by Marcia Spicer
Every few months the question of location comes up when talking with prospective Anderson Archival clients. We’re located in St. Louis, Missouri, and for many local families and organizations—like one we’ll be profiling next month—that’s perfect.
For others, distance is a pain point.
I can empathize with that; after all, we’re typically working with the only copy of an item that is already old and often quite weathered. How do you ship a delicate collection halfway across the country?
While we have had successful, complete, and undamaged shipments to our office through all major carriers, it is important to think about alternatives.
In digitization and digital access, we’re all about finding the right settings, the right tool, the right… everything for the job.
That includes getting the collection to us!
Here are some solutions we’ve found for getting collections to our location. Each option has its own risks, costs, and benefits, so it’s important to think about what is most important to you when choosing the right shipping method.
- Road Trip: There’s no security like your own eyes when it comes to one-of-a-kind artifacts. One family drove their collection across two states to personally drop it off at our office. This method takes time out of your schedule, though, and can be expensive.
- Anderson Pick Up: Sometimes, the timing and location is right for a drive by pick up by a member of our team! Unfortunately, sometimes the logistics can be difficult.
- Good Old-Fashioned Shipping: USPS, UPS, FedEx… one of the benefits of sharing an office with Anderson Technologies is that the delivery services are in and out of our doors daily. Tracking numbers and signed delivery make the trip a little less scary. Depending on the size of your collection, this method can be a little pricy.
- Courier Services: A great middle-ground between driving a collection yourself and shipping it into the ether is using a courier service. One vendor that we frequently use provides transportation exclusively for your collection for whatever distance necessary. This gives a more hands-on approach without pulling you away from your everyday life.
Regardless of how your collection reaches us, the Anderson Archival team will carefully unpack and assess the condition of the materials, confirming no damage occurred during transportation. Your collection is as important to us as it is to you, so after a brief journey, you can be sure it’s in good hands.
Whether you (and your collection) are in St. Louis or somewhere else, let Anderson Archival dig into a transportation solution that suits your needs.
