Reopening postponed until late December

Although staff has been busily packing and relocating materials, it appears our reopening may be delayed until late December.

Details will be posted here and on the State Library Web site as soon as they are finalized.

We appreciate your patience and understanding!

Four State Library employees win the Golden Booktruck Award!

Steve Case, Kate Kluttz, John Mitchell, and Eve Neville (not pictured) have been awarded the State Library Information Services' prestigious Golden Book Truck Award for speed and stamina in the loading and unloading of book trucks during the move.

We are happy to announce that all the genealogy materials have now been packed! Pam Toms proudly points to the empty bookcases.

Relocating the Genealogy Collection - Day Two

Great progress has been made in relocating many genealogy materials to the fourth floor. The State Library of North Carolina's Boxing Team has put together numerous cardboard boxes to hold materials that will be relocated to the basement.

An additional team has continued filling carts with books to be reshelved on the fourth floor.

The number of empty bookcases is increasing, which is an exciting feat!

How to safely pack thumb tacks and motivate employees during a move

Staff at the State Library of North Carolina's Information Services Branch have discovered a safe and stylish way to pack thumbtacks when you lack small containers to put them in. Simply insert thumbtacks into a roll of toilet paper or paper towels. You may wish to wrap the roll in newspaper after inserting all thumbtacks before packing it in a box with other office supplies.

Packing endless numbers of boxes may tire many employees. What is the State Library Information Services Branch staff's secret to keeping their peers energetic and motivated? The answer is chocolate!

Packing Continues at the State Library

Despite having packed the majority of the reference collection in the Information Services Branch over the past two weeks, many things still need to be packed. These items include book ends, office supplies, files, and more.

Relocating the Genealogy Collection - Day One

Many staff members at the State Library of North Carolina suspended their normal duties for a time to pitch in and help the Information Services and Genealogy staff relocate the collection to the fourth floor. This will allow the majority of the genealogy collection to be accessible during the most of the renovation. Early this morning, empty carts were lined up, numbered, and were prepped to be loaded with genealogy books and materials. Soon, helpful staff members loaded the carts with materials and took them to the fourth floor. Additional staff unloaded the carts onto shelves that had been cleared in the previous months.

Contacting Information Services and Genealogy During the Move

Our move to the basement is still planned for Thursday, November 23 through Friday, December 15. We will be closed to the public during this time.

The majority of our staff computers will be dissembled by Thursday, November 30. We apologize in advance as this may create a delay in our ability to respond to patron requests delivered to us via email.

Our access to the Internet will also be down for a period of time during our move while our servers are relocated. The State Library IT department will be working very hard to get the servers back up and running. However, please be aware that there will be a time when our Web site and internal access to the Internet will be down. This will inhibit us from accessing and responding to patron email during that time. Because of the renovation schedule, we are not sure at what point this transition will occur during our move to the basement, nor are we sure how long we will be without service. While our Web site is down, please check this blog for updates.

Please be patient with us. For reference inquiries, you may contact another local library during this time. If you are located in Wake County, please contact the Wake County Public Library nearest you. You may access their Web site at http://www.wakegov.com/libraries/default.htm. If you are conducting Genealogy research and are located in Wake County, please contact the Olivia Raney Library.

The main reference telephone number (919-807-7450) and Genealogy telephone number (919-807-7460) will be accessible through most of our move. There will be a brief time when we will be without phone service as the phones are moved to the basement. Our priority will be to have these lines reconnected as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and we apologize for any inconvenience this move creates.

Packing up the Information Center!

Last week and this week Information Center staff have been busy packing the reference collection on the first floor.

Just a reminder--both the Information Center and the Genealogy Collection will close at the end of the day this coming Wednesday, November 23. If all goes according to plan, we will reopen in our shared temporary space in the basement of the Archives & History/State Library building on Monday, December 18.

Important Notice for State Library Video Customers!

The State Library Information Center will close November 27 - December 15, 2006 in order to pack and move to temporary space during library renovation. During this packing and moving phase we will continue to provide video and DVD services. We regret, however, that we temporarily will not be able to provide walk-in service to customers who have not booked materials prior to their arrival.

Videos and DVDs may be booked during this time by calling 919-807-7471 or 919-807-7470. Or, you can email bmilon@library.dcr.state.nc.us or fax a request to 919-733-1843.

Call ahead before picking up your previously scheduled videos so a staff member can meet you in the lobby of the building. If you call ahead, videos/DVDs will be available for pick up from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

Due to the relocation of telephones and computers, there may be some temporary disruption of service.

Walk-in services will resume on December 18th in the basement of the Archives & History/State Library Building.

Unfortunately, dates are subject to change with little notice.

Renovations on the Archives & History/State Library Building are underway!

The State Library will remain open through most of the renovation, but services may be limited at different times due to the construction schedule. The staff looks forward to moving into our newly renovated public space in Summer 2007.

We apologize for any inconvenience the renovation creates. Since dates may shift due to unexpected construction issues, please visit the State Library of North Carolina’s website at http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us or its renovation blog, available at http://statelibrarync.blogspot.com for updates. We also can be contacted at 919-807-7450 or 919-807-7460.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. If you have additional questions, do not hesitate to call us

When will you be open during the renovation?

Through Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Information Center (First Floor) Monday - Friday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Genealogy (Mezzanine Floor) Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:30pm
Saturday: 9:00am - Noon; 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Thursday, November 23, 2006 – Sunday, December 17, 2006

CLOSED: both the Genealogy and the Information Center will be closed for relocation.

Monday, December 18, 2006 – Summer 2007

Genealogy & the Information Center will open a shared service point in the basement of the Archives & History/State Building.

Monday - Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturdays: Saturday service resumes on December 16, 2006. Genealogy staff will be located in the Archives Search Room (Second Floor) to answer your questions from 9:00am - 12:00pm and 1:00pm - 5:00pm. The Archives Search Room will be closed several Saturdays during December and January. Please call the State Archives at 919-807-7310 to make sure it is open before visiting.

The book drop in the lobby of the Archives & History/State Library building will be remain open.

Please note: We will be closed for the following state holidays: November 10, November 11, November 23, November 24, December 25, December 26, January 1, January 15, April 6, May 28, and July 4.

Where is your temporary location located?

We will remain in the Archives & History/State Library Building at 109 E. Jones Street in Raleigh, NC.

When we reopen on Monday, December 18, 2006, Genealogy and the Information Center will combine forces to operate from a small, shared reading room (Room G33) in the basement of the State Library and Archives Building. Seating will be limited.

Genealogy will resume Saturday hours on Saturday, December 16. We will be operating out of the State Archives Search Room on the second floor.

What materials will be available during your renovation?

Our Information Center and Genealogy collections will remain fully accessible through November 9, 2006. After that time, portions of the collections will be packed for the move or moved to staff-accessible storage locations.

Saturday access to printed materials and genealogy databases will be very limited. Please call ahead (919-807-7460) to assure that materials will be available.

Materials relocated for the renovation:

A portion of the Genealogy Collection will be available in the interim basement reading room and staff-accessible areas, including Genealogy vertical files, NC county abstracts, NC county histories and Heritage Books, NC military sources, census microfilm and indexes.

The majority of the Genealogy collection will be relocated to a staff-accessible storage area in the State Library closed stacks. Staff will retrieve the materials for you!

A small collection of Information Center reference materials will also be available in the basement reading room and nearby staff-accessible areas.
Current issues of newspapers and periodicals will be relocated to a staff-accessible room in the basement. Staff will retrieve materials upon request.

Materials NOT available for the duration of the renovation (December-Summer 2007):

The majority of the Information Center reference collection.

Saturday access to computer databases. All Wake County Public Libraries provide access to Ancestry, HeritageQuest and NC LIVE databases. Please call the branch closest to you for hours.

Due to the construction schedule, some collections will be temporarily unavailable during the following times:

November 23, 2006 – January 15, 2007: Newspaper microfilm, Revolutionary War pension & service records microfilm, Cherokee microfilm, magazines, journals, reference vertical files, and newspapers.

March 12, 2007 – April 6, 2007: The general collection and the stored portion of the Genealogy collection, including Genealogy periodicals.

May 7, 2007 – June 1, 2007: State Documents, Federal documents, Videos, Genealogy ILL microfilm of NC county records.

What about videos and microfilm?

MICROFILM: A large portion of our microfilm collection will be inaccessible between November 23, 2006 and January 16, 2007. However, microfilm owned by the State Archives will still be available for walk-in users in the Archives Search Room, located on the second floor. State Library microfilm will also be unavailable for Interlibrary Loan during this period as well.

Where should I return books that are due while you are temporarily closed?

You will still be able to return materials at the book drop in the lobby of the Archives & History/State Library Building during normal business hours, even when the Information Services and Genealogy sections are temporarily closed.

Will public computers be available while you are in your temporary location in the basement?

Our interim location in the basement of the Archives & History/State Library Building (Room G33) will have a limited number of computer terminals. Computer use will be limited to researchers accessing State Library databases and to state agency employees.

Wake County Public Libraries have computer terminals that the public may use. Wake County’s Electronic Information Center, Richard B. Harrison Library, and Cameron Village Library are conveniently located in or near downtown Raleigh. All Wake County Public Libraries provide access to Ancestry, HeritageQuest and NC LIVE databases.

Will microfilm reader-printers be available after you move to your temporary location in the basement?

After reopening in our interim location, the Library will still have several microfilm reader-printers available. Because of the limited number of readers available, we will ask you to limit your time to a half hour if others are waiting.

A large portion of our microfilm collection will be inaccessible between November 23, 2006 and January 16, 2007. However, microfilm owned by the State Archives will still be available for walk-in users in the Archives Search Room, located on the second floor.

What services will be available during the renovation?

During our move to the basement between November 27 and December 17:

Staff will continue to answer telephone, postal, and email reference requests.
There will be periods in which email reference service and telephone reference may be unavailable. Our Web page and our email may be inaccessible while our computer servers are relocated.

Walk-in reference service will be unavailable.

We will make arrangements for state employees to pick up books and videos in the lobby of the building.

After our move we will endeavor to provide helpful service in our temporary space.

Genealogy staff will still provide reference service to walk-in users, and answer telephone, email, and postal reference requests.

Information Center staff will also continue to provide reference service to walk-in users, callers, and email reference users.