Culling books

[Petrushka]

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... I am told by mme v that our loft is now impossible to negotiate, and a grand cull is to be implemented this winter. I am dreading it. I have not yet got any clever ideas as to the way forward...

Let us know which ones get the axe and we can 'look after ' them for you!

[oddoneout]

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... I am told by mme v that our loft is now impossible to negotiate, and a grand cull is to be implemented this winter. I am dreading it. I have not yet got any clever ideas as to the way forward...

An earlier post queried the use of the word cull in relation to getting rid of books, and you have reminded me of that. I prefer the term edit, as it seems more positive for what I periodically do. However I am most certainly not going to curate my collection of books, not least because they are there for a purpose, not just as decoration in some pretentious 'homestyling' exercise.

[Hitch]

One unhappy day, I will thin the herd and send superfluous books to family, charity shops and eBay. However, I refuse to admit that that day is near; not when I can happily chance upon an unread The Scarlet Pimpernel resting in the gas meter cupboard and escape for a few hours to (and from) revolutionary France instead of worrying about clutter.

[LMcD]

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... I am told by mme v that our loft is now impossible to negotiate, and a grand cull is to be implemented this winter. I am dreading it. I have not yet got any clever ideas as to the way forward...

Tell her there are mice in the loft.

[oddoneout]

Tell her there are mice in the loft.

Wouldn't that risk simply increasing the demand for loft clearance, not least as mice and books are not the best combination - except for the mice.

[LMcD]

Wouldn't that risk simply increasing the demand for loft clearance, not least as mice and books are not the best combination - except for the mice.

Precisely ...

[vinteuil]

Tell her there are mice in the loft.

... I think our mice are quite happy on the ground floor : more than enough for them to be getting on with there

To be honest, I think they would find getting up to the loft a bit of a struggle, what with opening the trap and releasing the (tricky) extensible ladder...



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[AuntDaisy]

... I think our mice are quite happy on the ground floor : more than enough for them to be getting on with there

To be honest, I think they would find getting up to the loft a bit of a struggle, what with opening the trap and releasing the (tricky) extensible ladder...

Amazing what mice can climb, including stone walls.

Why not suggest this to Madame V as an alternative to keeping or culling? In the Yes Minister Card Trick vein...

[LMcD]

Amazing what mice can climb, including stone walls.

Why not suggest this to Madame V as an alternative to keeping or culling? In the Yes Minister Card Trick vein...

Anybody who's listened to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy knows precisely how intelligent and resourceful mice are.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I have to say, that my thoughts did once - briefly, turn to the mobile/movable (professional archive/storage) racking - I wondered if anywhere in the world, it was sold in a form for storage in houses. Probably not the UK, but where large houses and ancillary buildings are more common and presumably more affordable.
It occurred to me after the question was raised in my mind - the cost per sq metre in our houses and flats as against current house prices, and the cost of the storage rooms in "storage units" ( a friend needed temporary storage in between house moves ). Those storage units must be licences to print money......

[Ein Heldenleben]

[QUOTE=AuntDaisy;n1353158]
Amazing what mice can climb, including stone walls.

Why not suggest this to Madame V as an alternative to keeping or culling? In the Yes Minister Card Trick vein...

[/QUOTE

Used to have a tape store like that at work. I always wondered whether it would be possible to be crushed by a moving rack in some bizarre Alkan like death.

[smittims]

There is just such an arragement in the new* Birmingham city library, with, as I recall, prominent notices warning users not to crush unwitting readers.

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* I say 'new ' but it is probably ten to twenty years old now. I still think of the old , ill-fated and now demolished, 1970s Birmingham Library as the 'new' one. How time flies.

[oddoneout]

There is just such an arragement in the new* Birmingham city library, with, as I recall, prominent notices warning users not to crush unwitting readers.

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* I say 'new ' but it is probably ten to twenty years old now. I still think of the old , ill-fated and now demolished, 1970s Birmingham Library as the 'new' one. How time flies.

Yes, I don't think they have obstruction sensors like lift doors do...
The archive team at my former place of work had a small rank of these installed last year, but given the noise they make(they are not new by a long way) when being cranked open or shut I think the risk of getting squished is probably not too great. Also the room they are in has very high ceilings so I suppose an ascent of Mount Shelf would provide an escape route if completed fast enough.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes, I don't think they have obstruction sensors like lift doors do...
The archive team at my former place of work had a small rank of these installed last year, but given the noise they make(they are not new by a long way) when being cranked open or shut I think the risk of getting squished is probably not too great. Also the room they are in has very high ceilings so I suppose an ascent of Mount Shelf would provide an escape route if completed fast enough.

The irony of being crushed to death by my own rushes and those of my colleagues was not lost on me . In many ways a glorious end. Serve us right for shooting too much and overrating the value of the raw material .The racks were completely silent when moving.

[Alain Maréchal]

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... I am told by mme v that our loft is now impossible to negotiate, and a grand cull is to be implemented this winter. I am dreading it. I have not yet got any clever ideas as to the way forward...

May I suggest, M. Vinteuil, a solution?
Earlier this year we removed from 03 to 87, and it was necessary, as part of the process, to store all our books and all LPs, CDs and furniture, for some months. They were carefully packed and just as carefully delivered, and on unpacking I found that everything was in excellent condition. I remember a similar process in my previous migrations.
The solution that suggests itself is to arrange for surplus books (not an adjective I use lightly*) to be packed into boxes, and to hire a storage unit. You would be able to visit as you wish and return some volumes to your home.

* there are some Simenons i expect never to read again, but, one never knows...