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Post by bradandlaurie on Nov 10, 2007 12:47:53 GMT -6
The Care and Feeding of Books Old and New A Simple Repair Manual for Book Lovers Margot Rosenberg and Bern Marcowitz First off, this book has absolutely nothing to do with the history of the Indian Wars. Not a single sentence. What it does have to do with is how to maintain and protect the substantial investment a lot of us have in books. I can't think of a better item to consider in a book review section. Laurie and I found this book while we were visiting the Alexander Ramsey House in Minnesota. The Minnesota Historical Society has given this book excellent reviews as easy but thorough manual on maintaining your own library. It covers everything from repair to how to ship particularly delicate items. It also contains a lot of mailing addresses and web links for suppliers and information sources. With 28 book cases in our house we seemed like the perfect candidates to give some of the ideas in this book the proverbial 'acid' test. The ideas do seem to work. It gave us ideas for cleaning up after the sort of accidents that take place when our three year old grand-daughter runs through the house. It also had information on archival storage techniques in the case of preserving rarer texts. The other thing is the book is relatively inexpensive. Our paperback copy was twelve bucks! This seems like a cheap investment towards our every expanding library. I just have to recommend it! The Care and Feeding of Books, Old and New: A Simple Repair Manual for Book Lovers, Margot Rosenberg and Bern Marcowitz, 2002, Thomas Dunne Books, ISBN 0-312-32603-3 |
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Post by alfuso on Nov 10, 2007 23:38:10 GMT -6
Do not feed your books! They get grumpy and clam up.
alfuso
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Post by harpskiddie on Nov 11, 2007 9:36:11 GMT -6
A Simple Repair Manual For Book Lovers is exactly what I need in order for someone to repair ME, although I must admit that the way I treat some books, they're probably getting together at night and rustling their pages as they discuss how best to wreak revenge upon their purchaser.
There's another tome I'd like to see: How To Create A Lifestyle That Allows You To Eat While Still Being Able To Afford Those Books You Think You Cannot Possibly Live Without.
Gordie
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Post by bradandlaurie on Nov 11, 2007 19:20:51 GMT -6
What Gordie! You don't like living like a pauper in the cause of an expanded library!
I'll tell you the truth, I pawned off a daybed we have in my wife's sewing room to our son and his wife. They thought it was great that we were giving them a free bed for our grand-daughter. I just thought about the additional space we will now have for bookshelves...
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Post by harpskiddie on Nov 11, 2007 19:55:15 GMT -6
I'm getting used to it. I just spent another 150 bucks on Ebay a few minutes ago for a book that wont take up much space in the stack on the floor. At least I'll read it, whereas if I'd picked it up for a song it might sit unappreciated for a month or two. I'll still make notes in it tho.........
That puts me into January 2008 with my book budget and a month behind on my trip budget!!!
Gordie,
the next arrrrghhhh you hear will be mine......Blondie - disregard my advice!!!.....................
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Post by bradandlaurie on Nov 13, 2007 6:04:46 GMT -6
Ebay can be such a dangerous place for me to wander around in! I almost always find something that I want and resisting the urge can be difficult. At this point Laurie and I have 28 bookcases in our house and if we do get the space for three new cases the cravings might overwhelm me again!
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Post by clw on Nov 14, 2007 11:13:53 GMT -6
I've taken the doors off the kitchen cupboards behind my desk and that created all KINDS of handy space. Who needs dishes?
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Post by harpskiddie on Nov 14, 2007 11:41:44 GMT -6
Especially if you can't afford food!!!
Gordie,
is this suitably serious??....................................
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Post by clw on Nov 14, 2007 12:49:53 GMT -6
 More serious than you know! |
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Post by crzhrs on Nov 15, 2007 9:49:26 GMT -6
My bookcases just fell through the floor. Now I have a basement library!
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Post by Diane Merkel on Nov 20, 2007 10:41:29 GMT -6
At least you have a basement. The only way to get one in Florida is to build your house on the top of a hill. I hope you weren't in the basement at the time!  |
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Post by Melani on Dec 3, 2007 12:06:37 GMT -6
The real solution is to just build all your furniture out of books. All you need is a handy wooden frame in the shape of whatever piece of furniture you are trying to duplicate, and then fill the empty space with everything that has overflowed the bookshelves. Of course, this has the drawback of requiring the dismantling of your sofa or whatever everytime you want to reference something, but it does solve the space problem.
Seriously, a friend at Dickens Faire gave me a book of Civil War pictures last night that she really didn't need and knew I would like, commenting proudly that it fit right into the Faire's historical context, since it even smelled like an old book. This is not good. What it smells like is moldy, and it has the potential to contaminate the rest of my library. Our tech librarian says the book should be kept segregated from the rest until a hot sunny day comes along (that might be June in this area!) and then it should be left in the hot sun for a few days.
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Post by harpskiddie on Dec 3, 2007 12:15:33 GMT -6
That sounds like a plan to me, Melani. Do you know of a way I can convince my family that I need to be sent to Mexico to bask in the sun because I've become moldy?
Gordie
MC
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Post by Diane Merkel on Dec 3, 2007 20:11:51 GMT -6
Funny, Gordie! Melani, we have that problem in our museum with some old books. If you google "moldy books," you'll see that your librarian friend's advice was good, but you have to be careful that the book doesn't stain from the sunlight. Dartmouth has a unique idea using two trashcans that I plan to try. Funny that the first few listings are from the northeast. Are you moldy, Crazy? |
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Post by alfuso on Dec 3, 2007 22:17:34 GMT -6
Melanie
I just spray 'em with Lysol
alfuso
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"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they
