Re: [ARSCLIST] 78 RPM Packing Advice Requested

[Jeanette Berard <JBERARD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Pack em with as little dead space in the box as possible.  A nice solid cube with nothing shifting inside it will be safer.  Don't use packing fillers to fill a lot of dead space, they compact.  You don't want records flexing inside the boxes.  A cardboard spacer at either end will keep you from slicing labels  when you open the box.  Make sure the packer uses full size spacers, not strips of cardboard.

I've not used 10x10's or 11x11's, but we did have a load of records prepacked in 11x5 1/2's and they are pretty managable.  You can tape two filled and sealed boxes together and get a solid cube.  11x11's would probably work just as well, and be easier to pallet.

It is always best if you can meet with the driver yourself.  In my experience, freight and transfer companies will make promises that their drivers know nothing about.  The driver is the one who will make the actual decisions about how your crates are handled.  There is nothing out there to stop your driver from hiring his 13 year old daughter and some drunk off the street to load and unload your stuff.  (Well yes, that IS what happened to me, not with records, but with a load of antique furniture.)

Good luck
Jeanette

Jeanette Berard
Special Collections Librarian
Thousand Oaks Library System
(805) 449-2660 xt228
jberard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>>> dismuke@xxxxxxxxxxx 01/31/04 07:20PM >>>
I just purchased a record collection located in another state containing
approximately 10,000 78 rpm records.  I have do not have the time to fly
out there and bring them back myself so I have found a freight company
which will pick them up from the seller's location, put them on pallets,
place the load on a truck and bring them to me.  The collection is now
stored on shelves and in flimsy cardboard file boxes.  I am going to
hire somebody who lives near the collection to box the records up for me
and get everything ready for the freight company to pick them up.  I
need advice in terms of what specific packing instructions I should give
this person.  Has anyone here ever done anything like this before?

Most of the record collection consists of 10 inch records - but there
are 12 inch ones as well.  Many of the 10 inch records are either loose
or in paper sleeves.  Others are in the old fashioned record storage
albums.   For the loose 10 inch records and the ones in sleeves - what
box size do you suggest I order?  I can order 10 inch by 10 inch boxes.
Has anyone used those before?  Or would I be better off with 11 inch by
11 inch boxes with newspaper stuffed along the sides as padding?  Is it
ok to fill the boxes from top to bottom with records?  Or would I be
better off adding a layer of crumpled newspaper or foam packing peanuts
on the top and bottom for padding?  Once the records are boxed, should I
have the box shipped upright so the records are horizontal - or should I
turn the box on the side so they are vertical?  I can order boxes of any
height.  Is it better to order 6 or 7 inch tall boxes which will hold
fewer records and perhaps weigh about 30 -35 lbs or 10 or 11 inch tall
boxes which will hold more records but also weigh more?  Regarding the
records in the storage albums - is it safe to ship the records while
they are still in the albums?  Or would it be better to first remove the
records from the albums and box them up with the loose records and pack
the albums separately?  If it is safe to ship them in the albums, what
is the best way to box them up?  Any thoughts on the 12 inch records,
most of which are in albums?

Any suggestions will be most appreciated.  This is one of those
situations where the cost of packing shipping and buying boxes is going
to exceed what I paid for the records - so it would be a huge shame to
go through all of the expense and hassle only to end up with 5,000 lbs
of broken shellac.