collection and promote
the lending services from Services to Schools.
Look at potential location options, eg empty
classroom or room that can be secured. Check
insurance cover.
Decide on storage option/s. For example:
Check suitability for:
 adequate shelving space and floor loading
 ICT requirements: Library Management System
(LMS), internet access, wireless and/or cabling,
power points (including for recharging any mobile
devices)
 heating availability during winter months.
 Place labelled cartons of resources in the
middle of the library’s floor and cover over.
Check floor loading beforehand. This option
depends on the extent of the remodel and
whether the library is to be re-carpeted.
 Find storage space for cartons of books and
furniture elsewhere in the school, eg empty
classroom, hall, Caretaker shed. Check room
temperatures/ventilation (to avoid mould)
and security.
 Hire freight containers for your books and
furniture for on-site or off-site storage.
Ensure containers are waterproof with no
rust holes.
Check insurance cover for your chosen option/s.
Record where resources and furniture are to be
stored in the school and/or off-site.
Consider temporary shelving options:
 Can any of the library’s existing shelving be used?
Affixed to the walls or free-standing?
 Check for surplus shelving, eg Caretaker’s shed,
Teacher resource room/Departmental libraries.
 If ordering new shelving for the remodelled
library that is free-standing, can that be used in
the temporary space? Or check if your shelving
firm can lend temporary shelving.
Identify essential furniture and equipment to take
temporarily and what to place in storage.
Draft a layout plan.
Page 3 of 10
3. Prepare communications plan
Take into account how long your library may be out of action and keep staff and students informed. Agree who is
going to undertake this regular communication with staff – and whether it also includes updates for parents and
whānau in the school newsletter and updating the library page on the website.
It would be beneficial to all parties to identify expectations and to be able to plan ahead to access resources likely
to be in demand during the remodelling/new building project.
For example:
 If intending to box the collections in readiness for shifting into a new/temporary library or storage area,
arrange for teachers and students to select loans beforehand.
 If remodelling the library, agree on the range of services to be available, eg temporary library to be set up.
 Also ensure that teachers are aware of the lending services available from National Library’s Services to
Schools: http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/services/curriculum-services
4. Establish a relocation plan
Prepare a relocation plan for packing up, moving and unpacking the library’s contents. A template has been
provided for your project planning team to use which sets out the main actions for moving the library and setting
up a temporary library, if this is required during a remodelling project. See Template: Library relocation plan
(pp. 5-9)
To identify risks, including insurance cover, and OSH considerations, refer to:

Your School Hazard Register

Department of Labour’s publication Code of Practice for Manual Handling [556 KB PDF]
http://www.business.govt.nz/worksafe/information-guidance/all-guidance-items/manual-handling-codeof-practice-for
At subsequent project planning meetings:

check progress made and document any decisions, including aspects of the relocation plan to be modified

keep tabs on the funding allocated for the library as part of a major school building project to ensure
availability when required

retain all planning documentation in a Project File which should be made available for school audit
purposes.
Page 4 of 10
Template: Library relocation plan
The purpose of this template is to provide the project planning team with a suggested format and headings for a
relocation plan for shifting the library’s contents. A checklist of actions is provided which can be modified to suit
your school’s building project. You can use the adjacent columns to record the required resources/budget,
allocation of responsibilities, timeframe and charted progress.
(a)
Prepare timeline
Actions
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Who
When
Comments / Progress
 Calculate amount of time required
for weeding, packing, moving and
unpacking, and target dates.
For example: Shifting in
o Day 1 (after school): Furniture
ready to move
o Day 2: Fiction is gone
o Day 3: Non-fiction gone
o Day 4-7: Books set up on shelves
o Days 9-12: Displays set up
(b)
Calculate extra assistance required
Actions
Resources
 Identify extra staffing required for
the various types of activities.
Note: There may be a double move
if shifting to a temporary library or
into storage — those items will
need to be shifted back when
renovations are completed.
Staffing hours
Student
support with
carrying items
 Additional paid working hours may
be needed for library support staff,
including during school holidays.
Staffing budget
(c) Weed collections
Actions
Resources
 Weed collections and library staff
resources prior to removal of books
and take only those required.
Staffing hours
Cartons
 Update Library Management System
(LMS); backup the software and keep
in a safe place.
 Arrange disposal of weeded items.
 For weeding guidelines:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/schoollibraries/building-and-managingcollection/weeding-guide
Page 5 of 10
(d)
Design layout plan
Actions
 Identify types of student-centred
learning spaces and facilities for
your library, based on your school’s
profile and vision for the role of the
library, eg makerspace activities,
self-issuing kiosks, display features.
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Furniture and
equipment
budget
 Think about arranging furniture and
movable shelving to create ‘rooms’
within the library space.
 For ideas on design trends and
types of flexible learning spaces and
management areas, see: Building or
remodelling the school library
(e)
Prepare shelving plan
Actions
Resources
Options include:
 Movable shelving on castors with
brakes and/or walled shelving (freestanding /fixed) to enable flexible
use of space and future-proofing.
 Shelving for work area/office,
eg mobile/free-standing/ walled.
 Face-out shelving: up-tilt bins and/or
tiered sloped shelving, eg Picture
books, Graphic novels and Quick
Picks/ Quick Reads, DVDs.
 Flat/horizontal or divider shelves,
eg Non-Fiction and Reference.
 Shelving for fiction: Titles shelved by
genre or alphabetically in one
sequence by the author’s surname?
See Arranging library fiction by
genre http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/
school-libraries/building-andmanaging-collection/arranginglibrary-fiction-genre
 For a range of shelving styles,
dimensions and storage capacity, see
Shelving guidelines for your school
library http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/
school-libraries/spaces-and-places/
shelving-guidelines-your-schoollibrary
Page 6 of 10
Actions
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
 Calculate number of shelves
required for each collection,
allowing for items out on issue and
future-proofing for new items to be
added to the collections.
 Determine if existing shelving and
accessories to be reused and/or
new items to be purchased.
Shelving
budget
 Check if more cost effective to have
new shelving, rather than clean up
and powder-coat existing shelves.
If setting up a temporary library space,
consider shelving options:
 Can any of the library’s existing
shelving be used? Affixed to the
walls or free-standing?
 Check for surplus shelving, eg
Caretaker’s shed, Teacher resource
room/Departmental libraries and
neighbouring schools, etc.
 If ordering new free-standing
shelves, can these be used in the
temporary space? Or check if your
shelving firm can lend shelving.
(f) Sort furniture and equipment, including work area/office
Actions
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
 For temporary library set-up: Identify
essential furniture and equipment to
take and which items to place in
storage or dispose.
 For remodelled/new library:
Carry out an inventory of furniture
(including display furniture) and
equipment to be reused, items for
disposal and new purchases.
 Update asset register and ensure that
the school and library’s name goes on
every item to be retained.
 Dispose of unwanted items.
 See School library suppliers list for a
range of firms for purchasing new
shelving, furniture and equipment:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/
school-libraries/library-management/
school-library-suppliers-list
Furniture and
equipment
budget
Page 7 of 10
(g) Pack the library’s contents
Options include:
o
Using student helpers: Get a good team of student helpers primed up to work for you: tables, chairs,
boxes of books and computers. One school had a long line of students to pass books from one to
another. A staff member stayed in the old library to guide the students and another staff member stayed
in the new library to direct the students and commence the re-shelving.
o
Packing books into cartons and hiring flatbed or basket trolleys, or borrowing from supermarkets or
other libraries.
o
Hiring professional movers to pack up the collection and transfer to the temporary library or new library
or store on-site / off-site.
Actions
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Choose packing option/s applicable for
your school:
 using staff and student helpers
 packing books into cartons and
using trolleys
 hiring professional movers.
Option: Packing books into cartons
 Obtain cartons, eg banana boxes.
Ensure that not only cartons are
clean, but that they are kept in clean
storage. There are stories of cartons
kept in dirty conditions leaving
marks on new carpet.
 Prepare and fill cartons:
o To increase sturdiness of a
carton, tape underneath so it
won’t collapse open with the
weight of books.
o Stand the books (2 rows per
carton) to keep in same order
as on shelf.
o Ensure cartons not filled to
capacity for OSH/safe lifting
practices.
 Label cartons twice (on top and side)
in exactly the same place with the
contents. For example: state Dewey
sequence, eg 000-100s. Add school’s
name if to be stored off-site.
Pack furniture, equipment, signage
 Pack up items to be re-used and
place any furniture in storage, if not
required until the remodelled or
/new library is available.
Check
supermarket
for free
cartons
Packing tape
Scissors
Trolley for
shifting
cartons
Pens
Staffing hours
 Label each box on top and side.
Add school’s name if to be stored
off-site.
Page 8 of 10
(h) Set up shelving in readiness for unpacking collections
Actions
Resources
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Install required shelving in library or
temporary location, as per layout plan.
Map out location of resources on the
shelves
 Identify where each type of
collection will be on the shelves
when the resources are unpacked
and use Post-It notes as markers.
 Allow for items out on issue with
large gaps on shelf. For example,
books on conservation.
Set up indicator blocks
 Position each indicator block on the
shelves for the Non-fiction (000900) and Fiction (A-Z, or Genre
headings). For example: Dewey
sequence that will start at the top
and finish at the bottom of a bay.
 Alternatively, pack each indicator
block with the books in each carton
and have Post-It notes on the
shelves in readiness.
 Benefits include: ensuring the
collection will fit and speeding up
the re-shelving by enabling more
than one helper to unpack books
without having to shelf-shift later.
Set up book ends
 Gather up and place book ends on
the horizontal/flat shelves, leaving a
space at the end for display
purposes. This will guide the
‘helpers’ filling up the shelves so as
not to jam the books in too tight.
 Alternatively, pack the book ends
with the books to mark the end of
each row.
Arrange book display stands
 Gather up book stands and place on
shelves for face-out display.
Page 9 of 10
(i) Shift Library Management system (LMS) and ICT
Actions
Resources
Relocate LMS, other ICT/technologies
including any assistive technologies for
special needs learners.
Internet
Cabling
Wireless
Power points
Furniture
 For advice on making a change of
LMS: http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/
school-libraries/your-libraryonline/changing-your-integratedlibrary-system-ils
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Who
When
Comments / Progress
Arrange access to digital resources
 For example, provide EPIC password
and details to students and
teachers. Refer to:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/resour
ces-learning/getting-most-out-epice-resources
(j) Complete setting up of library
Actions
Resources
Sort collections and furniture:
 Finish unpacking cartons of books
and other resources.
Staffing hours
 Arrange furniture (items to be reused and/or new purchases), as per
layout plan.
 Finish sorting work area/office.
Organise display programme
 Set up display furniture, walled
displays including posters.
 For display tips see Services to
School’s website:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creatin
g-readers/creating-readingculture/reader-friendlyenvironments#displays
 Set up signage: bilingual / multilingual. For Māori and Pasifika
signage, see
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/schoollibraries/spaces-and-places/
creating-inclusive-library
Celebrate ‘official’ opening of the
library.
November 2015
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