After years of academia & the endemic rootlessness that comes with it, I have finally gotten myself a Permanent Job (yay!!) which means, among many things, that I can finally consolidate my book diaspora into one place. I've a huge number of books which are both physical and digital. Here's the problem: I want my library space to reflect both. Any suggestions? Details below.
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posted by idlethink
on May 11, 2013 -
10 answers
What's this novel? I just got a reference request to identify the book/series that has vampires and "bats with big bladders under their bellies". Vampire books are not my forte. Complete question inside. Help?
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posted by gillyflower
on Dec 10, 2012 -
2 answers
All my books are assembling in one house. Help me figure out what is a reasonable amount of books to keep, and which books I should stoop. Also, how to emotionally handle letting go of lots and lots of books.
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posted by corb
on Dec 9, 2012 -
45 answers
I saved some interesting books from being thrown out by my public library. Apparently they were discarding part of their local historical collection. I grabbed a bunch that looked cool/interesting and it turns out one or two of them have sold online for decent sums. I'm not interested in selling any of them (they are cool!) but I am curious as to how their
ex-libris-publica condition affects their worth.
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posted by saguaro
on Oct 25, 2012 -
12 answers
Help me pick out what books to check out from the library next. (Snowflake details inside.)
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posted by emilynoa
on Jul 2, 2012 -
18 answers
How do I choose an image from a large collection of rare (or rare editions of) illustrated children's books at the public library? The Friends of that Library would like to use one of the images to promote a fundraiser for the collection, and I need some help navigating copyright and practical issues surrounding that choice.
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posted by saguaro
on Nov 2, 2011 -
5 answers
Boy brought home this ancient science book from the school library. I mean, so ancient that it was just flat out false. (It was about global warming, and had been written in the 80's and 90's. It was hopelessly out of date.)
When I talked to the librarian about it, she said that they had almost no books newer than 10 years old, and that more than half the collection was over 25 years old. It is one of the oldest library collection in North Texas schools.
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posted by dejah420
on Sep 15, 2011 -
63 answers
Have library of 7500 print books. Have Android phone with barcode scanner. Want to order them by Library of Congress number. Is there an app for that?
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posted by tully_monster
on Sep 4, 2011 -
7 answers
"Happy families are all alike," which presumably makes things difficult for novelists, who need conflict to drive plot. But since I don't have a lot of great relationship models in my life, I'd like to read some novels about people with good marital or romantic relationships. Suggestions?
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posted by ThisIsNotMe
on Aug 11, 2011 -
27 answers
Help me prune my book collection! I have over a thousand books and really need to slim it down. I'd like to reduce the book count by at least one hundred but can't seem to do it. Many have sat unread for years. In the past, I've said to myself that I'll read them 'someday' as an excuse for keeping them around. I'm fooling myself. What process, criteria or rule of thumb should I use to help me prune my library, overcome the (admittedly) irrational tome attachment, and make my collection a plum size once more.
posted by storybored
on Mar 3, 2011 -
32 answers
All great libraries have books in them, but how many great books have libraries in them? I just finished reading "Big Machine" by Victor Lavalle, and am currently reading "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
(yes, finally!), and it's purely coincidental, but they both happen to feature libraries prominently. So now I'd like to know what other really good novels feature libraries in a significant way.
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posted by taz
on Dec 2, 2010 -
31 answers
What book should I choose to be dedicated to me in honor of my recent graduation?
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posted by jenny76
on Sep 4, 2010 -
15 answers
I have many books - several thousand. I may soon be moving to a house with more limited space. I'm considering scanning all the books, and then destroying them or putting them into storage. Is this feasible? What hardware and software would I need? Has anyone done this already, and are there any internet resources to help with this?
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posted by siskin
on Aug 11, 2010 -
56 answers
I have a bookshelf covered (on the front) with a flat surface). I would like to cover this flat surface with photographs of the bookshelf (minus the cover) with books in it. I'm hoping for a trompe l'oiel type effect so it looks like a bookshelf with books. Three questions:
1. How do I work out the angles/math etc. of the photographs
2. What light should I take the pictures in?
3. Is it ok (and how to) take the call numbers off of library books and replace them before returning the books?
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posted by If only I had a penguin...
on Mar 14, 2010 -
15 answers
Personal Library Filter: Over the last couple of years, I've been helping an elderly couple with their massive book collection. After a lot of searching, I ended up finding BookCAT which seemed to be great. But these people really want to have lots of print-outs. (The husband does not use the computer at all.) BookCAT is way too complicated for even me in this regard. What else is there?
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posted by sio42
on Feb 26, 2010 -
15 answers
I was once shown how to prepare a brand new book before reading it– it had something to do with opening the book at various places and smoothing down the pages. Supposedly it would make the binding last longer. Does this actually work, and if so, could anyone describe the process clearly? Any other advice on good book care and repair for this new librarian would be greatly appreciated.
posted by carterk
on Oct 16, 2009 -
11 answers
I've taken responsibility for a very small children's library and I'd love your ideas for making it awesome.
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posted by serazin
on Sep 3, 2009 -
14 answers
If you were building a library collection around the history of business—guilds, apprenticeships, royal charter companies, corporations, and so on—what books would you select?
posted by sonic meat machine
on May 25, 2009 -
13 answers
Is there a website which let's you create a library of the books you own and sends updates to twitter when you post reviews or finish a book? I wish bookarmy.com would do it, because I like the site, but unfortunately it does not.
posted by mboesch
on Apr 23, 2009 -
5 answers
I'm trying to expand my reference library. What are your favorite inspiring books (the kinds with photos/artwork in them?)
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posted by actionpact
on Apr 1, 2009 -
20 answers
I've been tasked with finding a bunch of books, and have author names and occasionally publisher, genre or topic. Some of the authors are academics and seem to have published mostly in journals or edited group anthologies. Hælp me you dominators of printed matter, how to find?
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posted by monocultured
on Mar 22, 2009 -
7 answers
I'd like some suggestions for a place to keep track of family births and events, much like traditionally done in a family bible. Books are nice, but all media considered. Points given in three categories: potential longevity, flexibility of data handling, and style.
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posted by GPF
on Feb 2, 2009 -
7 answers
Some publisher used to do a set of volumes of great works, supposedly quality bindings, via a "We'll send you another volume each month, and if you cancel, the edition of Moby Dick is yours to keep" model. Who was that?
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posted by bartleby
on Sep 4, 2008 -
6 answers
I have some books I purchased online that are purportedly retired from their originating library's collection. How do I know if they are retired or on the lam?
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posted by jamaro
on Aug 25, 2008 -
11 answers
Is there anything wrong with taking pictures of Library books and then posting said pictures to a blog?
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posted by inviolable
on Aug 21, 2008 -
14 answers
In the spirit of our local library's
summer reading program, we've done a similar program of our own (since our children flew through the initial 1000 minutes of the library program). Help me find an appropriate educational-yet-awesome reward to give them for completing our contest!
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posted by AaronRaphael
on Aug 6, 2008 -
10 answers
We have Netflix and Gamefly. I want to know if there is a Netbooks or Bookfly equivalent?
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posted by slavlin
on Jul 1, 2008 -
20 answers
Is there any open-source book cataloging program, based on MS Access or another popular database, for personal use?
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posted by mjklin
on Jun 22, 2008 -
5 answers
Where to find those VERY large storybooks that children's librarians use for storytelling hours? I've searched for "large", "big" and "oversized" storybooks to no avail.
posted by jeanmari
on Jan 15, 2008 -
9 answers
Where can I keep track, online, of my current list of books read/owned and books I want to read?
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posted by CwgrlUp
on Jan 5, 2008 -
21 answers
