National Library Relocations, Inc. was established in 1985 with the understanding that libraries were our only business. This means it took great patience and plenty of marketing efforts to explain to librarians why they should hire a company who only specializes in moving libraries. In 1988, we moved fifty libraries totaling more than three million volumes. Since that time, we have been slowly increasing the number of moves we do each year. In 1997, NLR completed over sixty-five library moves totaling over four (4) million volumes. By 2001, moving one hundred libraries in one year was accomplished.
The staff at NLR is distinctive in that it includes personnel from the fields of library science, architecture, and transportation. Mr. Scott Miller, founder and President of National Library Relocations, Inc. is a trained architect. During the early part of 1996, NLR continued its growth with the opening of a branch office on the West Coast - its manager a veteran of the transportation industry. At the start of 1997, NLR added a full-time Librarian with training in library relocations to its staff. In addition, the full-time relocation crew is well-versed in all classification schemes - Dewey, LC, NLM, and SuDocs. This unique blend of expertise contributes to NLR's reputation as the #1 Library Mover in North America.
National Library Relocations, Inc. has moved collections at some of the largest and most prestigious research libraries in the United States and Canada. Among our clients, we number the libraries of Columbia, Dartmouth and Harvard Universities. With the NAFTA agreement easing some of the trade restrictions between the US and Canada, NLR was called upon to work with a local moving company and provide the expertise necessary to move and integrate collections at both the Vancouver Public Library and University of British Columbia.
One of our most recent projects was the relocation of the Harvard University Widener Library stack collection. This project involved the relocation of approximately 3.5 million volumes, stack level by stack level, to allow for a renovation. Along with the actual relocation of collections, all materials were vacuum cleaned prior to re-shelving in the renovated stack areas.