Bibliophile seeks storage solutions...

[anm]

I'm going to be vandwelling and need some advice. I am an avid reader and book collector. I don't have a great many books since I had to get rid of them when I moved back to the US from Scotland, but the ones I have are important to me.

How do I carry them in my van? I could crate them up in those pseudo-milk crates from Target, of some other box-like container, but I like having them out, where I can look at them, pick one up whenever I fancy and start reading. I have been thinking of running a single shelf down the driver side, say about 10-12 inches from the ceiling, with a rail to prevent the books from falling out. This shelf would be above the bed, but I don't think it would get in the way of either me, the bed, or the dinette table. I think just the single shelf will give me enough shelf space. Does anyone have any other ideas?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

It sounds like it would work.

Hard cover books are heavy. Put your collection on the scale. How much weight are we talking about?

Vehicles handle better when weight is kept low.

I assume you can design it well enough that the books won't fall out when you are driving down the road. But can you design it well enough that if there is an accident,the books won't all come flying forward to hit you in the head and kill you?

Regards
John

 

[Luisafernandes]

Hi anm!
I too have a ton of books that I put in boxes and await in stasis until I decide what to do with them.
I love my books and had them in a wall to ceiling shelve in my office/library. Unfortunately life threw me a curve ball and I will have to give them up. I will keep some with me in the van though.
If you make a shelve with some kind of removable edge to prevent them from falling off its very doable. That's what I'm doing.

 

[Zil]

Climate is more important for storing books than it is for storing people.

 

[anm]

Climate is more important for storing books than it is for storing people.

That's very true, but fresh air is important too. My vandwelling will probably be confined to the south west, AZ, NM, TX, and NV, normally very hot and dry. I will do what I can to mitigate the heat, leaving the air a bit cooler and dry. It should be ok I think...

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It sounds like it would work.

Hard cover books are heavy. Put your collection on the scale. How much weight are we talking about?

Vehicles handle better when weight is kept low.

I assume you can design it well enough that the books won't fall out when you are driving down the road. But can you design it well enough that if there is an accident,the books won't all come flying forward to hit you in the head and kill you?

Regards
John

What a way to go, hit in the back of the head by a first edition of Darwin's Origin of the Species through Natural Selection

 

[user 423]

What a way to go, hit in the back of the head by a first edition of Darwin's Origin of the Species through Natural Selection

....while all the Kindle and Nook owners live on.

 

[akrvbob]

While, I love my Kindle I greatly prefer reference books in physical form. I generally highlight what I need a lot and can often remember where it was on a page and thumb through and find it before I can turn my Fire on. Plus most of it is visual and the eBooks just aren't good at that (except magazines, the Fire is incredibly good at that!!).

I have about 3 feet of shelf space for the ones I want often and the rest go in a box under the bed. It's really no big deal.
Bob

 

[anm]

While, I love my Kindle I greatly prefer reference books in physical form. I generally highlight what I need a lot and can often remember where it was on a page and thumb through and find it before I can turn my Fire on. Plus most of it is visual and the eBooks just aren't good at that (except magazines, the Fire is incredibly good at that!!).

I have about 3 feet of shelf space for the ones I want often and the rest go in a box under the bed. It's really no big deal.
Bob

I agree Bob, I have a Kindle (early version) too but I'd much rather have REAL book in my hands, just old-fashioned I guess...

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....while all the Kindle and Nook owners live on.

Getting hit in the back of the head with a Kindle would probably be worse...

 

[compassrose]

I have an older Kindle. I also managed to keep a few of my nice leatherbound books along with a few non-kindle reference books like my Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction for fiberglassing info, not boat building. For recreational reading, I do like my ereader. I was a bit concerned when I got my first ereader that it would not be able to turn pages fast enough. That has not been the case. So I'm happy. I like that I can read in sun light. I do not like that I can't read in the dark. With my previous ereader, it was reversed (couldn't read in the sun light, could read in the dark). Oh well. It does keep me from reading all night long.

 

[jeanontheroad]

If the books are available as ebony and it is the reading experience and not the sentiment that you value, get a Kindle or Nook act and download them. If it is the physical books you value, still download them and see if your kids will store them in their house. Paper does not hold up well in non - climate controlled environments.

 

[anm]

I like the idea of having 'soft' copies as well as the 'hard' copies so I'll do that as much as I can, but a few of the books are signed. "Do I take them with me?" he mused, "At least we'll go together." I don't have them as an investment or anything, they're not worth much to anyone but me...

 

[LeeRevell]

One of the members here showed a pic in his thread of a flat storage shelf between the mattress and lower part of his lift-up bed, for maps and such. Build it just a bit deeper and it could hold several plastic-wrapped books.
I have a few hard-back books I plan to carry in my van too. But many of my books (I could stock a small community library!) will be scanned onto DVD or external hard drives. No, I do not plan to do the Kindle thing. Not worth suggesting to me.

 

[Sameer]

I think 'jeanontheroad' presents good advice. I just finished my third and final purge of "STUFF'. You will find out after time and travel that "Less is Better". You will be surprised at what you don't need.

 

[Varmint]

I'm in agreement with others here. Go digital, and store the rest somewhere safe, if possible. Disc seems to be better for long-term storage than usb drives, but I've found that both are corruptable, either by digital means or physical abuse.

 

[LeeRevell]

Lately I am using a decent sized external HD for backups - a lot faster and easier than DVD or thumb drives.

 

[anm]

In our volumetrically-challenged existence, electronic over hard-copy book is obviously the way to go, but I'm still going to fit in a bookshelf into my van conversion. I was originally thinking about one over the bed, but I'm now thinking about putting it around the wheel-well on the passenger side-wall.

 

[anm]

Anm, where did you get that Ben Franklin quote? I cannot find a reliable citation for it. I have read much of what he wrote. That language does not sound like him, or like anyone else writing in that era that I know of.

It's a quote that is often attributed to him, hence me putting the (attrib.) after it, but there is no evidence that he ever said it. I've seen it many places, it's a favorite of Libertarians. For more info on it try looking up Ben Franklin on Wikipedia...

 

[highdesertranger]

there is just something about kindle books that I just can't get into. I have some but I much prefer physical books. most of my books are of a technical nature. I have found that I really can absorb more info from a real book because I find it easier to jump around, mark pages, highlight, etc. I know you can do all that with a kindle. I guess I am old school. I feel for you anm, I am in the same boat. certain books and maps I will not give up, but I must go on a book diet. higdesrtranger

 

[jeanontheroad]

I have both apps on my tablet - Nook and Kindle. I do prefer Nook ' s format, but Kindle ' s prices are sometimes a bit cheaper. DH has technical books that he prefers in hard copy, too.

 

[akrvbob]

I love my Kindle and highly recommend it!!

But for reference books it's piss-poor!! I buy those in paper.
Bob