found a library

I recently inherited even more books from a friend, so I have rented a self-storage space to collect and catalog the books. Three truckloads fills a 10×10 space. I’m searching for bookshelves. I’m using LibraryThing to catalog it all. It may not have a nice building, but at least it will be collected, cataloged and accessible by the end of the summer.

The boy suggests that we buy a decommissioned church to store all our books. Apparently, they’re pretty cheap because no one knows what to do with them. Definitely a neat idea, though we’ll have to check whether it’s a safe enviroment for books. It should be, but maybe it would be too humid? Not sure.

I think I may soon come into ownership on 20 acres of land on which I could site this. I might want help a friend put a conference center there. The more I think about these projects, the more I think that I really need to incorporate.

Basically, I need a place to store all my books. Currently, most of them are sitting in my parents’ house, but they had a flood recently and I don’t trust them to take proper care of them. Plus, it feels so pointless to have them sitting in boxes, where even I can’t be bothered to find the one I want. But I also don’t see myself settling down and buying my own house any time soon.

Hence, the library idea. I’d like to buy a house or storefront or old barn or something and fill it with my present and future book collection. I have some weird/rare books, it’s a very idiosynchratic collection, and this way everyone who was interested could enjoy it. I think this is something I could probably get a grant for, and I’d want to hire someone to take care of the collection while I travel.

I’d also like not to feel guilty every time I acquire another book.

I own a lot of books. Perhaps… ... 5,000? I’m not certain how many. They are spread across three libraries in two states. Mostly in boxes. This collection is overwhelming. I don’t have much “filler.” For example, I do not own The Great Gatsby or other easily obtained works. I do own bound photocopies of all three volumes of Demotische Lesestuecke. I own about 30 teen advice manuals, most of them signed first editions. A lot of it is ephemera – short runs of magazines, zines, some comics, masonic pamphlets. I would like to found a “Library of American Ephemera.” I believe this is precisely the crap not saved by other libraries -worthless now, priceless in a century. Also, this would get these items out of my living space, available to others, and well-organized. It could also become a receptacle for other odd-ball collections.