s whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult tFor the manager of the Building Records unit at a major west coast public University, the document storage problems were critical. The problem wasn’t justifying budget for more space. There was no more space to be had.

The Facilities Management Department must preserve and keep accessible more than 40,000 original plans and drawings. Many of the documents date from the University’s founding and were hand drawn by Architects and Engineers long gone. These include architectural, structural, civil, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and other drawings for site development, infrastructure, landscape, utilities, buildings, additions and renovations.

The 3,300-cubic-foot room holding the essentially irreplaceable documents was crammed seven feet high with flat files whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult to

no more space to be had.

The Facilities Management Department must preserve and keep accessible more than 40,000 original plans and drawings. Many of the documents date from the University’s founding and were hand drawn by Architects and Engineers long gone. These include architectural, structural, civil, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and other drawings for site development, infrastructure, landscape, utilities, buildings, additions and renovations.

The 3,300-cubic-foot room holding the essentially irreplaceable documents was crammed seven feet high with flat files whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult t

s founding and were hand drawn by Architects and Engineers long gone. These include architectural, structural, civil, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and other drawings for site development, infrastructure, landscape, utilities, buildings, additions and renovations.

The 3,300-cubic-foot room holding the essentially irreplaceable documents was crammed seven feet high with flat files whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult t

rastructure, landscape, utilities, buildings, additions and renovations.

The 3,300-cubic-foot room holding the essentially irreplaceable documents was crammed seven feet high with flat files whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult t

s whose more than 150 drawers were filled to the top with originals. Clamped “sacrificials”—copies used to protect originals—are in a second room. Large E-size drawings were the most difficult to store and retrieve. Since the drawers had run out of space and the University was still adding buildings and completing renovation projects, rolls of drawings were stacked everywhere.

The lowest files directly on the floor; bending and lifting risked minor injuries. Leaving bottom drawers open presented a tripping hazard. Top drawers were stacked so high that staff could not see into them without stools or short ladders. And the aging drawers required frequent repairs. The manager said: “Our filing structure had evolved over time and had no rhyme or reason,” so documents were prone to misfiling or not being filed. But the manager’s biggest concern was document longevity. “Every use of an original abrades its clarity,” he points out. “Even sitting unused, drawin