Highland Archive

LINK 51 TAKES ARCHIVE SUCCESS AND EXPERTISE TO THE HIGHLANDS highlandarchive3d.jpeg


The latest archive facility to feature Link 51 shelving systems at its heart is now well into its construction programme in Scotland. The Highland Archive Centre in Inverness is being created to act as a focus for the history and the heritage of a region that covers a vast area – virtually the whole of the country north of Loch Ness.

The new three-storey building – which in part marks the Highland Council’s celebration of Highland 2007 – is providing a wide range of storage options to accommodate items from those in boxed and document format to plans and maps. The decision to specify Link 51 shelving reflects not only on the suitability of the company’s equipment for projects of this kind but also draws on its extensive experience in similar installations throughout the UK.

“Each floor features a combination of mobile and static storage – all of which takes advantage of our versatile ‘Stormor’ design,” comments Rob Dakin, Link 51’s National Projects Manager. “The mobile section offers significant gains in terms of capacity within a given floor area because, with only one access aisle being required at a time, the majority of the facility can be kept in a closed position. The density of the resultant ‘storage cube’ is therefore significantly raised.


“Alongside this, areas of static shelving are designed to accommodate items that cannot readily be stored in the mobile area reflecting the diversity of material which will be housed,” he adds.

Rob Dakin points out that the mobile section features shelving set onto rails bedded into the screed of the concrete floor. “The floor slab has been designed with a very slight gradient – to permit water to escape in the event of a fire on site – and a raised access floor is then added to meet the finished level of the tracks. This helps protect the integrity of the system and the collections if there is ever an unfortunate incident.”

Following on from similar installations in Glamorgan and Norfolk, the Highland Archive Centre is the latest project of this type to be undertaken by the UK’s leading manufacturer of shelving systems. It is an expertise that is noted by Susan Beckley, Archivist for the Highland Council –

“Because Link 51 is able to provide both the equipment and a proven expertise in this specialist area of the storage industry, they are able to contribute to many aspects of the project – from conception through to readiness for operation,” she says.

Due for completion in the Spring of 2009, the Centre is designed to offer a range of secure archive storage accommodation and search room facilities for public access, and is set to become a major historic facility within this growing region of Scotland.