A home library is a sacred space in the house of a booklover. It’s where you store, organize, and display your collection of favorite tomes. Every bookshelf says something about the person who owns it.
If you’re putting together your first home library, you should know some things so that you don’t damage your books or your shelves. Read on to learn more.
Store Your Books Upright
Stacks of books may look pretty, but they’re not good for long-term storage. The weight of the top books will put pressure on the bottom ones. If the covers fade in the sunlight, they’ll do so unevenly, leaving a large square mark you can’t get rid of.
To preserve your books for lasting enjoyment, stand them upright and use bookends to fill any spaces on your shelves. Never let your books slouch or lean.
Keep Away From Heat and Moisture
If you have any rare or financially valuable books, you must keep them away from humidity and heat. Mold loves warm and damp environments, and it can ruin leather covers. If you’re serious about keeping your books safe, a dehumidifier and humidity detector are excellent tools to have in your library.
Leave Room for Reorganization
Organizing your books when putting together your first home library is a daunting task. We recommend separating your books into categories that make sense to you, then alphabetizing them by author.
Feel free to add placards or labels to your shelves that show where the categories are. However, don’t do anything that permanently marks your shelves. You want to leave room to reorganize things as your collection changes.
Commission a Custom Bookplate
For centuries, booklovers have enjoyed marking their ownership through bookplates. These are paper cards that say “Ex Libris” or, in English, “from the library of” and the book owner’s name. There are plenty of talented designers online who can make you a bookplate with a personal motto or even a family crest.
Repair Your Old Books
If you have non-rare books that are falling apart, you can repair them with ChromaLabel’s tape for book binding. We have tape in many elegant colors and even clear tape that won’t cover up the original binding. Our colored tape has the hue of traditional cloth hardbacks so that yours will look nice on your shelves.
