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Transport

Moving archival material

If archival material is to be held off-site you must consider how to transport documents to and from the store. The procedures for moving material should ensure that items are not damaged during transit and arrive safely at their intended destination. Each time a document is moved out of a building it is placed at risk of damage, theft or destruction. This section attempts to reduce the risk of this occurring.

Transport

Inevitably, the movement of archival material requires the use of an appropriately sized vehicle. This would usually be in the form of a van, preferably fitted with equipment designed to keep items secure during transit. The size of the vehicle will depend on the nature of material held in the store, but it should be large enough to transport any item safely.

Avoid transporting material in staff cars, as this represents an insurance risk and may increase the potential damage to items.

Some services have the use of their own vehicle, or they may have access to a van belonging to their governing body. Either of these options gives a certain degree of flexibility and may mitigate some of the potential risks incurred from transporting archival material. However, for some services this may not be an option and they might have to rely upon a courier company. This option may be particularly relevant to services that retain infrequently used material in their store.

When considering buying in the services of a courier company, it may be advisable to consider the following points:

  • Have they had experience of handling archival material before?
  • Are they recommended by another archive service?
  • Is training needed in manual handling of archival material?
  • Do they have appropriate transport for outsize and/or fragile material?
  • Who is liable for the material in transit?
  • Can the courier company provide evidence of appropriate security vetting of staff?
  • What is their pricing structure?
  • Is there a costly monthly fee for a service you may only use three or four times a year?
  • Can they guarantee to meet the required turn-around times?
  • Can a member of staff to accompany the van?

Handling, packing and documentation

Handling

We recommend that appropriately trained archival staff undertake retrieving and packing of items and their subsequent unpacking and reshelving. This should help to negate the handling risks to both staff and archives. It may also be advisable to undertake a formal manual handling assessment of the processes involved in moving material between the store and the access site.

There must be appropriate equipment available in the store for the safe movement of archival items, including steps, ladders and trolleys. These should be in good working order and of adequate size and design to retrieve and move material safely. If the store is on different levels, and heavy items regularly collected, some form of lift should be installed so that material does not have to be transported up and down stairs manually. If heavy and unwieldy items are to be transported between sites regularly then it is advisable that the van is also equipped with some form of lifting equipment.

Packing

Archives in the store should already be packaged appropriately according to BS 4971:2017. However, you may need to pack them into containers before you can move them. It is important that any containers used for transporting archives are adequate for the task. They should be large enough to accommodate their intended contents comfortably and robust enough to offer protection from damage during transit. To further protect documents and reduce vibration, line containers with padding such as bubble-wrap; pack out any excess space in the container with additional padding.

Outsized material requires more specialist equipment to transport it safely between sites. If this equipment, such as bespoke carry cases, is not available, give serious consideration to whether they should be held off-site at all.

For fragile or delicate material, it may be preferable to provide users with digital surrogates, rather than risk potentially damaging items in transit.

Archival staff should undertake retrieval, packing and reshelving of archival items. If separate personnel (such as porters or couriers) are involved in transporting the material, put procedures in place so that enough time is allocated for staff to retrieve and pack items before collection.

Clearly label items to be collected and/or returned by a third party and ensure the labelling will not become displaced during transit.

For a more detailed guide to packing and moving archives see Moving Library and Archive Collections (British Library Preservation guide, 2013) [https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/conservation/pdf-guides/moving-library-and-archive-collections-guide.pdf]. This leaflet provides guidance on best practice for conducting the move of archival collections and includes a useful section on how to pack a variety of archival items appropriately.

Documentation

The increased risk of losing or misplacing items when storing material off-site means that the movement of material needs to be documented thoroughly. The system for tracking items may vary from service to service, but at the very least documentation should exist to cover: when items are requested, and by and for whom; when they are retrieved and by whom; and when they are returned and by whom. Some services now use bar-coding technology to keep track of their collections.

If a third party is involved in the transportation of material, this too needs to be documented. In addition, label containers and list the contents. It is also advisable to maintain a signing in/out book when staff enter and leave the store.