The Book on Library Moves

Few things in the moving business require more precision than a library move.

Every single volume has to be meticulously packed, shipped and unloaded in the correct order – shelf by shelf. If even a single row of books is moved out of place, it could knock an entire collection out of order. That could delay a library opening by several days!

In short, hiring an experienced library moving company matters.

Over the years, Hoffberger Moving Services has developed a reputation as one of the most trusted library movers in the Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia region. We have experience with libraries ranging from 2-million volume university collections to personal studies.

We know how important books are to our clients, and we’ll take any measures necessary to protect them. We have moved rare, priceless and out-of-print books that required white-glove handling and specially made protective containers. For all library relocations, our movers use our own, custom-built moving carts that are packed and sealed in protective shrink wrap.

In fact, during our most recent library move, a 50,000-volume collection at The Library of the U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C., we:

• Cleaned each book prior to packing with a gentle vacuum.
• Combined collections from multiple locations to one location on the new shelves, a process known as “interfiling.”

What’s more, Hoffberger can also offer climate-controlled warehouse space for books that need to be stored for any period of time.

Some of our current and past library clients include:

• The Edward Rhodes Stitt Library of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. We packed and moved the 50,000-volume collection and dismantled and rebuilt all shelving.
• Washington County Free Library System Headquarters, Hagerstown, MD. We will pack 250,000 volumes, including rare books, and dismantle and rebuild 1,100 sections of shelving. (Scheduled for November).
• US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Library, Washington, D.C. We will move 60,000 volumes in four stages to minimize disruptions. (Scheduled for later this year.)
• Johns Hopkins University Library Service Center, Baltimore, Maryland. At 2 million volumes, this has been our largest library move to date.
• Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. We moved 450,000 volumes – Shepherd’s entire library – into another building. Then, we moved them again a year later to spread the collections between the new and the newly renovated original building.