NELINET, INC. AND WM. B. MEYER, INC. ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT ON REGIONAL STORAGE FACILITY

JANUARY 16, 2002

NELINET, Inc. and William B. Meyer, Inc. have reached agreement to co-develop and provide a regional storage facility for New England libraries. Under the agreement, NELINET will provide libraries with training and consulting services to select and transfer materials to storage, and will handle all financial transactions. Meyer will be responsible for the building (including selection, construction, and facilities security and management), and for inventory control. The two organizations will work collaboratively to establish pricing, to market the facility, and to develop the facility building specifications.

"We are excited to be able to provide this cost-effective storage solution to our members. William B. Meyer, Inc. is well respected within the library community for the quality of its storage and relocation services, and we are pleased to be entering into this partnership," said Arnold Hirshon, Executive Director of NELINET.

"Combining our expertise in library relocations and storage with the expertise of NELINET in providing library services will provide New England's libraries with a high quality storage solution at an affordable price," said Thomas Gillon, President of William B. Meyer, Inc.

NELINET and Meyer will begin work immediately to gain firm commitments from libraries equivalent to a combined count of 250,000 volumes, which is the minimum necessary for the facility to proceed. Meyer and NELINET hope to open the facility as early as summer or fall 2002. The facility location has not yet been determined, but it will be in the metropolitan Boston area.

The following summarizes some of the features of the Regional Storage Facility.

BUILDING

• Designed to house low-use, general stack materials.
• Temperature and humidity control similar to that of a well-maintained air conditioned library, with a consistent year-round temperature of 68º (+ 4º), and a relative humidity of 50% (+ 5º).
• Modified "Harvard-style depository" with high density shelving.
• Fire suppression systems meet or exceed local fire requirements.
• Theft protection systems installed on the premises.
• On-site reading room available by appointment.

HOUSING OF MATERIALS

• Libraries retain control of their materials and their circulation parameters.
• No requirement for items shelved to be unique copies in the facility.
• Inventory control system goal of zero-loss.
• New accessions generally available for retrieval within 3 weeks of receipt.

COLLECTIONS, CIRCULATION CONTROL, AND DELIVERY

• NELINET will establish general standards, and provide libraries with training and consulting, as to how materials should be selected, cataloged and updated for circulation, packed, and shipped to the facility.
• Interfaces provided between local library system and facility inventory control system.
• Next-day retrieval of materials (Monday through Friday), with electronic delivery for non-returnable items whenever practical, and ground delivery options available for returnable items.
• Statistical reports of activity available to participating libraries.

BUSINESS ARRANGEMENTS

• Substantial pricing discounts for NELINET members.
• Standard contracts for services provided through NELINET.
• All transactions billed through NELINET.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

ABOUT NELINET

NELINET, Inc., a regional, not-for-profit membership organization with nearly 700 members located throughout the six New England States. Established in 1966 to help libraries achieve their operating goals, NELINET provides its member libraries with educational, consulting, and group purchasing services.

ABOUT WILLIAM B. MEYER INCORPORATED

Founded in 1915, William B. Meyer, Inc. is one of the leading multi-service transportation and storage companies in the United States, with a specialty in moving and reshelving priceless library collections. The William B. Meyer Records center provides complete record storage solutions at facilities that employ efficient barcoding systems to ensure safe storage of documents and quick access time.

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