Five College Library Annex

Wilcox & Barton, Inc. completed pre-acquisition environmental due diligence at this property in Hatfield, Massachusetts, which would eventually house the Five College Library Annex.  Historic environmental conditions at the site included petroleum storage and long-time operation as a tobacco farm.  Our sampling scope of work including testing soil for pesticides associated with commercial agriculture.  We worked with the Owner’s Project Manager to facilitate soil management with the primary focus being on worker safety during construction. 

The Five College Library Repository Collection (FCLRC) houses a compilation of materials drawn from the libraries of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst for which the libraries have adopted a long-term shared retention agreement.

The Annex currently houses 1.2 million items of the circulating collection of the Smith College library. The circulating collection and a dozen technical services staff members have temporary quarters at the Annex, 13 minutes away from campus.  The Annex also holds 200,000 items of the 800,000 in the Five College Library Repository Collection (FCLRC) and about 100,000 University Archives and Special Collections items for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

Because the pre-acquisition due diligence took into account soil management planning, the presence of pesticides in soil did not result in any delays or financial impacts on the construction project.  The FCLRC project was completed ahead of schedule and well under budget.