Bloomsbury Review Booklover's Guide: A Collection of Tips, Techniques, Anecdotes, Controversies & Suggestions for the Home Library

by Patricia Jean Wagner, Sherry Lynn Watson

Startling from the idea that 'the difference between a bunch of books and a library is the difference between not knowing and knowing,' poet, author, and journalist Wagner, who writes the 'Practical Bookshelf' column in Bloomsbury Review, gathers between two covers everthing one needs to know to transform a bunch of books into a library that works. Her book alternates between topical lists of resources and narrative sections of step-by-step, how-to information.

Among the interesting and useful parts are a short and breezy section on evaluating the physical state of your books, with details on weeding, mold and pests, storage, display, and retrieval; and explantion of the how, what, when, and where of acquiring books; a discussion of the book market; and sections on cataloging, restoration, conservation, online and Internet resources, home archives, and ways to pass the love of books on to the next generation.

Genres: Books About Books

312 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

Reviews

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book answers just about every question one might have about keeping books around the house...how to mend them, how to create a computer database, how to preserve them from mold, water and insects, how to weed a collection, and how best to store and organize one's assortment of titles. I loved this!