Moving a map collection

We are, for sundry reasons, faced with the prospect of moving our
central map collection (currently located on the second floor of in 
an earthquake damaged portion of our main library) to another library
across campus (also on the second floor).  Because elevators won't be
available, thanks to the quake, we will have to move 90 map cases (450
drawers) manually down a flight of stairs.  We are considering unloading
the maps from their drawers, as well as moving them in place.

If anyone has had any experience with such a move and can offer any
suggestions for protecting materials and minimizing turmoil, both
human and cartographic, we would be most grateful.

    **** Moderator's comments:   Bill Pitt <wp8 [at] umail__umd__edu> of CLIS
    UMD suggested strapping the map cases to pallets with industrial
    strapping bands, enlarging a window and using a crane.  He added that
    cranes used for moving computers might do the trick.

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                   Conservation DistList Instance 4:7
                   Distributed: Monday, July 9, 1990
                        Message Id: cdl-4-7-002
                                  ***