The first thing to do when organizing the home library is to scrutinize the books and magazines and decide what really should be kept.
Dispose of Books and Magazines Surplus to Requirements
Computer books relating to outdated software and early releases of computer languages are probably not going to be of any value even to a charity shop. Duplicate copies can be sold on eBay or, if supply has met demand, can be given to the local library or charity shop. A quick glance at Amazon will easily show if there are many second hand copies on sale.
Magazines are a different matter. If there are articles of interest then they can be clipped out and filed. Specialist magazines which are really of great interest to collectors will be kept of course, but those which are full of advertisements with only a few articles are a waste of precious space and when one has hundreds or thousands of books and magazines, space is at a premium and every inch is precious.
Magazines can also be placed safely in foolscap box files, which can then be placed within bookshelves for easy access. This will help to prevent damage and allows for easy labelling of the contents without actually damaging the issues themselves.
Purchase Bookcases to Store the Books
Books really should not be stored in bundles on the floor. The best way to keep them is in bookcases. Furniture can be expensive but cheap Billy bookcases can be purchased from the Ikea online store and delivered to the home or purchased direct from the store in many countries. These come in a variety of heights and extra shelves can be purchased if required.
The author has used these in her home for at least ten years and found them to stand up well to hard usage. They also look perfectly reasonable in the home environment, and not at all cheap or tacky.
If Ikea does not deliver in your area, a little research should produce a stockist of inexpensive shelving locally.
Store Volumes Flat, Not Upright
The best way to store volumes in a bookcase is flat on their sides, French style, not as would usually be seen in a library, upright. This helps to prevent damage to the books, and means that more volumes can be fitted into a smaller space within the bookcase. It's a good idea to buy additional shelves so that the books are not piled up too high; if the heap is too great then it becomes difficult to sort through to find the item required.
Initial organization then is not really that difficult. Complex organizational systems such as the Dewey Decimal system found in traditional libraries are not necessary, but if there are a lot of different types of books then further sub systems may be needed to make things easy to find. Suite101 author Prerna Malik has some helpful suggestions on arranging books within their bookcases in the article Organizing Books Made Easy.
Gillian Buchanan - Gillian has over 40 years' experience in hand knitting and crochet, having learned to do both as a small child. For two years she authored ...
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