Get Lost! (and Other Lessons I Learned from the Stacks Survey)

The following is a blog post by Kaila Brugger, Librarian-in-Residence, Preservation Division.

If you have been following the Preservation Directorate’s blog for a little while now, the words “Stack Survey” probably ring a familiar bell. It is the Directorate’s effort to create an integrated approach to collection needs assessment and space management for its vast collection. Some may even call it an on-the-job vacation. I would akin it to an Odyssey-style epic, full of lessons and morals to learn. The Stacks Survey is a flexible data collection initiative that focuses assessing environmental risks, conditions, and space issues within the Jefferson and Adams buildings. It hopes to analyze high level data to support preservation, collections management plans, and emergency preparedness operations.

Lesson Number One: Get Lost!

When I began my position at the Library of Congress, I was given the opportunity to lead and participate in many projects. One of the projects I led was a reboot of the Stacks Survey. This leadership included training Library employees on the mechanisms of the survey itself, what to look out for, and navigation of the stacks. . . Which meant I needed to be able to navigate the stacks myself.

Before I began the training, I initiated a trial run of the survey so that I could get acquainted with the labyrinthian aisles and shelves. I had one goal: know the maze well enough so that if someone on my team got lost, I could find them, and escort them out. I spent a couple of weeks wandering amongst the books, gathering data for the stacks survey, and creating a mental map.

To gather the data, I carried along with me a tablet that was primed with a database and a barcode scanner. I would input my findings as per the questions: Where are the sprinklers located? How many books on the shelf could use a bit of conservation work? Is there room to fit more materials?

While trying to answer these questions, I took wrong turns and entered wrong elevators, and sometimes these wrong choices lead to perfectly right moments. For example, I opened the wrong door while trying to find an exit and stumbled upon the following view.

…And suddenly getting lost did not seem all that bad!

Lesson Number Two: Be Brave!

After training myself and others, I continued to peruse my assigned section of the stacks to gather data for the survey. One morning, I was powering through several shelves and softly humming along to my music, when I stopped dead in my tracks. A small droplet of water fell from above, right in front of my face; my eyes had to cross to keep it in focus. I looked around for backup despite knowing I was the only person in the area at the time. A second droplet rained down, splashing onto the tiled floor, joining its brethren in a small puddle. I lifted my head to the ceiling, locking eyes with a corroded sprinkler.

“Stop,” I wanted to say, “Water is bad for books!” Instead, I remembered protocol. I needed to call Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Preservation Emergency Response Team. I looked around the empty stacks again in hopes that another, braver person would appear out of thin air to metaphorically sound the alarms. But it was time to be brave: the first in a long list of my own personal acts of bravery, all thanks to the Stacks Survey.

Lesson Number Three: Stop and Smell the Roses!

While doing a Stacks Survey shift, it is easy to stick your head in the clouds. Participants often listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks while going through the assessment motions. To gather the data for the survey, one does not need to know which books they are surveying, only the general outlook of the items. With the Stacks Survey, I learned to shake the cloudy fog from my head and briefly stop to see which items called the shelf home. I was met with pleasant surprises, heartwarming moments, and small fits of laughter when I did so.

Whether it was an annotation made by someone in time — two ships passing with the same book in hand – or a material imbued with intense childhood nostalgia, I always appreciated my little finds.

I hope that this blog post inspires you to get lost, be brave, stop and smell the roses, and remember the employees of the Preservation Directorate as we work to preserve the national collection.

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