Choose your country site
Close

Case Study

Royal Holloway – relocation of approximately 13,500 linear metres of books

Relocating over 600,000 books


Royal Holloway is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities, with 21 academic departments and schools spanning the arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences, management, economics and law. Over 9,000 students learn from internationally renowned Academics and Researchers.

Royal Holloway University was seeking to relocate existing library stock equating to 13,500 linear metres (over 600,000 books) from various locations on the campus into a brand-new Library & Student Services Centre (LSSC) within the campus grounds on Egham Hill. The relocation was also to include the workspaces for approximately 85 staff from three different campus departments. The allocated time frame was three weeks.

Crown Workspace has specialist libraries expertise and was able to offer a unique contract to move 600-700 linear metres of packing per day for the 21 day period (including weekends).

Providing a highly experienced project manager

Crown Workspace provided a highly experienced project manager to work alongside the Royal Holloway University Library team to ensure thorough planning and dedicated management throughout the relocation. Crown and the library staff ensured that the logistical requirements for access were widely communicated in order to maintain business as usual for students and staff.

Our dedicated library team managed the careful sequential packing required to move the allocated book stock from the Bedford Library, Founder’s building and the University of London Depository building into the new LSSC building.

Particular care was required for access and logistics within the Founder’s building, which is a historical property on the campus. The Founder’s building was home to the archive and rare book, letters and photograph collections which represented 1,500 linear metres of the total stock to be moved. Specialist packaging was brought in by Crown Workspace to ensure the delicate handling of these rare archives and books. The existing shelving in each library was dismantled, relocated and reassembled in the LSSC building.

Moving and recommissioning IT equipment

Our team supplied packing resources for the relocation of the 85 staff, whilst moving and recommissioning desktop IT equipment. The personal and departmental filing was all sequentially packaged and relocated.

Following the relocation, the Founder’s building reading room was restacked with ‘wallpaper books’ to maintain the visual appearance of these historic rooms. For all redundant furniture, including roller and static racking, we kept items of redundant furniture to be donated to charity via our Giving Back Project.

The services we provided included:

  • Move management, strategy, logistical planning and communication
  • Provision of specialist packaging materials
  • Sequential packing and unpacking of library materials
  • Shelving dismantling, relocation and assembly
  • Packing, moving and unpacking materials
  • IT, filing and furniture relocation
  • Specialist library packers’ services
  • Rare book and historic art moves
  • Environmental clearance and donation of furniture via the Giving Back Project

Royal Holloway University Library was delighted with the expert services that Crown Workspace supplied for this project, and the high standard of completion, especially with such a tight timeline. All works were completed on time and to budget.

To find out more about our commercial and specialist relocations, and how we can help you with your workspace move, get in touch.