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On the Transporting and Storing of Lots of Books...
grammar nazi asks: "After finishing school, I'll be moving far away in a month. I have amassed a large collection of math, computer, science, and fiction books and I need to put them in storage. Does anyone have any ideas for good book-storage containers? The Rubbermaid tubs have sufficient environmental protection, but books don't stack nicely or efficiently inside of them. I would like something that will protect books from the humidity of a rental storage space, allow for efficient packing/stacking, and be large enough so that I could keep different categories in different containers (i.e. math books in one, computer books in one, fiction in another)."
Might I recommend boxes? I know that sounds sarcastic, but seriously, put a big sturdy garbage bag in the box and wrap the openeing around the edges. You can then stack the books comfortably, at your leisure, you'll also get the satisfying sensation of brushing up against all that black glossy plastic with your forarms.
To seal it up, you could just stuff the bag in and close the box or you could use a twisty-tie, bailing wire and needle nosed plier, melt it shut with a bic lighter, use a glue gun or even a few swathes of trusty old duct tape.
To be extra safe, include some baking powder or silica gel and moth balls. If you're in need of further safeguards, you could also booby-trap the boxes with something akin to a letter bomb, if for instance you suspect treacherous sentiment of the storage center custodial staff. If you do choose this precation, I strongly recommend a steel plate between the bomb and your books. After all, the boxes will already weigh close to a metric tonne, what's a little armor plating gonna hurt?
:)Fudboy
:)Fudboy
I guess I'm only a Fudboy, looking for that real Transmeta
I should know. I've got about 140 books whose spines are kinda curved from sitting upright for months.
First, don't try for a sealed container like the Rubbermaid tubs. You have as much chance of sealing humidity/mold/mildew in as you do keeping it out. I know, I did this and ended up with damaged books.
For moving books, nothing beats the U-Haul "book boxes" (fan-fold printer paper comes in exactly the same size box) for books. As long as your books aren't clay-coat paper or coffee-table size, they work well. Furthermore, one person can lift them without risking hernia.
To avoid weather damage, shop for your storage unit carefully. Examine the walls and floor for water damage, and reject any unit that has any stains more than 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) up the wall.
A couple of tricks that saved my books from damage even in a flood environment:
Don't put your boxes directly on the floor. If you can find them cheap, use a shipping pallet -- you can usually buy them cheap at a grocery store, perhaps for free. This gives you an easy 4 inches of clearance, so if water comes in it doesn't hit the boxes...and the clearance lets the water evaporate without your boxes in the way (see next tip).
Don't stack the boxes tightly, like bricks. Leave about an inch between the boxes on the ends and on the sides. This gives enough breathing space that any water damage will be kept to a minimum. This puts a premium to packing the boxes well, so that each end of the box can support weight without crushing.
Consider getting a tarp or large piece of plastic to put over the top of your boxes, so that water from any roof leaks (or upstairs neighbor disaster) is routed around your boxes. The covering sheet should be large enough to cover the boxes sufficiently, but not all the way to the floor.
If money is not a problem and you are really paranoid, consider building platforms so that you stack no more than three boxes high on any given shelf. Junk 2x4 and sheathing does wonders, although I've seen people build "frames" exclusively from 2x4 that work just as well. Just make sure you support the middle of the boxes as well as the edges. In one case, I built supports from 1x3s on a 2x4 square frame -- the 1x3s provided edge and middle support, and the 2x4 frame took the weight. Total cost of each shelf was about $20 because I lucked into a lumber sale.
When sealing your boxes, consider running packing tape along all seams. This keeps the bugs out (at least out of those boxes that don't have holes banged into them) and does wonders with keeping moisture from causing problems.
Hope this helps.
I moved house a couple of years ago, at the same time I was working in a University tech support department. The hardware people downstairs had a load of new monitors arriving each week, each packed in excellent quality triple-layer cardboard boxes. Monitors, like books, being heavy are shipped in stronger boxes than PCs.
By flatpacking, I could store a cache under my desk and cycle home with about six at a time.
I do the same thing as you with my books; after I get 'too many', I first sell off the ones I don't think I'll read again.
I I thin I might want to read some of the books again, I donate them to the local library.
That way, I can always borrow any book back I need, and get a tax write off.
The only exception are references that I can't get electronic versions of.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
...might I also suggest large burlap bags of silica gel drying agent, just like the small packets you find in shoeboxes & electronics equipment. My dad swears by them whenever he stores his Corvette for the winter.
I figure smaller ones are available (I can't remember where; try your local Army surplus store) if you just want to throw one or two in a Rubbermaid storage container. That way it can also act as filler for excess space.
The way to "recharge" them when they're saturated is easy too; throw them in the oven at 300 degrees F for 20 minutes or so.
DrQu+xum: Proof that the lameness filter doesn't work.
I always found the boxes you can get from your local liquour store are about the right size so that you can still lift them when they're full of books.
I also found that after moving my books about 18 times (and realizing that some were still in the boxes from 4 or 5 moves ago), that the "take all but the most important ones to the local used book store and sell them, then when you're finished moving go and buy some new books" method works best.
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The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
If you can package them well enough to be proof against the apes, the U.S. Postal Service will do it reasonably (if you're in the U.S.---sorry, rest of world :-).
See the ``book rate'' page for details---you can ship 70 pounds for 31 cents/lb., anywhere in the U.S. Depending on distance, the ``bound printed matter'' rate might work---sounds like a book to me---but they limit you to 15 lbs./package.
My sisters have used it for exactly your purpose (getting books home from college) with great success.
I refuse to believe corporations are people until Texas executes one. -- desert rain on http://www.dailykos.com/user/
er, you mean "ESR" instead of "RMS"?
Don't bother trying to give books to your local public library. They probably won't be able to circulate them, and will just try to sell them at the Friends of the Library book sale. But any not sold there just go to the dump (which is where I rescue some--I too can't help myself!).
If you decide to sell them, try half.com. It's easier for individuals to sell on that service than on directly e-Bay. And there are not many dealers online in the type of books you have, computer, recent science, and so on.
Even the Library of Congress doesn't keep up with every edition of textbooks, just keeps a sample and gives the rest away to other libraries or dumps them.
I too store my out-of-date books in a rented storage space. Judging from the perpetual shortage of storage space in Silicon Valley and other hightech locales, it seems I am not alone.
So why not help me to OCR them and put them on the web? Cheaper than sending the paper books to the needy.