The shelves in Morris Library are just as open as floors three, four and five.

Though Morris recently opened three new floors, three-fourths of its books are in another building. Fewer than 500,000 books are shelved at Morris, while about 1.5 million books collect dust in McLafferty Annex. David Carlson, dean of Library Affairs, said the move from McLafferty to Morris would cost $1.5 million.

The Morris Library project is three months behind schedule and $16 million short of completion. The facility’s grand opening is scheduled for the end of August, by which time Carlson hopes the move will be completed.

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Carlson said clearing books from Morris to McLafferty took a professional book-moving company nearly a full semester to complete. While it may seem simple to transfer books, Carlson said, the process is much more tedious than it appears. The books must be kept in order and placed in the correct spot once in Morris.

“It takes an awful lot of labor to methodically take it down, to disassemble it all, to pile it all up, to put it in a truck, to get the truck to where you’re going, to unload the truck and then construct all that shelving again,” Carlson said.

Labor alone is expected to cost $500,000, though how exactly the books will be moved has yet to be decided. Options include volunteers, local help or professionals, Carlson said.

Shelving at McLafferty is about three years old, but Carlson said its warranty has already expired. Buying new shelving would cost about the same as moving the old shelving from McLafferty to Morris, Carlson said. He said building new shelves would cost about $1 million. The old shelving would be recycled with the exception of the rails from the old shelves, which would still be in working condition, Carlson said.

With the university struggling financially, the bulk of the moving process continues to be put on the backburner while administrators hope for the passage of the Capital Construction bill by the Illinois House of Representatives. The bill would also cover the cost of completing floors six and seven.

“Every day the university doesn’t do it is a day we don’t have to come up with 1.5 million bucks,” Carlson said. “Nobody’s banging at (McLafferty’s) door saying you’ve got to get out, you’ve got to get out.”

While there are no administrators pressuring the move, some students find the empty shelves inconvenient.

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“I usually find stuff by browsing or finding the book that I want and then looking at other books in the area. Looking them up online, you just don’t get the same results,” said Chris Bohan, a junior from Peoria studying photography and ceramics.

Few staff members are employed at McLafferty to handle delivery and operations, Carlson said.

“We don’t really have any desire to stay in McLafferty any longer than we have to,” Carlson said. “We’re just as anxious as anybody to get the books back in Morris.”

Lindsey Smith can be reached at 536-3311 ext 255 or [email protected].