Oxford Brookes Library Relocation - 1400+ Linear Meters of Material - NEXUS Psl

NEXUS Property Solutions had already completed the relocation of the main library into the landmark new building (the John Henry Brookes Building) in early 2014, but the ‘Special Collections’ move was delayed by issues around the environment in the designated destination storage.  These were finally resolved in summer 2015, and NEXUS were once again called upon to pack, move and unpack the library’s cherished stock.

Working closely with the University’s Estates and Library teams, NEXUS assisted with the planning, sequential packing, movement and unpacking of the collections over a six day period.  The window of opportunity was narrow as the moves had to be completed while the University was comparatively quiet during the summer break, before the thousands of students returned in earnest!

In addition to the more ‘standard’ library materials of books, journals and periodicals, NEXUS were required to move famous chef Ken Hom’s ‘Golden Wok’ (as well as his personal collection of oriental cultural, cooking and language books); the personal archive of well-known beer expert the late Michael Jackson; and a fully functional vintage juke box.

The University also took the opportunity to incorporate a unique collection of early print children’s books from an outlying site, and to reorganise the main collection to incorporate new stock into the relevant sections.

“We’ve been looking forward to completing the Oxford Brookes Library move since we moved the main collection,” said NEXUS Director of Operations Andy Lapham.  “The environmental issues which kept the Special Collections separate from the main collection were very frustrating for the library staff, and it’s been great to finally help them to bring it all together into the John Henry Brookes Building.  Now the staff can assist the students in fantastic, modern surroundings and the library can operate as it was intended to.”