@summilux, do you search for old books when traveling internationally? If so, how do you go about it?

My bookshelves are part of my office furniture ......but I love it...!!!

@kroze- bookstores are one of our favorite attractions and books one of our favorite souvenirs when traveling. Have you seen 84 Charing Cross Road? A must see if you're an antiquarian book fan. As for us nearly all the old books (which are at most 3-5% of our collection) we have are from my wife's family. BTW, still waiting to see more of your library!

Britastina......I don't think one can possibly discuss libraries without discussing the main component! Anyway, books are a wonderful topic...long may this thread continue! Hat x

We turned our small dining room into a reading/library room. The bookcase is an Ikea "hack" using 3 billy bookcases that we trimmed out with molding. Our books had been in storage for two years and we were so glad to put them in their new home. I have many favorite books but if forced to choose one it would be
"The Living" by Annie Dillard.

@Summilux.... No, I have not seen 84 Charing Cross Road but I will make a point of doing so. Although I have been circling the globe since the 70's, I did not start collecting the books until recent years. It was actually my daughter who introduced me to this fabulous opportunity when she was attending St. Andrews University in Scotland. She perused the little bookshops in St. Andrews and found some gems. After that I drove around the coastline of eastern and northern Scotland stopping at the little fishing villages and looking at the little bookshops. It was unbelievable what I found. When the older people die off their heirs aren't interested in the old books so they sell them to the local bookshop for a song. There is so much old stuff available that books have only recently been realized as "valuables" to many people.

I bought most of my old books on that one trip. My traveling has slowed considerably in recent years because of aging parents, so I haven't added books to my library recently.

Have you seen my four photos above? That is all the books I have.

@kroze- I had overlooked the earlier post as I'm often in a hurry while reading these threads. It's great that your family had those great opportunities to collect old books. Do see 84 CCRd- Anne Bancroft plays a writer collecting old books in the post-war era. The book which has the correspondence b/w her and her book source in England is also worth reading. But Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins make the movie a treat.

Thanks for the tip summilux. : )

I have been blessed to find very old copies of the old poets........ Milton, Longfellow, Bronte, Pindar, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Scott, Browning, works by Tolkien, Dickens, Chesterton and two complete works of Paul Bunyan..... and many others unmentioned here. Many of my books are dated in the 1700s. I also have some incredibly old copies of the Bible and Psaltries and Hymnals. Many of these books have gorgeous illustrations!

Kroze....How on earth did you come upon all those? Incredible! I am sure you know this well, but don't you ever, ever let them go and instruct your children and your childrens' children likewise! Now...back to the topic!....What kind of a luxury 5* shelf should house these diamonds? By the way..as a heritage management professional, you should get somebody who knows to take a look at these books,not just for insurance,but because they may well need special conditions re .humidity and ventilation, temperture etc. and some may even need handling with cotton gloves to prevent the acids and alkalis on your fingers from damaging the pages! Don't tell me....you are a book specialist and are going to make me feel like a right "suck eggs" twit!! Hat x

hattirowland, ..... I am not a book specialist! : )

If you have followed many of my other posts over the past couple of years you will know that the books are in good company with myriads of other old collectibles. My nautical collection is second to none!

My children understand the value of these books and will have a field day when I am gone from this earth. Books are by far the easiest collectibles to keep and inherit. My kids are all avid readers. My two volume Gallery of Dore's Illustrations of Dante's works are fabulous! Tissue between each illustration. They are in excellent condition.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, parts of my home definitely take on the appearance of a museum. I wise I knew of a heritage management professional in my area. I didn't realize there was such a profession. As I have spent decades collecting beauties from around the world, I have no idea of their true value.

Kroze....where are you? i am on the next flight!!! Dore as well? Cripes!! OK, my suggestion to you in the first instance..being a maritime conservation and preservation specialist and not really books (coincidence!) is to make sure that all these books are read and handled wirh cotton gloves that you can get at any haberdashers....i hope it is the same in USA as UK! The next thing I suggest you do is a/ fo to your nearest largest museum and seek conservation advice and b/ google antiquarian book preservation specialists.....do not be tempted by any buying offers etc...just seek somebody who knows!
I know all this may sound a bit boring and panicky, but you have an ace collection and it would be a shame if it were to be damaged....there is no harm in seeking a bit of good advice and somebody at the museums should be able to help as they have access to many human resources that are not available to ordinary hohum people! Good Luck and if i can help in any way, get abck to me! Hat x PS....If you have/come across Cowes character Uffa Fox's books, hang on to them too, fun and outrageous to read and long out of print.....I take it you do know about Cowes? I am from the Isle of Wight but now live in Andalusia....don't quite know why! I designed a prize winning heritage maritime trail for Cowes about ten years ago.........

Congratulations on your work and the acclaim it has received. You are a most interesting person.

I appreciate all of your advice and will definitely take it into consideration. You have been most helpful.

Unfortunately I am not familiar with Cowes, but I must educate myself on that. : )

I am in the State of Texas but one of my daughters lives in Edinburg, Scotland.

Kroze.....My word! If you have a nautical collection, you must find out about Cowes...the most famous yachting location on the planet and Queen Victoria's favourite home! Cowes Week is till the regatta that people come to from all over the world with many bringing their yachts from USA etc in huge ships with indoor floating moorings! Incredible! Beacon of Cowes is also one of the best known yachting photographers and has been going for generations...so google that definitely for some incredible historical shots. Cowes also is home to several of the most pucker yacht clubs, including the Royal Yacht Squadron, into which you must be invited and out of which you can be blackballed in the old fashioned way! Sorry to go on; it is my passion and I am also a journalist so inclined to over-write occasionally! All the best, Hat

Thanks for all the information. I will definitely look into it. I am only familiar with the Yacht Club in Freemantle, Australia. They host a large international race from there that gains international competition.

Thanks for enlightening me. : )

These are nice book shelves .......Ya think? location : Trinity College ,Dublin Ireland
They are incredible looking in person ,and yes those are all books The Book of Kells Exhibition - a “must see” on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Located in the heart of Dublin City, a walk through the cobbled stones of Trinity College Dublin will bring visitors back to the 18th century, when the magnificent Old Library building was constructed. Inside is housed the Book of Kells - a 9th-century gospel manuscript famous throughout the world. Visitors are welcomed by our friendly staff seven days a week. Please click on Opening Hours and Plan Your Visit for more information.

Visitors enter through the Library Shop and proceed to the Book of Kells "Turning Darkness into Light" exhibition; then to the Treasury where the Book of Kells and other related manuscripts are on view; then proceed upstairs to the magnificent Long Room which houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books in its oak bookcases.

Here is something different...

@Superior Interiors Plus....... Thanks for the lovely pictures.

I have actually visited this Dublin museum. It is full of wonderful treasures. It not only houses the Book of Kells but it also has the oldest known harp. It is, of course, a Celtic harp and was always a passion of my daughter's. She kept a poster of this harp on her bedroom wall during high school days.

I have visited museums all around the world but this is one of the best!

Bookshelf people meet declutterer's thread. I started giving books away right after I read them when shopping for bookcases and finding a place for yet another one became out of hand. The other day I was wishing for several of my "coffee table" books for a display. All gone. Sigh.

This is a cool shelving ! makes me feel drunk though !!!!

I love what my mother-in-law did at her place - she painted the shelves the same colour as the walls; this way from afar you can barely notice the wood frame.

Sadly, my apartment's a cluttered mess so I won't be sending pictures, but 5 of my bookshelves store ~ 1500 books.. I'm resisting a switch to digital.. I like having a paper book to hold in my hands, but I am switching over some of the novels I don't read as much, and some of the information books that I only use rarely or on specific occasions.. That way I still got em on file, but they're not takin up space I can use for other stuff that Sees more use...

Never enough books! A small portion of my obsession: History, Opera, more History, more Opera. My other obsession is in the den; over 1500 Opera CD recordings, neatly stored on another case.

I am not a book collector as some of the commenters are..you know, the old and valuable things. But I collect books and children. I keep buying books because I see our once-valuable public book collection agencies, the libraries, discarding books we have enjoyed and valued. I know I commented earlier in this post, but this is an issue that keeps coming up in our family. Biographies, kids' books, classics, picture books, coffee table-worthy books, all these and more I see disappearing from the libraries I frequent. So I buy books and more books. Little House books; Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel; Snipp, Snapp, Snurr...and more. And certainly I need bookshelves for all these great books, right?

Still love my books, even though I've pared way down. Have them in an upstairs office, floor to ceiling knotty pine, and it makes for a wonderful cozy little retreat. Also the guest rooms are also upstairs, so guests always have plenty to choose from to read. Favorite book, although always a difficult choice, is probably Love In The Time of Cholera.

I saw this on froot.nl, really creative and a nice way to recycle!

Yes, very creative!! But I think I would have painted the ladder.. : )

I enjoyed " Outliers."

Bookshelves outdated???? Definitely the opposite. In fact, thanks to laptops and everything being wireless and mobile, I took apart my home office (desk, office chair, excess file cabs and other furniture I don't use or need), and made the entire room a library. Mine is not design-worthy to post photos, but I did floor-to-ceiling shelving, a couch for lounging, lighting perfect for quiet reading. Scrapping the office and making a library was the best upgrade I ever made for my house.

I wish I had buit-ins.

Don't just wish. Do something to make it happen! : )

This past weekend, I finally finished my first 340 lineal feet of built-in shelving in my basement's family room, using just brackets and painted boards, and am thrilled with how it turned out--level and everything! This is the biggest carpentry project I ever attempted, and now I am in the process of making more floor to ceiling bookshelves in the adjoining room. THEN I have to make free-standing bookcases for my living room and guest room, before tackling shelving in my garage! Plus, I got 60 of my 150 boxes of books unpacked and organized--joy! They did take up a little more space than I remembered, having been packed up for almost 2 years! I wish I could show you pictures, but the camera died!

Diane, 150 boxes of books?!! You have an entire library!

There is a "favorite piece of furniture" thread going and one woman showed her library card file chest she bought from a library and repurposed. I am thinking you could use a card file also! : )

We use bookcases for books, photos and games.

That is the beauty of bookcases... they have infinite uses!

I too use them for multiple purposes, as can be seen a hundred miles north of this post. : )

@halbraswell- I've made my bookcases to accommodate portrait and landscape framed prints for that reason. We think of photos and other small items as punctuation marks for our books.

So unique looking interior, love it.

Preaching to the choir posting this link here, but the article and comments are worth passing on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/opinion/blow-reading-books-is-fundamental.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

I just wish I had space for a library as I have had to move a lot of my books to storage because I do not want to get rid of them.

ag1987- Sounds like a discussion topic for houzzers; bet we could help you convert space for a home library

@summilux-I have an area but have to wait. Have my brother staying with me and had to make a computer area that I never thought of doing. I am thinking that once he leaves I can get a nice built in there.

Armygirl 1987, a nice built-in for your books could include a computer work-space and file storage.

There are books you read and books you look at.

If the former can be obtained in an e-format you can safely consign the hard copies to a charity shop or wherever.

It's the books you bought for advice, instruction or the joy of looking at the pictures that you need space for.

I can read Jack Reacher novels on my e-reader. But I will hold on to my eleven copies of Alice in Wonderland because they all have different beautiful illustrations.

I don't have nearly as many books as some people, but I just got my first real bookcase setup (before I just had a small 4'x3' bookcase that was stuffed. Just finished putting everything together and I am in love with it still.

I recommend Better World Books for all book lovers. They have a great selection in the bargain bin for about $4 each, and regular specials for free shipping and additional discounts. Plus they donate books to Third World countries with every purchase. What a great way to recycle.

Unfortunately I have more books than bookshelf space! Paperback Swap is another good site--send in your unwanted, unread books for credit for new ones!

I am working through a bunch of architecture books I bought for myself this Christmas. My favorite thus far is "The Language of Doors" by Paulo Vicente and Tom Connor, in mint condition and nicely illustrated as a basic primer of American Architecture with examples to transform the basic Cape Cod, American Foursquare, and builder "Colonial." Only wish that the drawings were printed in a darker ink, but otherwise very wonderful book.

Use e-readers as well, but not as good for things with graphics. But found a wonderful resource today called the "Theory of Moldings" circa 1926 with lots of illustrations, and covering everything from Egyptian, Cretan, Greek and Roman, Indian, Medieval, and some Baroque. Really for the specialist, but very clearly written and explained, and the section in the back summarizing the principles are useful. Modern builders and most architects have lost the art of scale and proportion and this book explains how to put the details together so they work, even if it means going more simple with the details. Very sensible.

http://www.garymkatz.com/ChartsDrawings/JeffBurks/theory.of.mouldings-LR.pdf

Beautiful display, Krinten. You did a terrific job!

VBR - thanks so much for the book names. I'm a sucker for garden books and architecture books, as well as the old carpentry books online.

I meant ro say, re using the shelves for other things, that we also keep all our much loved old board games like Monopoly, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble....pick-up-sticks, several packs of cards, tiddly-winks, jacks, marbles etc etc...all on a particular shelf! In this age of computer addictive gaming, we still love to thrash it out with a good ol' board game and always have a big jigsaw going at Christmas to which everyone who visits is magically drawn! I think these items are just as important as our beloved book collections and so merit their places on the shelves! Hatx

Our family also does the large jigsaw puzzle every Christmas. It has become a tradition. It's the only time during the year that we do that. : )

I know this is late but I thought I would share a bookcase of mine. Thanks!

Hi! Cool challenge! :) This is our awesome Virgo Bookshelf!