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From: Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: [Meta] Wait, you sort your books how???
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2024 10:18:03 -0700
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On Thu, 18 Jul 2024 21:22:32 -0400, Cryptoengineer
<petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 7/18/2024 12:58 PM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Wed, 17 Jul 2024 19:06:51 -0400, Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com>
>> wrote:
>>=20
>>> On 7/17/2024 2:30 PM, Chris Buckley wrote:
>>>> On 2024-07-17, BillGill <tonisdad215@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 7/16/2024 5:15 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
>>>>>> On 7/16/2024 9:19 AM, BillGill wrote:
>>>>>>> On 7/15/2024 12:25 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 7/15/2024 9:48 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> In article <v738di$n4rq$1@dont-email.me>,
>>>>>>>>> Tony Nance=A0 <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> More signs of madness in this crazy world:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I just ran across the results of a poll that asked 29,000 =
Americans
>>>>>>>>>> about their book-owning habits, and friends, I am shocked =97 =
shocked! =97
>>>>>>>>>> to report that there are people who have absolutely no =
organizational
>>>>>>>>>> system whatsoever. Worse =97 worse, I tell you =97 there are =
some who sort
>>>>>>>>>> their books by color. Color!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Here=92s a link to the main source (published in October):
>>>>>>>>>> =
https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/47712-how-many-books-americans-=
own-and-how-they-organize-them
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I could read the link, I suppose, but I wonder how many people =
actually
>>>>>>>>> have a sufficient number of books such that they need to be =
organized.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> As a general observation, the viability of various =
organizational
>>>>>>>> systems depends on the number of books to be organized. What =
works
>>>>>>>> reasonably well for a few hundred books -- e.g. sorting by the
>>>>>>>> author's last name -- may be problematic for a collection with a=
 few
>>>>>>>> thousand books and completely unworkable for a collection that
>>>>>>>> contains tens of thousands of books.
>>>>>>> Have you checked your local library lately?=A0 They do have
>>>>>>> thousands of books.=A0 They use a system that separates the
>>>>>>> books by class, first fiction and non-fiction.=A0 Then
>>>>>>> they separate the non-fiction according to the Dewey Decimal
>>>>>>> Code.=A0 The Fiction is separated into a number of sub
>>>>>>> classifications, such as General Fiction, Mysteries,
>>>>>>> Science Fiction, and of course Children's.=A0 Then within
>>>>>>> those categories they are sorted by the author's last
>>>>>>> name.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [snip]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's a viable system for certain types of use cases. =
Unfortunately, any
>>>>>> system that sorts books "by the author's last name" comes with =
inherent
>>>>>> limitations. Suppose you have N bookcases dedicated to authors =
whose
>>>>>> last name starts with an "H". Everything is fine as long as your =
library
>>>>>> is static or close to it. Then you discover that you absolutely =
love D.
>>>>>> K. Holmberg (https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?200173) and/or =
Nathan
>>>>>> Hystad (https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?249647) -- to pick =
two
>>>>>> random prolific authors -- and suddenly you have a problem.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm don't understand what the problem is.  Are you suggesting that
>>>>> the books are packed in, so that there is no room to insert that
>>>>> many more?  If that is the case all you have to do is to move
>>>>> books on down the shelves to make room.  I have been known to do
>>>>> that.  Or, best case, build new shelves and spread the existing
>>>>> books out to make room.  I have been known to do that.
>>>>
>>>> "All you have to do"?? I have 88 shelves of alphabetical by author
>>>> mass market sized sf paperbacks (probably another 7-8 shelves of sf
>>>> paperbacks sorted by other criteria such as anthologies, Star Trek,
>>>> and then my Favorite bookcase is mixed with hardcovers).  When I
>>>> "discover" a "new" author like Elizabeth Bear and have to fit in =
another
>>>> 10-15 'B' books, it poses a problem!
>>>
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>> Indeed. I started using removable labels and word processor-based
>>> catalogs some decades ago. As an added bonus, you can fit more books
>>> into a bookcase if you separate hardcovers/trade paperbacks from mass
>>> market paperbacks, then double-stack them. A balanced mix of bindings
>>> can accommodate 700-800 books per bookcase.
>>=20
>> Provided, of course, that it (and each shelf) is able to bear the
>> weight.
>>=20
>> When the shelves start curving into a "u", that is /not/ a good sign.
>> IMHO. YMMV.
>
>I built my shelves from poplar, and have had no problems. Pine would be
>a different matter.

I, OTOH, used various assembly-required bookshelves using mystery wood
with laminate providing a nice-looking surface.

The last two were something of a disaster until I fixed them: these
were done a decade after the others and either I had lost my touch (I
have assembled a /lot/ of furniture, not just bookshelves, over the
years) or staples.com isn't the best source of these things.

What turned out to be happending was that the shelves were so loaded
that they assumed a "u" shape and the little retainers turned out to
be too short and came out. This, of course, would not do.

I ended up buying actual wood (Spruce and Pine, on three occasions as
the need appeared, whichever the lumber store was willing to sell me)
to hold the shelves up. This reduced the length of each shelf by 2"
(these were 1"x12"xvarious lengths when cut, 3'/4'/6' when sold), but
they are /very/ solid now.
--=20
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"