When a new classroom building was approved in late 2014 that would conjoin and extend into Auburn University's Draughon Library, 38,000 square feet of space had to be cleared in a very short time. 400,000 volumes needed to be withdrawn or moved to off-site storage, a move complicated by loss of space in closed stacks due to the installation of a new fire suppression system, promises of a remote storage facility which had yet to be built, no concrete deadlines, and the need to identify and retain materials included in consortial retention agreements.
Space clearing began with a project to remove unneeded duplicate copies which in turn uncovered a multitude of catalog and shelving problems and then evolved into several more projects. All these projects required an extensive time commitment from selectors primarily for input and decision-making skills on titles to be withdrawn or moved to off-site storage. Shifting thousands of books and journals also required manual labor from students, librarians, and staff. None of this would have been possible without buy-in from all library personnel. This presentation details the variety of methods used by Auburn's Collection Team to foster buy-in and keep the project moving toward completion.
