Discovery and Plotting the Plan
We recently met with Otterbein University and two of their library staff, Tiffany Lipstreu, Library Director, and Stephen Grinch, Archivist, to discuss their work with Lyrasis Consulting in their ongoing renovation project for their archives and special collections. The current location of the Courtright Memorial Library was opened in 1972, and in 1979, through the generosity of A. Monroe Courtright, and the building was named in honor of Robert and Ada Courtright, the donor’s parents. The vision of the Courtright Memorial Library is to optimize and elevate the Otterbein community by serving as the intellectual center of campus. As with most campus libraries, Courtright Memorial truly is a hub for community and student activities. Not only does it house collections and archives but also supports teaching and academic support with classrooms and an event space. Last fiscal year, the library saw an average of 5,000+ users visiting per week!
In 1997, Otterbein celebrated its centennial. The occasion created a heightened focus on the library and its archives. Faculty, staff, students and alumni were eager to donate materials relating to the University, which grew the archives and its collections exponentially. At this point, the archives were housed on the third floor. Its space consisted of only three rooms – a store room, a reading room and a combined workroom and office. After years of increased donations and collections, the floor underneath the archives had started to bow, prompting them to move to the basement in 2008. The Courtright Memorial Library was most recently renovated in 2013, and improvements are being made on a regular basis to better serve the university but little had been done with the archives, which had reached max capacity. The library staff knew they had to find a way to better store and maximize space in the archives.
Finding Lyrasis and Meeting Tom and Katy
During the 2018 Administrative Review of the library, it was made clear that the archives area required its own deep dive. They needed their own review and attention. Stephen started to look for help. His search led him to discover Lyrasis and its Senior Consultant, Tom Clareson. It had to be fate. Tom lived down the road from Otterbein and was happy to meet with them. With a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant, they were able to secure Tom’s help. After reviewing the space and assessing the current state of the archives, together, Tom, Stephen and Tiffany developed a five year plan, which included securing more funding and planning out compact shelving and other enhancements to maximize the space. Because of the space planning aspects of the project, Tom’s Lyrasis colleague, Katy Klettlinger, a fellow consultant who had recently started in a leadership role on the consulting team, was brought in due to her expertise in space planning and archives.
Setting the Vision
The five year plan focuses on finding grants, funding and suitable contractors, space planning, installing compact shelving, moving the collection and adding a new HVAC system to maintain a consistent environment that will better protect the collections. Otterbein staff are currently working with architects on space planning, and working with vendors for the compact shelving. Overall, the project is moving along very well.
The new concept for the archives space, designed by Lyrasis consultants and project architects.
Supporting the Path
While Otterbein and Lyrasis’ vision and plan were working accordingly, there were some unexpected hurdles along the way. Follow-up funding took longer than expected, with several rounds of grant applications and proposals. After four tries, they finally received funding for a portion of the project from a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections Grant. Finding funding for the whole project is taking longer than anticipated but with the advice and work from Lyrasis, Otterbein is seeking grants and writing proposals.
In the vendor search, delays in response at times have been a challenge. However, Tom and Katy are champions as well as consultants. They were proactive, providing advice and suggestions. Their personal connections, depth and knowledge of the process, and their quickness to respond have helped resolve some of the vendor issues. The Otterbein staff shared that Tom and Katy made the work look easy and constantly put their mind at ease throughout the process.
Back on the Path
Despite the hurdles, Otterbein is on track with the plan. They are in year five of their plan and have been able to do everything in the plan so far except installing the shelving. Along with the physical upgrades, the plan included policy and guideline document updates that were long overdue. Lyrasis has been working with the Otterbein staff to update the documents. Otterbein also became Lyrasis members to take advantage of other Lyrasis resources and discounts.
Final thoughts
We asked Tiffany and Stephen for any advice they had for institutions looking to start the same sort of assessment and work. They suggested starting with a positive “maybe we can” mindset, and to not be afraid to ask for help. With higher education funding being the competitive space that it is, start looking for grant opportunities and brainstorming fundraising ideas as soon as possible. Consultants like Tom and Katy can help find funding opportunities and assist in applying and be your champions throughout a long assessment and renovation process. Stephen shared that, while they have worked with many vendors, Tom and Katy have been some of the best, and it has been a privilege having such a dynamic duo in their corner.
If you would like help considering or starting a new project, you can also have input from experts like Tom and Katy. Contact Lyrasis consulting at consulting@lyrasis.org with your ideas.