New Moves, Old Moves

We are halfway through our big move to new quarters for the DeWitt Community Library, so for today's post we thought it would be fun to look at the 1975 archives and the original move in comparison to this one. And let me tell you, kiddies, we have more in common with '75 than a penchant for bell bottom jeans and jive talk. A lot of the circumstances of the two moves are similar: the need for a lot more space; the timetable for the move (then, like now, we had until April to remain in our old space until plans for demolishing it were put into effect, and the earliest date the new space would be ready was January first); Greater Syracuse Moving and Storage Company was employed for both moves (although the cost definitely increased, as in 1975 the company was "to move the books, shelving, furniture and equipment for $500-$600); and, although Greater Syracuse Moving and Storage is doing the bulk of the work, during this move the staff has helped a great deal by packing out and unpacking the entire non-fiction and most of the computers ourselves, just as in 1975 the library had Boy Scout Troop 162 helping to pack up and move a lot of books and materials.

In the previous move, we had planned to and succeeded in securing that location for a great number of years, and as library services and materials increased we made as much room as we could; but this time, our move is temporary. Although we had over 7,000 square feet in the main area of our old library (not counting some office space we rented down the hall a few years ago), and we are moving to a space with about 12,000 square feet, ultimately the DCL needs 24,000 square feet to be comfortable and have room to grow. Therefore, the terms of our lease state we must occupy this new space for at least 3 years, and our lease with the mall isn't up until 2015, but the library Board of Trustees is going to use this time to find property on which we can build our own stand-alone space somewhere in DeWitt. So, it may not be long before we're packing up and moving again, but for now we have a beautiful new space in ShoppingTown, with much greater visibility within the mall, better lighting, and better use of space than we had in the old basement.