© striatic (Flickr) book shelf project 1 ~ striatic {notes}
© striatic (Flickr)
Store your books in an upright position on a bookshelf. Check air humidity levels with an air quality monitor. Air humidity should range between 50 to 60 per cent, and the recommended room temperature for safe book storage should be between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius.
An air quality monitor will calculate the humidity, temperature and carbon dioxide levels in your room so get one to make sure the humidity will not exceed recommended levels. Do not place the bookshelf in a damp room with little natural light because your books will become moldy after some time.
Leave at least 2 inches of space between the wall and the back of the books to allow for air to ventilate behind the books. This way you can protect the books from mold. Separate larger books from smaller books and create categories and sub-categories for your books within the different size categories. Organize the large and small books in alphabetical order separately. Put the large books on the bottom of the bookshelf to avoid the shelf becoming top heavy and tipping over. Lay larger books on their sides because the pages can pull away from the spine if you store heavy books vertically. Store books that you do not want to display on a shelf in waterproof containers. Alternate placing the books‘ spine to the right and to the left. Place large books separately in a different container. Store large books horizontally in the container. Wrap a newspaper or packaging paper around each individual book to prevent books from sticking together inside the container. Create an inventory of the books in the box and stick it on the side of the container.
