Pennsylvania Historical

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission uses Spacesaver mobile systems to satisfy 20-year growth plan

situation:

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) had a 20-year developmental plan that included additional space and remodeling of its current space in the State Museum of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State Archives building located in Harrisburg,Pennsylvania. When the PHMC was given the opportunity to expand into the new state-owned Commonwealth Keystone Building that was to be constructed next to its existing complex, the project managers planned the space most efficiently and included multiple Spacesaver mobile systems.

Fifty-two thousand square feet of the total 93,000 square feet of new space assigned to the PHMC was designated for State Museum collection storage spaces, work and collection processing spaces. The PHMC decided to move its three science collections into the new space, which includes Archeology, Paleontology/Geology, and Natural Sciences.

solution:

Because Spacesaver products were on the state contract, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services utilized a negotiated bidding process for the entire Keystone building. “We had used Spacesaver mobile systems on other projects and knew that it was a good solution for our new space,” explained Barry Loveland, chief of the Division of Architecture and Preservation. “We knew that the systems would give us a huge amount of storage in a small space. Once we had the finished floorplan, we simply laid out systems to maximize collection and storage space.”

Powered mobile systems are used in lieu of mechanical assist systems for safety and preservation of the collections. The smooth start and stops and safety sweeps protect the museum’s highly valuable and irreplaceable objects.

The Archeology Section of the State Museum utilizes open adjustable shelving for uniform boxes of archeological artifacts. Small pull-out drawers are ideal for hundreds of smaller artifacts that were transferred from old wooden drawers. File storage is used for archived records of archeological sites.

In the Paleontology/Geology Section of the State Museum, science cabinets with pull-out drawers are double stacked and installed on Spacesaver carriages for storing fossils, rocks and mineral specimens.

The Natural Science Section of the State Museum also uses cabinets with pull-out drawers for preserved bird and mammal skins. Herbarium cabinets are mounted on carriages for storing dried plant specimens. Spacesaver four-post shelving with bin fronts keeps bottles of alcoholpreserved specimens in place. Adjustable shelving with glass doors provide protection for large, taxidermied bird and mammal mounts.

Additional systems are located in the staff library, general storage areas, filing areas, archives supplies, and the Collections Management office.

“I didn’t ever think that the Spacesaver systems could have provided space for 2 million objects, but they did,” stated Loveland. “They accommodate our State Museum collections very well.”

“History will never stop and we will never stop collecting,” Sisson said. “We’re used to dealing with large amounts of objects and it isamazing how much these systems can swallow.”