In the library we use oversize, heavy duty steel bookends with non-slip bottoms to keep tall books like that in place.

My son just built several industrial bookcases and he's using large C clamps as books ends on some shelves. Since they clamp to the shelf they're very sturdy. He also uses an assortment of things as bookends - door stops, bricks - he covered some in leather and others he spray painted,and large corbels.

This post was edited by maire_cate on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 21:32

What about something like this?

Here is a link that might be useful: Book Crib

maire cate - Is that in the public library? Any idea where to get the heavy duty ones?

Olychick - That's another good alternative, but seems a little expensive. Too bad I don't know someone handy. I bet it would be pretty easy to make.

Two suggestions -- these are both on eBay.

A sliding metal book rack:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-BOOKENDS-METAL-OWL-EXPANDABLE-BOOK-RACK-ART-NOUVEAU-/161097026177?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0amp;hash=item2582218a81

And something a bit more contemporary, but it's the angle that seems to make it work:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Ultimate-Magazine-Organizer-Storage-Book-Shelf-Rack-Home-Office-Media-/331010880130?pt=US_Bookcases&hash=item4d11c93282

Yes - it was the public library and we ordered from Library suppliers - Brodart, Gaylord etc.

Staples has a large assortment of bookends on their web site. Some are described as heavy duty steel with non-skid bottoms. They also have some nice decorative ones too made from marble or brass.

One trick to use when shelving oversize volumes is to put an extra bookend between every third or forth book. When you remove one book it helps to keep the remaining ones erect and it isn't visible when all the books are in place.

This post was edited by maire_cate on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 21:55

You can put boxes in the bookcase of the right size on their sides so the open end faces out, so you can slide books in and out, but the box sides help keep them from collapsing.

Also you can use the books themselves as bookends by placing them on their sides to hold upright books in place.

It looks as if a lot of the books are three-ring binders. They are harder to keep upright, because the covers slant in towards each other (so from the top, they look like a triangle), so the books don't stay in a neat row.

One way to help counteract this is to get the smallest size binder that will fit your papers. That keeps the covers as far apart as possible, and helps keep the row of books tidier.

Rocks.

Haha, I'm serious! I have some large geodes that I use, some are flatter on the bottom, so they don't move. I've found that since most bookends are flat on the bottom, that causes the surface to not make good contact, thus sliding around. I think a slightly irregular contact might actually be better.

Thats my non-scientific analysis, YMMV.

pesky - we have geodes too. Ours were a gift and were sold as bookends. They're nice and heavy and pretty at the same time.

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon

Thanks, everyone! You've given me some good choices.

I really like the one olychick posted, but I didn't like the price, so I searched until I found this one. It's not quite as slanted, but it's white like my desk, so it's perfect.