Mixed Bag

As we prepare for our move to the Hollings Special Collections Library, our staff has been compiling a list of the things we will miss, and not miss, in leaving the “Pearle” building, our home since we were established in 1991. Pearle is located behind the Colonial Life Arena, 7 blocks below Thomas Cooper Library. Our warehouse started life as home to a Pearle Vision warehouse, and we share it with McKissick Museum storage, holdings of the South Caroliniana Library and its Microfilming operation, manned by Tim Bright and Don Turner.

We will miss:

· Our daily interaction with Tim and Don.
· We will miss the handy parking right outside our door.
· The delightful walks downhill from our visits up to Campus.
· The “endless wall space” which allows us to hang just about anything, including the Kate Salley Palmer car hood and really large Hollings and Spence campaign signs.
· A few special events held at the Arena – the Circus, which takes over our parking lot for a week and allows us to get up close and personal with the tigers, elephants, etc.; the monster trucks rumbling in our ears while we work; and the partying pre-Buffett-concert parrotheads.

We won’t miss many more things:

· Windowless environment. Everyone hates not having windows.

· Poor insulation. We often are either hot or cold.

· We can’t drink the water here; it is high in both lead and iron.

· Finding us is a challenge: no more waving down visitors in the street.

· The dreaded walk UP to Thomas Cooper Library.

· The plumbing-challenged bathrooms.

· Pulling boxes can be challenging with our awkward warehouse ladders and shelves that hold six 45-pound cartons each, two deep.
· The list goes on…