Collection Storage Master Plan for the NYPL Research Libraries

FAIN: PF-280799-21

New York Public Library (New York, NY 10016-0109)
Rebecca Fifield (Project Director: January 2021 to present)

A planning project to evaluate collection storage environments and create a Collection Storage Master Plan for the New York Public Library’s three research centers: the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The New York Public Library (NYPL or “the Library”) requests $50,000 to convene a planning team of NYPL staff and external advisors to create a Collection Storage Master Plan. Designed to move the Library toward a more efficient and sustainable model for institutional preservation planning, The Collections Storage Master Plan will include a unified assessment of all NYPL storage locations, focusing on the Library’s three research centers: the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The project will characterize and quantify materials stored on-site, identify the most suitable spaces for storage, and indicate the types and intensity of subsequent analysis and investment required to optimize these areas for collection storage.

Associated Products

NYPL Collection Storage Master Plan (Report)
Title: NYPL Collection Storage Master Plan
Author: William Stingone
Author: Rebecca Fifield
Abstract: The Collection Storage Master Plan (CSMP) project is a pre-planning exercise supporting comprehensive long-range Research Libraries collection storage planning, emphasizing special collection storage and climate resilience. The collaborative project team included NYPL staff from Collection Management, Preservation, Collection Development, Facilities, Security, and Energy and Sustainability, supported by consultants in preservation environment, sustainability, and architecture. Project activities included a documentation review; curatorial, facilities, and security staff interviews; and onsite visits to NYPL’s 50+ storage areas at its research centers. The 97-page report includes foundational recommendations, targeted considerations for collection storage planning, and recommended action items to improve preservation.
Date: 2/1/2023
Access Model: In-house planning document. Free access to NYPL senior leaders, preservation staff, and staff involved in collection storage planning. Also available to NEH staff upon request.

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