The Library is Leaving

Almost exactly a decade ago I wrote a Missive titled “The Library Arrives”

https://www.geraldstiebel.com/2011/06/library-arrives.html

A couple of months ago I wrote about deaccessioning not only my gallery archive but also our art history library. Now it is happening! 

The library is on its way to the Birmingham Museum of art. We meet the librarian, Laura Woodard from the Birmingham Museum of art at the Albuquerque airport. Next morning, she picks up a huge rental truck from Penske then settles in to check which books will go in addition to those already listed.

My wife and I have a last-minute panic that we can’t part with this book or that.

Four fellows from Zen Movers come to begin packing the books in our basement as well as in our studio:

Coming up from the basement library with the packed and taped book boxes they begin loading the truck. The cartons are so heavy they need to bring the dollies up the ramp backward onto the truck.

While we thought the job would take 3 days or more, but the men finish in 7 hours.

The next morning Laura with her friend, renowned keyboard artist Matt Slocum, take off for the 18 hour drive back to Birmingham.