Where to Go With Seven Miles of Files?

High density storage makes the most of limited space

Since 1865, the Montana Historical Society has been building and preserving one of the nation’s oldest historic collections. By 2014, that collection had stretched to seven miles’ worth of precious records and artifacts stored on open shelves. The shelving system left items vulnerable to damage and dust and made poor use of the society’s space.

Assessing the hazards

The Society faced some unique storage challenges. Their building layout is irregular, creating a lot of unusable gaps, and their location in Helena, Montana is also prone to earthquakes. The Society wanted to safeguard the collection against environmental damage as well as theft.

Dusty shelves become history

Today, the cramped, dusty shelves have gone the way of the covered wagon. Datum installed a custom-fitted, high density storage solution that expanded the Society’s storage capacity by more than 40 percent. The system featured safety locks and seismic rails to offer the security the Society needed. The result is more storage, a more secure collection and a system that is much easier for staff to navigate and use.