How I did it: Made a checklist of books I have & wanted; by title or subject. I check off the list as I get the books on the want list, & add the titles as I get the books on the subject list. This helps to avoid duplicates & to keep in mind what I'm looking for.

Hunt for discounts & preowned books. Saves moolah!

Check my local library & garage sales as they happen. The libraries always have books available for sale that are often quite useful or interesting...& I can afford .25 cents! :)

MAKE ROOM! I currently live in an apartment; so when I acquire a book, if I don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE it to DEATH, it  CAN'T stay!!! Currently I have 3 boxes & 2 huge containers of books I adore that I can't give away or sell; because I am a collector & because I just love to re-read them. Some day I will have all my bookshelves but that's not yet. :)

Own them. I have my name & the date acquired in all of them; and & write in the ones I really love of little things or highlight interesting stuff. Someday if the book gets passed on or if I die, someone will figure out a lot about me by that...& maybe it'll be a treasure for the next generation.

Organize!!! I have mine organized by author & subject & publishing date. This makes it super easy to find any book.

Get in a loan program or a buddy book system: this helps you to loan out books from your personal collection & get books loaned to you to see if you want to have them for keeps.

DECLUTTERFY!!! Once a year, I go through my WHOLE library. If I haven't read it in a certain amount of time or I even forget why I stinking have it, it goes for sale. Emotions & times change; & I want my library to be fun & something I enjoy, not a burden I carry around with me from place to place. I'm sort of a minimalist at heart until I get my own house...I'm forcing the pack rat in me to be on a leash. A SHORT one. *lol*

LOVE THE SEARCH!!! Make antique or bookshopping fun. Make a date out of it; save up for it, etc. My hubby & I for our honeymoon, checked out every old book shoppe we could find along the way. It was awesome! The books we picked up then we still read; half becuase of the memory attatched.

Lessons & tips: I pretty much covered that up there...

Resources: My compulsive list making. :)
http://www.phdamericanhistoryonline.com/blog/2008/100-tips-and-tools-for-managing-your-personal-library/ (phenomenal information!!!)

Feb 26, 2009, 11:00PM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers