THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12230

 

TO:

The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents

FROM:

Carole Huxley 

COMMITTEE:

Full Board

TITLE OF ITEM:

Update on Planning for Collection Storage

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

April 23, 2004

PROPOSED HANDLING:

Discussion

RATIONALE FOR ITEM:

Critical issue of adequate stewardship

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goal 5

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY: John Egan, chair of an expert panel convened last fall to advise us on options for proper stewardship of the Archives, Library and Museum collections, will discuss with the Regents his perspective on the need for, and our approach to, a new research and collection storage facility.  Mr. Egan has served as Commissioner of the Office of General Services, Commissioner of Transportation, and Executive Director of the Dormitory Authority in his 40 years of State service. In addition, he transformed Albany International Airport as its CEO and is President of the Renaissance Corporation of Albany, with another large-scale visionary project under way to make University Heights a major “center of health care, research and education.” In addition, Governor Pataki recently appointed him to chair the Harriman Campus Development Corporation on the site of the State Office Campus. 

 

            In December, staff presented to you the report of the panel Mr. Egan chaired. It described the importance of the collections under the Regents care, the conditions under which they are now held, and the needs that should be met in their storage environment.  The Panel found that current collection care in the State Library, Archives and Museum does not meet professional standards, despite important improvements made over the past several years.

 

The physical constraints of the Cultural Education Center (CEC) prevent collections from being adequately preserved and protected.  Within the CEC, it would be prohibitively expensive to achieve adequate environmental controls (humidity and temperature) and install an appropriate fire suppression system.  Furthermore, storage facilities there do not have sufficient or appropriate space for collections growth.  The Museum is already forced to store significant collections in a remote storage facility with poor environmental controls.  The New York State Records Center is in a critical situation now, as the facility is at 104% of capacity.

 

Following the December presentation of the panel report, the leadership team of the Office of Cultural Education, along with George Webb, Director of Office Facilities and Business Services for SED, embarked on a series of benchmarking site visits, phone conferences and other investigations of recently built similar facilities.  John Egan has continued to provide essential mentoring to us as we have delineated the essential elements for a facility and begun to consider sites and strategies.  The attached describes those elements, as well as the next steps in planning.

 

We are still at a preliminary stage, with the next step a feasibility plan for which a Request for Proposals is now being developed.  The project is complex, intended to accommodate 25 years or more of collection growth and be sufficiently flexible to incorporate new preservation and access technologies as they develop.  From our visits, we have learned that very few places have dealt with the diversity of media we must care for on the large scale that these collections represent.  Even though the need is urgent, we must take the time to be sure we have a viable approach to addressing it. Finding a suitable site and determining a sound financing strategy are basic aspects before a full-fledged plan can be launched.  An apt analogy to the state of planning now is the beginning of the quiet phase of an institution’s capital campaign.

 

Attachment

 

 

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR

THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL EDUCATION FACILITY PLAN

 

 

 

We envision a new state-of-the-art Office of Cultural Education (OCE) Collection Storage and Research Center that will accommodate all of the Museum’s collections and research labs, the State Records Center and parts of the Archives and Library collections.  It will also serve as the Cultural Education Center’s (CEC) auxiliary education center.

 

The CEC will continue as the primary public service and education space for the three institutions that include the Museum’s exhibit galleries, the Research Library and Archives’ public spaces.  The CEC will also continue to house that portion of the Archives and Library collections most often used by researchers and other visitors.

 

 

I.   The OCE Collection Storage and Research Center

 

 

A.       Collection Storage:

 

·       The Museum collections move from all other current facilities in the Capital District, i.e., CEC, the Fish Lab and the Rotterdam Storage Facility, and are consolidated into a new collection storage facility.  This facility meets the environmental and space needs of the Museum collections for a minimum of 25 years.

 

·       All of the records from the current State Records Center move to the new facility.  There is enough space available to provide a minimum of 25 years space growth in the State Records program.

 

·       Eventually, the lesser-used parts of the Archives and Library collections move out of the CEC to accommodate their space needs.  For purposes of efficiency, these Archives and Library collections are stored near the new Museum collection storage facility – perhaps in a campus-like setting.  Some collections from all three institutions, e.g., images and electronic media, are stored according to environmental needs, rather than according to institutional affiliation.

 

 

Ø     The collection storage area is based on a modular design that provides enough flexibility for a projected 25 years of collection growth.  Future collection needs beyond 25 years are accommodated within the plot plan to permit new, equivalently designed storage modules, as needed.

Ø     The environmental controls are state-of-the-art, meeting all of the standards required for long-term preservation of each collection.

Ø     The facility provides adequate security for the collections.

Ø     The facility is located within a reasonable distance from the CEC.

 

 

Ø     A loading dock and collection receiving areas.

Ø     Security and fire suppression systems that meet all professional standards.

Ø     Collection areas that adequately meet the needs of special formats, including microforms, electronic records, color photographs and acetate-based film.

Ø     An infrastructure that is flexible enough to support both current and future technologies.

 

 

B.       Research and Public Space:

 

·       All of the Museum’s Research and Collections Division staff, at a minimum, move to the new facility.

 

Ø     Research labs contain the kind of space and equipment that is basic for all modern laboratories.  Their infrastructure, e.g., wiring, is flexible enough to accommodate specialized equipment and furniture.

Ø     Auxiliary spaces address safety and other research needs, e.g., staff showers, chemical storage space and supply and field equipment storage.

Ø     Work and office spaces are provided for historians, curators, technicians and related staff operations.

 

·       Separate workspaces and a reading room are provided for visiting scientists and other researchers.  These spaces have appropriate and adequate:

 

Ø     furniture and equipment

Ø     technology infrastructure

Ø     security

 

·       A portion of the Center functions as an adjunct to the educational programs that continue to take place in the CEC.  The Center’s educational spaces may include:

 

Ø     A small education and distance-learning space, particularly focused on scientific and historical research.

Ø     Small seminar rooms and a lecture hall.

Ø     Nature trails surrounding the Center for “hands-on” programs in biology and earth science, and a “Rock Park” (a garden that contains samples of all of the rocks found in New York State).

 

 

 

C.       Other Management and Staffing Issues:

 

·       Space is provided for the management of the new facility, e.g., Facility Director’s office.

 

·       Staff needs are addressed, including:

 

Ø     Sufficient staff and visitor parking.

Ø     Food service areas and break rooms a safe distance away from collection storage space.

 

 

II.   Cultural Education Center

 

The CEC continues to be the major public access point for OCE institutions.  It includes the Museum’s exhibit galleries and the Research Library and Archives’ public spaces.

 

 

 

·       Further renovations or modifications to the building continue according to technological and user/visitor needs.

 

 


 

10- AND 25- YEARS COLLECTION GROWTH PROJECTIONS

 

 

STATE RECORDS CENTER

Current

Storage Capacity

(in cubic feet)

Size of collection in cubic feet

Current

(2004)

10-Yr. Projection

(2014)

% Increase

Over Current

Coll. Size

25-Yr. Projection

(2029)

% increase Over Current

Coll. Size

 

227,072

 

 

235,000*

 

435,000

 

85%

 

620,000

 

164%

*Current storage in the Records Center is nearly 104% of capacity.  Approximately 8,000 cubic feet of records are being stored in two vaults and stacked 5 high at the end of aisles.  In addition, there are 11,226 cubic feet in State agencies awaiting space at the Records Center (RC), and growing daily.

 

MUSEUM*

Current

Storage Capacity

(in square feet)

Size of Collection in square feet

Current

(2004)

10-Yr. Projection

(2014)

% Increase

Over Current

Coll. Size

25-Yr. Projection

(2029)

% Increase Over Current

Coll. Size

 

171,500**

 

 

154,600

 

202,000

 

31%

 

262,000

 

69%

*  Includes all collections housed in and out of the CEC, with the exception of the proposed Albany Archaeological Center (see below)

**11,500 sq. ft. will be gained after Archives and Library relocate back to the 11th floor in 2004.

 

PROPOSED ALBANY ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER

Current

Storage Capacity

(in square feet)

Size of Collection in square feet

Current

(2004)

10-Yr. Projection

(2014)

% Increase

Over Current

Coll. Size

25-Yr. Projection

(2029)

% Increase Over Current

Coll. Size

 

2,400

 

2,400

 

10,000

 

316%

 

15,000

 

 

525%

 

ARCHIVES

Current

Storage Capacity

(in cubic feet)

Size of collection in cubic feet

Current

(2004)

10-Yr. Projection

(2014)

% Increase

Over Current

Coll. Size

25-Yr. Projection

(2029)

% Increase Over Current

Coll. Size

 

83,000

 

76,000

 

133,000

 

75%

 

188,000

 

147%

 

 


LIBRARY

Current

Storage Capacity

(In linear feet)

Size of collection in linear feet

Current

(2004)

10-Yr. Projection

(2014)

% Increase

Over Current

Coll. Size

25-Yr. Projection

(2029)

% Increase Over Current

Coll. Size

 

490,000

 

 

460,000

 

525,000

 

14%

 

617,500

 

34%

 

OCE FACILITY PLANNING PROCESS

TIME TABLE

 

COMPLETED ACTIONS

 

 

Milestones

Date

Completed

1.  OCE Collection Stewardship Needs Assessment

Aug.  2003

2.     Panel of Experts meeting with OCE staff to discuss Needs Assessment

Sept. 24, 2003

3.  Panel of Experts’ Report, including Findings and Recommendations

Nov. 2003

4.  BOR Cultural Education Committee meeting on Panel’s findings

Dec. 2003

5.     OCE Leadership Group interviews with individual Panel members and others for follow-up advice.

Jan.  2004

6.     Site visits to:

  • NY Public Library Bryant Park Collection Storage Facility, and Center for Jewish History, New York City
  • The Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP) at Princeton University, New Jersey
  • Museum Support Center, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, Maryland
  • Cornell University: Kroch Library and Paleontology Collection

 

March - April 2004

7.     Essential Elements for the OCE Facility Plan

April 23, 2004

 

 

NEXT STEPS

 

 

Milestones

 

Deadline

1.     BOR Full Board meeting to discuss OCE Collection Storage Planning.

May 18, 2004

2.   Feasibility Study launched

July 2004

3.   Results of Feasibility Study presented to Full Board of Regents

Dec. 2004

4.   Funding strategies developed

 

5.   Marketing strategies developed