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SSC Museum Cabinets: Preservation, Oversized, or Archival?

Office Systems

Part 1:
Which Spacesaver Museum Cabinet is Best for You?

In 2016, Spacesaver acquired cabinetry company Viking Cabinets, expanding Spacesaver’s market potential for museum and archive storage greatly. Since then, Spacesaver has created thousands of Viking cabinetry solutions for customers across the United States. Viking cabinets come in many different models, each pertaining to specific disciplines or storage needs. Each cabinet model is designed around providing the most effective and secure specimen storage for each profession.  

This blog is part one of two about Spacesaver’s Viking Cabinet selections. In the next blog, we will be covering Viking cabinets for Geology, Botany, and Entomology.

Preservation: The New 920 Series

The 920 series is the newest addition to Spacesaver’s Viking cabinet series, designed for general sample or specimen preservation storage. The 920 series comes in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate various types of stored goods, including biological samples, chemical samples, records, or any other stored goods.

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The Viking 920 cabinets come in a wide range of sizes, from tabletop under storage to full-height cabinetry. Additionally, their shelving and drawers can be fully customized to suit whatever size of storage is needed. You can choose between half-or full-width shelving, standard or heavy-duty shelving, multiple tray types, and multiple drawer sizes and widths.

In addition to these options, these configurations and customizations can also be made as add-ons:

  • The choice between turn-based or lever-style handles
  • Sliding closure vents
  • Glass-paneled ‘visual’ doors
  • Lift-off door hinges
  • Rolled textile storage unit
  • Multi-channel drawers
  • Safety-stop drawer inserts
  • WaterShield cap

When the Frazier Museum in Louisville, KY, was having difficulty storing their extensive weapons and accessories collection, they turned to Spacesaver’s Viking cabinetry as a solution. The 920 Viking cabinets implemented help to transform their 10,000 sq. ft. storage facility from an overcrowded, almost inaccessible maze to a compact and sleek storage room. Their Spacesaver rep also helped design custom mounting hardware for the immobile structural support beams, and maximize the storage potential within the limited available space. Learn more in Spacesaver’s case study.

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Oversized museum storage

Similar to the 920 series, the 395 ‘Oversized’ model features customizable tray sizes, drawer widths, and many more options to best suit larger storage needs. However, the 395 model is specially designed to handle oversized and heavy items. They feature bi-fold doors, which fold accordion-style to provide maximum retrieval and storage space. On top of this, they also utilize reinforced shelving and drawer systems to provide proper support for large and heavy specimens.

Along with these standard features, as with every Viking shelving system, the 395 also has optional add-ons or customizations.

This includes:

  • Lift-off door hinges for unparalleled access
  • Four different handle styles
  • Sliding closure vents for free air exchange
  • Multi-channel drawers
  • Rolled-textile storage drawers
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When a D.C.-based museum decided to redesign its archive and storage areas for their undisplayed items, they relied on Spacesaver mobile storage and Viking cabinet systems. With a large collection of textiles and flags, it was important to implement a storage solution to protect the integrity and quality of each specimen without sacrificing storage space. Thankfully, Viking 395 cabinets can be augmented with optional textile roller systems and drawers to accommodate even the largest specimens with ease. By utilizing the 395 cabinets, they were able to store their textile collections without risk of deterioration or creasing.

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Another museum, based out of Maryland, was also having difficulty storing oversized specimens for their teaching exhibitions. Spacesaver was able to implement 395 oversized cabinets in conjunction with Spacesaver’s ActivRAC mobile storage system, creating a condensable hallway of 395 cabinets mounted to each ActivRAC shelf.

Archival museum storage

Although Viking offers a variety of specialized cabinetry, many institutions may need generalized archival storage for historical records, files, maps, and other documents. Vikings Archival cabinetry excels at storing flat media such as paintings, drawings, maps, and other fragile documents. The Archival 420 cabinetry line features a few different models of varying drawer widths and quantities. In addition, the Viking 414 model is designed with art and historical museums in mind, as it has a glass-top display to easily and securely display archival pieces without removal from storage.

The Spacesaver / Viking Archival cabinets also come with these options:

  • Optional tempered-glass display top
  • Cushioned drawer bumpers to protect from disturbance
  • Drawer safety stops to prevent from accidental damages
Model 414
Model 414

Model 403
Model 403

Model 402
Model 402

When a county museum needed a new system of archival storage for their growing collections, they chose to implement Viking Archival cabinetry for their papers, prints, and other flat media to be securely stored in. By utilizing such storage, as well as the implementation of other, custom Viking cabinetry, they were able to reduce their storage footprint greatly while augmenting their organizational strategy. Viking Archival cabinetry made possible a greater amount of archived items for display, an increase in storage efficiency, and many other benefits to this museum.

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Download the comparison chart.

No matter what items you’re looking to store, Spacesaver’s Viking cabinet line offers a solution. Viking cabinets, constructed of high-grade steel, ensure sturdy construction and rust protection. In addition, Spacesaver’s extensive line of preservation, oversized, and archival models provides storage solutions to a multitude of spaces. To learn more about how Viking cabinetry can resolve your storage issues, and protect your specimens, contact us at Mid-America.com for information and quotes.

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