About The Client
The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a post-graduate teaching and research institution based in Liverpool, England, established in 1898. It was the first institution in the world dedicated to the study of tropical medicine. LSTM conducts research in areas such as malaria and insect-borne diseases and operates as a higher education institution with degree-awarding powers.
LSTM is a registered charity, with a research portfolio exceeding £220 million, supported by funding from organisations including: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.
The Requirement
Having been established since 1898, LSTM has built up a huge and enviable collection of reference materials, samples, specimens and documents. Due to the shear volume of these materials it was becoming both increasingly hard for their teams and researchers to find materials, and increasingly difficult to store them.
During late 2023/24 the team at the school made the decision to maximise the space and organisation within its new building, through the design and installation of a more organised and space efficient archive shelving and storage solution.
Their requirements were pretty standard. They needed a selection of archive shelving and storage solutions that would maximise the space and both protect its valuable inventory (which could include sensitive materials or potentially dangerous samples/animals), and allow the team to organise items efficiently for fast access and recovery. It was also important that they had capacity to expand in the future.
Having partnered with Rackline previously for an archive storage project within their old building. and having a good understanding of the abilities of its teams, they contacted them for ideas.
The Solution
Rackline’s team visited the LSTM site to gauge the extent of the requirement and undertook a comprehensive audit of the new space, the collection, the volume and the weight. These collections included: thousand of journals (loose and boxed), a circulating book collection, university reference materials and more.
It was suggested that to accommodate this vast collection, while keeping it accessible, the implementation of roller racking would allow them to gain the maximum from their space. To this end Rackline’s robust Multitrak and Monotrak mobile bases were suggested, combined with its double skinned Proform archive shelving system.
After explaining the plans to the client, and tweaks to fit specialist items, they were agreed. Rackline manufactured and installed both its Multitrak and Monotrak roller racking systems, and Proform archive shelving in tailored heights to cater for the wide span of object sizes and weights.
In total the following were installed:
- 85 Linear meters within the university archive.
- 21 Linear meters for the university books.
- 131 Linear meters with in the archive room.
- 131 Linear meters for the boxed journals collection.
- 1012 for their journals, books and historical collection.
Totaling: 1380 linear meters.
This capacity not only meets, but exceeds their existing requirements and future proofs the collection for the years to come. The combined use of mobile archive shelving provides 70% more space than using static shelving rows, and clever organisation makes items easier to find and retrieve, both for its team and researchers.
The Result
With the use of Rackline’s Proform shelving, the team at LSTM can be sure that their archive items are kept protected and free from damage. The combination of both static shelving and mobile roller racking systems, maximises the archive space, providing capacity for both its current and future needs.
The archive shelving solutions help to prevent clutter, keep items organised and improve efficiency of operations. Items are now easier to find and retrieve for the LSTM team and researchers.
Find out more…
To find out more about our archive solutions, and especially our experience within the Education Sector, call us on: 01782 770144, email: info@rackline.co.uk, or alternatively get in touch on the form below.