In summer 2018, the Institute started a multi-phase move from the Sarah Parke Morrison Hall to the refurbished Lindley Hall in the Old Crescent area of the IU Bloomington campus. In the first phase of the Kinsey Institute’s relocation to Lindley Hall, the researchers and administrative staff were relocated, and shared laboratory space was constructed for our researchers.
Over the next 18 months, Kinsey Institute collections staff and IU colleagues oversaw the second phase: the transfer of thousands of items in our archival and art collections from various storage facilities to their new centralized home in the IU Libraries Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility.
About the IU Libraries Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility
IU’s Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) modules are a set of state-of-the-art storage facilities that offer premium shelving and security, temperature and humidity controls, and rapid retrieval and delivery of items from the Institute’s diverse and rich collections.
ALF1, constructed in 2002, is a state of the art storage and retrieval facility primarily for print materials. In 2007, the Kinsey Institute library deposited a portion of its print materials here. In 2010, expanded storage for non-print items in ALF2 was completed and we deposited more than 12,000 films from the Kinsey Institute collections. ALF3 was completed in late 2019 for storage and preservation of more film, textiles, photography, slides and negatives, and art including framed, unframed, and three dimensional. The Kinsey Institute collections are the only collection on IU’s Bloomington campus that has its holdings in all three modules.
Moving Kinsey Institute Collections to ALF
In 2018, more than 40,000 additional print collection items were moved en masse from Morrison Hall to the ALF1 lower shelves in coordination with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and IU Libraries. These materials required proper depositing into the ALF1 system to allow for timely retrieval as necessary. This is a complex and involving process that requires knowledge and attention to records identification, conservation/preservation needs, call number corrections, cataloging errors corrections, and many other important details.
For example, the Kinsey Institute may have items that duplicate items already held by IU Libraries, which would normally disqualify them for deposit in ALF, but our book might bear a signature or marginal writings from an important sex researcher that gives it importance as an artifact of sex research history. Kinsey Institute Collections staff worked with IU Libraries to identify and accurately catalogue these exceptions to keep our special items in ALF1.
Kinsey Institute Collections staff worked diligently and tirelessly managing the ALF depositing process, collaborating with colleagues from ALF, and keeping statistical records. More than 13,315 book items alone were officially deposited into ALF’s system in 2019, which means that they can be accurately and quickly retrieved and delivered by ALF staff for use by researchers and students using the Kinsey Institute research collection.
In addition, there are many loose leaves or single serials/publications that ALF requires to be bound before they can be deposited into ALF1. Since 2018, seven hundred thirty two volumes (which account for 5000 single issues) have been bound.
From November 2019 through the spring of 2020, a majority of the art collection moved from their current storage facilities to ALF3.
After the pandemic outbreak in late winter 2020, the staff also had to contend with new health and safety measures to keep everyone safe. Observing physical distancing protocols limited the number of staff able to be at the same site at the same time, which slowed the work, but did not stop it, and materials were safely transferred.
Our Thanks to Kinsey Institute Staff and IU Colleagues
Kinsey Institute Library & Collections Director Liana Zhou and Associate Director Shawn Wilson wish to express their thanks to Garry Millis, Taylor Dean, Rebecca Fasman, Sean McGill and others who worked on preparing and planning for this important move. Heather Callaway and Brian Woodman also played critical roles.
The Next Phase
During the third phase of our move, the reading room and collections staff will also move to Lindley Hall, along with the renovation of classrooms, conference rooms, and public areas. We are excited to be nearing the end of our move. Our facilities will remain closed to the public during the coronavirus pandemic, but we look forward to welcoming visitors and new friends in the future!
I understand you have the greatest sex collection thr the world. I had read in Playboy, the Vatican is suppose to have a Hugh collection. I wonder if you had corresponded with then/
Some years ago you sold cocktail glasses,. I wonder if thy were still for sale? If so, how much?
Do you have any annual meeting celebrating Dr. Kinsey?
Thanks for your questions! We don’t have information about the actual size of the Vatican collection, although we have heard the rumors too.
We don’t currently have a gift shop. If we do open one up, we will announce it on our social media and on our website.
We don’t have any annual celebration for Dr. Kinsey. In 2019, we launched the new Alfred C. Kinsey Distinguished Researcher Award, which includes a dinner and public lecture. Although COVID-19 precluded a public event in 2020, this is intended to be an annual award and will return in the future.