I've been packing for two days, and the end is near! This is the second and (hopefully) last time I'll have to move the entire collection. Luckily my collection is small. Rather than all high school grades, our school only has sophomores and freshmen (we'll add a grade each year until we are 9-12) so we only have about half as many books as we should. Plus I have a LARGE digital collection. Here's my top tips for moving books!
1. Load the books onto carts. Luckily I'm in a large district, and I can beg borrow, and steal as many carts as I need. Make sure they are sturdy with good wheels. I prefer carts with a center support. Left cart = bad. Right cart = good.
2. Label the carts. The more labels the better. I put one on each end. Like this.
3. Wrap the carts in stretch wrap (it's a lot like Saran Wrap). Prepare to get dizzy. Make sure you work all the way from the top to the bottom and back to the top. And make sure you make at least one last pass to cover the very top. I bought my stretch wrap at Lowe's. This roll cost me $21.96, and it covers at least 10 standard carts (maybe more--I started with a partial roll). Helpful Hint--label the carts BEFORE you wrap. I didn't do that the first time I moved. Big mistake.
Here's a label after I wrapped the cart. This cart has historical fiction, mystery, and realistic fiction.
4. Label the cart one last time. If you have fixed shelving, it's helpful to number the cart too. Then if your movers are awesome (but don't understand Dewey or alphabetical order) they can place the carts in order. My shelves are completely movable, so I didn't number the carts.
And here's the final product. Notice I didn't use the top shelf because it doesn't have the center support. I'll probably stack small boxes there.
One of my library friends stored her books in the lockers during the remodel. Do you have any moving tips? Please share!