Timelapse of the library being filled with books at National Museum Cardiff

National Museum Cardiff – Amgueddfa Cymru Library Relocation

The Client

Founded in 1905, the National Museum Cardiff is free for admission. Receiving its royal charter in 1907, this incredible museum is home to priceless artefacts – with a whole floor dedicated to Wales’ national art collection; ranging from paintings to sculptures. The museum also features collections of Impressionist paintings in Britain and features works by Van Gogh and Welsh artists such as Richard Wilson and Gwen John.

The Project

In June 2019, the National Museum Cardiff had a requirement for the relocation of 870 linear metres of library stock internally within the museum from its main library, as well as the relocation of some of its library stock into storage at Edward Baden’s storage facility; Cube Self Storage.

The Solution

Edward Baden (Cube Relocations) completed the project seamlessly ensuring minimum downtime to the museum. Using our library relocation experience and expertise gained over the last 20 years in the industry, our team of experts were able to curate a bespoke plan to ensure the smooth relocation of all books over the stipulated 4-day programme.

A dedicated relocation team was formed comprising:

A supervisor
Four porters
Three packers

The Process

On moving day, the team reported to site and began laying protective materials to ensure protection of the building. Prior to moving day, our foreman conducted a Risk Assessment to access the building’s condition. Hardboards were laid from the reception and main entrance to vehicle points as well as all main access routes. Lift interiors were protected by use of hardboard and correx and main exit doors were layered with paper covers.

After laying the necessary building protection, the team got straight to work and packed the Main Library Stock, North Stack and South Stack Stock into our durable plastic standard lidded crates Easycrates (Cube Crate Hire) with interlocking lids that enabled each crate to be stacked on top of the other without damaging the contents inside. Easycrate is our sister company providing moving and storing crates for hire.

With Easycrates, the library books were better protected during transit as opposed to the use of regular cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes when stacked over long periods of time, could possibly lead to the bottom box being crushed due to the heavy weight load and thus, damaging the books inside. As space was also limited in the musem, Easycrates were the smartest choice as the crates can be stacked higher with no damage to the contents inside, saving on much needed space.

The team sequentially packed each shelf location into our metre crates, and an index card was placed at the end of every shelf location. This ensured that the library stock be placed into the new location in the same sequential order as before. Each Easycrate was labelled twice, once on the outside and once inside, to ensure correct sequences were observed throughout the move. The label location also indicates the start point to unpack from left to right ensuring the books are returned in exactly the same way to precise positions.

Upon completion, the team removed and environmentally disposed of building protection. Our Edward Baden Team Supervisor signed off with the on site client representative to ensure all moving tasks were completed and met client’s satisfaction and approval.

Project Highlights

Packing and unpacking 60,000 books in sequential order over a span of four days!
Using 700 Easycrates for a single project!
Racing against time to complete this huge project across a four-day programme!

Additional Information

National Museum Cardiff is located in the heart of Cardiff’s elegant Edwardian civic centre, and houses national art, natural history and geology collections, as well as having lots of temporary and touring exhibitions popping up throughout the year. Find out more about the museum here.

If you require specialist moving services, contact us or ring us on 0800 027 2668 to speak to a member of our friendly team. We are happy to be of assistance.