I love this. Your story of your loving owning books, and finding/creating space for them - all the way back to loving getting Scholastic books in school. I also remember ordering those, and loving reading and owning them. I still own almost all those books. I used to have 5 bookcases of books - but ever so many fewer than you. In my case, I have given away about half - those that had no emotional resonance for me. You are even more of a book-lover than me - and have a loving husband who has helped the book keeping side of you. Wonderful to read your story.
Drool. I was going to ask if you had room for more books because I suspect you (if you are like me) will still be gathering more for the collection. However, I watched the video and saw there is space! One question I have is do you have a dehumidifier in The Priory? I had a moisture problem in one of the places I lived and came back after several weeks to find mold growing on my books. Now I am very careful about managing humidity/moisture around my books. The second question I have is- what percentage of your books have you read? Thanks for the post!!
Yes, I’m so glad I have more space because I will need it. I did cull quite a few beforehand, not knowing how much room they’d take. Right now I’m going to use a dehumidifier, but we’re prepared to put in an AC unit if that is necessary. We have a space for it, but just haven’t done it yet. I’m glad you mentioned that caution.
As a professor and researcher, I have a lot of books that I’ve accumulated along the way and haven’t necessarily read all of them or have read just part of them. So maybe half? Publishers send me a lot of books as well so it’s probably actually less than that.
I was wondering about the same! I worked for a couple of years during covid in a shed during that had no climate control and got really really hot at points in the day. Govee make some really good Bluetooth temp and humidity gauges that may help you monitor things in the short term (and therm). What a beautiful library
When I was a little girl, I went through a period of detailed planning of my future home, drawing layouts, arrangement of rooms, etc. I can no longer remember how many bedrooms or bathrooms I included but a dedicated library was a constant and a non-negotiable.
I lived in apartments for my first twelve years of post-university, post grad school adulthood in Belgium and while there were always bookshelves, there was no possibility of a room just for books.
When I moved back to the US in 2012, I prayed for the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood (I wanted a home with enough room to host guests, I wanted no shared walls, I wanted a garden, I wanted a neighborhood church, I hoped for a library).
I got it all. At some point in its hundred year history, a previous owner added a second floor to the house. The stairs cut into what was once a bedroom and changed the placement and size of the doorframe, making it difficult to find a door that fits properly and too small and awkward as a bedroom. It is perfect as a library.
I have followed with delight the development of your library on Instagram. Thank you so much for sharing this story.
Thanks for telling the tale and including the pictures. Wonderful. As the owner of 3,500+ volumes — and nearing retirement — I’m hoping g to keep much of my library with me. 📚
I lost my library twice, once during a move when my then-husband dumped them all out in the basement of our new house to re-use the boxes and they mildewed (notice he's the ex), and then again when 9/11 destroyed my Ground Zero apartment. I knew which books I loved the most because I re-bought them! Now I am 80 and wondering what will become of them - my kids live thousands of miles away and have their own libraries. Sigh. My forever-husband is a well-known author with thousands of books of his own. I welcome shared pain . . . and suggestions!
Honestly, I had a few existential crises when I was working on this, wondering if it was foolish to hang onto all of these books when teaching is no longer my profession. I still read and write a lot though so I’m glad I kept them but I think for most of us, our relationship with things, even things as wonderful as books, can be fraught. I’m glad your story took a good turn!
I've watched the videos too. I just can't love this whole story enough. The end result (even the process, really) looks wonderful and reflects how Bill and I think about our own library. So are you going to start a consulting business for physically organizing home libraries? We could hire you... ;-)
With regard to a database, we have used LibraryThing for 15+ years and love it. It's easy to use and very customizable. We have over 3500 books stored there. With their tag system, you can organize your online library any way you want AND in multiple ways (e.g. keyword, location, and/or code). You can add books manually, by scanning barcodes, and/or by ISBN. One of our favorite features is that LibraryThing will tell you how many other members have a particular book (no names, just a number). It's a personal triumph to be the only holder of a particular book. They also have an app that's saved me from buying duplicates. The whole system is technically free though we gave $25 years ago and also bought a scanner (this was before cell phones with pic/barcode tech). As I look back at my comment, I realize we really should give them more money. Anyway, I highly recommend LibraryThing. It's sanity-saving tech. (And, no, I have never worked for them....haha.)
Thanks for that recommendation. That’s one of the apps I downloaded, but I think I’m going to go with Bookshelf. They were showing their responsive to my initial questions. But I can take a look at library thing again.
It's a lot, but you've got a rainy day project that will last months! LOL. Whatever you go with, it will probably be good just to start adding a few dozen books in different categories then figure out the organization. We started with a system then found we had to change it as we started finding "exception" books.
I don't think Bookshelf even existed back when we got LibraryThing so I won't be able to give you a comparison. LibraryThing is pretty bare-bones though so I'm sad but not entirely surprised that they're slow to respond. I'm sure whatever you go with will be great. An added benefit is that you will have a simple reference for insurance/replacement information. I would never have thought about that, but Bill (the accountant) loves pointing to that bonus.
That’s a wonderful “book annex” you have in the Priory, Karen. I have something in excess of 4,000 books myself, and they are mostly in four rooms of my house. One of my late colleagues, when he retired with many more books than I have, built a new home with one large room that had rows of free-standing two-sided shelves like a true library. Your Priory reminds me of that. Great job organizing!
It was so much work. If I had nothing else to do, I’d do even better. But at least I can (mostly) find my books now. And slowly keep refining the organization.
Oh so familiar story! We moved permanently to our summerhouse that only had room for something like four bookshelves. Then we sold the city apartment with loads of books and at the same time I inherited my parents - loads and loads of books! We have a small guest house with room for 4 sleeping, something that’s very nice when you have guests. It took some figuring but it is now a library you can sleep in! Books for all ages and topics. Every bed got a night/reading lamp. And our guest are loving it! ( the WiFi doesn’t work too well so even the kids read!)
It's amazing how we can collect all of those books and organize them in the most effective way possible. Your journey surely isn't a simple one having to move all of those books around to different offices and then back home but surely they mean a lot to you because you have carried them with you this whole time.
I can really imagine how difficult that must have been but most definitely worth it! I only have a tiny version of that story, nonetheless very emotional. I lived in Indonesia for 14 years and started my book collection over there before moving back to the US. I built up a collection of about 450 books and had to choose a small selection of those about 50 to take back with me to the US. The remaining I gave away to a local Library and kept about 150 in a storage unit for whenever I get a chance to ship them back to the US.
And since arriving in the US in June 2025 I've brought my collection back up to about 150 books!
“When my husband, Roy, built a set of floor-to-ceiling bookcases for our small home, I filled the shelves right away.” I see it now. A joint project. What a beautiful library!
I grew up in the same church where Warren Wiersbe was a member. I remember hearing him say somewhere that when he and his wife were buying a house his wife told the realtor, “We’re looking for a library with a house attached.”
Here is a video tour: https://substack.com/@karenswallowprior/note/c-340774325?r=90e4e&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
I love this. Your story of your loving owning books, and finding/creating space for them - all the way back to loving getting Scholastic books in school. I also remember ordering those, and loving reading and owning them. I still own almost all those books. I used to have 5 bookcases of books - but ever so many fewer than you. In my case, I have given away about half - those that had no emotional resonance for me. You are even more of a book-lover than me - and have a loving husband who has helped the book keeping side of you. Wonderful to read your story.
Thank you for reading -- and relating! I'm lucky that my long-time vocation required me to have books!
Drool. I was going to ask if you had room for more books because I suspect you (if you are like me) will still be gathering more for the collection. However, I watched the video and saw there is space! One question I have is do you have a dehumidifier in The Priory? I had a moisture problem in one of the places I lived and came back after several weeks to find mold growing on my books. Now I am very careful about managing humidity/moisture around my books. The second question I have is- what percentage of your books have you read? Thanks for the post!!
Yes, I’m so glad I have more space because I will need it. I did cull quite a few beforehand, not knowing how much room they’d take. Right now I’m going to use a dehumidifier, but we’re prepared to put in an AC unit if that is necessary. We have a space for it, but just haven’t done it yet. I’m glad you mentioned that caution.
As a professor and researcher, I have a lot of books that I’ve accumulated along the way and haven’t necessarily read all of them or have read just part of them. So maybe half? Publishers send me a lot of books as well so it’s probably actually less than that.
I was wondering about the same! I worked for a couple of years during covid in a shed during that had no climate control and got really really hot at points in the day. Govee make some really good Bluetooth temp and humidity gauges that may help you monitor things in the short term (and therm). What a beautiful library
When I was a little girl, I went through a period of detailed planning of my future home, drawing layouts, arrangement of rooms, etc. I can no longer remember how many bedrooms or bathrooms I included but a dedicated library was a constant and a non-negotiable.
I lived in apartments for my first twelve years of post-university, post grad school adulthood in Belgium and while there were always bookshelves, there was no possibility of a room just for books.
When I moved back to the US in 2012, I prayed for the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood (I wanted a home with enough room to host guests, I wanted no shared walls, I wanted a garden, I wanted a neighborhood church, I hoped for a library).
I got it all. At some point in its hundred year history, a previous owner added a second floor to the house. The stairs cut into what was once a bedroom and changed the placement and size of the doorframe, making it difficult to find a door that fits properly and too small and awkward as a bedroom. It is perfect as a library.
I have followed with delight the development of your library on Instagram. Thank you so much for sharing this story.
Oh, I love all this for you! Thank you for sharing that library dream come true! And thank you for following along on my journey.
Thanks for telling the tale and including the pictures. Wonderful. As the owner of 3,500+ volumes — and nearing retirement — I’m hoping g to keep much of my library with me. 📚
I’m glad you are! Maybe you can enjoy them even more then.
Karen! You must feel like this is a dream come true. Both your leisure library and The Priory are beautiful. Thank you for sharing and Happy Reading!
It is! Thank you!
I lost my library twice, once during a move when my then-husband dumped them all out in the basement of our new house to re-use the boxes and they mildewed (notice he's the ex), and then again when 9/11 destroyed my Ground Zero apartment. I knew which books I loved the most because I re-bought them! Now I am 80 and wondering what will become of them - my kids live thousands of miles away and have their own libraries. Sigh. My forever-husband is a well-known author with thousands of books of his own. I welcome shared pain . . . and suggestions!
Honestly, I had a few existential crises when I was working on this, wondering if it was foolish to hang onto all of these books when teaching is no longer my profession. I still read and write a lot though so I’m glad I kept them but I think for most of us, our relationship with things, even things as wonderful as books, can be fraught. I’m glad your story took a good turn!
I've watched the videos too. I just can't love this whole story enough. The end result (even the process, really) looks wonderful and reflects how Bill and I think about our own library. So are you going to start a consulting business for physically organizing home libraries? We could hire you... ;-)
With regard to a database, we have used LibraryThing for 15+ years and love it. It's easy to use and very customizable. We have over 3500 books stored there. With their tag system, you can organize your online library any way you want AND in multiple ways (e.g. keyword, location, and/or code). You can add books manually, by scanning barcodes, and/or by ISBN. One of our favorite features is that LibraryThing will tell you how many other members have a particular book (no names, just a number). It's a personal triumph to be the only holder of a particular book. They also have an app that's saved me from buying duplicates. The whole system is technically free though we gave $25 years ago and also bought a scanner (this was before cell phones with pic/barcode tech). As I look back at my comment, I realize we really should give them more money. Anyway, I highly recommend LibraryThing. It's sanity-saving tech. (And, no, I have never worked for them....haha.)
Thanks for that recommendation. That’s one of the apps I downloaded, but I think I’m going to go with Bookshelf. They were showing their responsive to my initial questions. But I can take a look at library thing again.
Shew! It’s a lot!
It's a lot, but you've got a rainy day project that will last months! LOL. Whatever you go with, it will probably be good just to start adding a few dozen books in different categories then figure out the organization. We started with a system then found we had to change it as we started finding "exception" books.
I don't think Bookshelf even existed back when we got LibraryThing so I won't be able to give you a comparison. LibraryThing is pretty bare-bones though so I'm sad but not entirely surprised that they're slow to respond. I'm sure whatever you go with will be great. An added benefit is that you will have a simple reference for insurance/replacement information. I would never have thought about that, but Bill (the accountant) loves pointing to that bonus.
That’s so lovely!
Thanks so much for the story and pictures about your library. Your husband sounds like a jewel. Now if I can just inspire my own along those lines…
I hope my experience does inspire some others!
That’s a wonderful “book annex” you have in the Priory, Karen. I have something in excess of 4,000 books myself, and they are mostly in four rooms of my house. One of my late colleagues, when he retired with many more books than I have, built a new home with one large room that had rows of free-standing two-sided shelves like a true library. Your Priory reminds me of that. Great job organizing!
It was so much work. If I had nothing else to do, I’d do even better. But at least I can (mostly) find my books now. And slowly keep refining the organization.
Oh so familiar story! We moved permanently to our summerhouse that only had room for something like four bookshelves. Then we sold the city apartment with loads of books and at the same time I inherited my parents - loads and loads of books! We have a small guest house with room for 4 sleeping, something that’s very nice when you have guests. It took some figuring but it is now a library you can sleep in! Books for all ages and topics. Every bed got a night/reading lamp. And our guest are loving it! ( the WiFi doesn’t work too well so even the kids read!)
It's amazing how we can collect all of those books and organize them in the most effective way possible. Your journey surely isn't a simple one having to move all of those books around to different offices and then back home but surely they mean a lot to you because you have carried them with you this whole time.
Yes, indeed. And I had to really figure out just how committed I was.
I can really imagine how difficult that must have been but most definitely worth it! I only have a tiny version of that story, nonetheless very emotional. I lived in Indonesia for 14 years and started my book collection over there before moving back to the US. I built up a collection of about 450 books and had to choose a small selection of those about 50 to take back with me to the US. The remaining I gave away to a local Library and kept about 150 in a storage unit for whenever I get a chance to ship them back to the US.
And since arriving in the US in June 2025 I've brought my collection back up to about 150 books!
“When my husband, Roy, built a set of floor-to-ceiling bookcases for our small home, I filled the shelves right away.” I see it now. A joint project. What a beautiful library!
Thank you! Built in love in every way!
Congratulations on your fantastic and well-earned library! It looks like a book person's dream.
Thank you!
I grew up in the same church where Warren Wiersbe was a member. I remember hearing him say somewhere that when he and his wife were buying a house his wife told the realtor, “We’re looking for a library with a house attached.”
Amazing.
Wise man!