Are barrister bookcases the absolute best option for storing?

I'm leaning towards the barrister bookcases because of the cabinet enclosures. I'm thinking the cabinets, lined with 2-mil Brodart archival film, will greatly help with keeping dust away and also helping to preserve my books longer. Should I worry about the walls and ceiling of the cabinet off gassing and negatively effecting my books over time? Any other ideas for shelving?

I think I answered my own question. Looks like steel is the best option like this:

https://www.thelibrarystore.com/product/ad92-90000/aurora-quick-loc-library-shel...

I wonder if folk worry too much about the possible depredations of time and environment on books. I have books that I have owned for decades, a few more than seventy years, which still are in good condition. The state of the older books depends as much as anything on their initial quality. Penguin books from the 1940s are going brown and crispy, those from the pre-war years on better paper survive well. Forty year old Folio Society books are almost as good as new.

My books have either lived on open shelves, wood or particle board or spent time stored in cardboard boxes in various attics. They have an occasional dust and an airing when I read them again but that’s it. The shelves are kept out of direct sunlight.

You have to live with your library and I know I’d rather look at a well-made barristers’ bookcase than steel shelving.

I realise that things would be very different if I lived in a more extreme climate and had to worry about humidity, moulds and insects, and I doubt if any book of mine would fetch more than £50!

I have a few books from the 40s and 50s that are falling apart - the paper is falling apart. This is due to acid paper. Paperbacks from the 60s are falling apart because the glue in the bindings is falling apart.

Older books tend to have been made with better material, and stay readable longer. I have two copies of Samplers and stitches. Both the 1920 hardback and the 1985 paperback are in good shape. To read, I prefer the early edition. To work from, the later, as I am likely to weight it open at a page for some time, which I don't like to do to the 'good' copy. (This is why I have both.)

I do remember that when I lived in India as a child, that our books all had to be dried out at the end of the monsoon every year to get rid of mould and insects. So I would suggest checking that your books be kept at a reasonable humidity level. I personally do best at around 50-55% humidity, so my books are kept mostly in that range. I would invest (have invested) in climate technology - humidifiers, dehumidifiers, temperature control - first before buying expensive shelving. 30% humidity in winter and 75% in summer is not going to do your books (or your body) any good.

Books published this century will probably survive until the next unless they are involved in catastrophes - fire and flood are bad for books- or are read and reread until they fall apart. That is certainly a positive way to go! Books that have just been left on shelves for decades are probably going to end up in the paper recycling after you die.

Yes, few of our books will survive us, simply because books seldom find new owners when the present owner dies. There are several threads here on LT about this fact. I'm 56. If my books last 25 more years, that is enough for me. The few books that will find new owners are usually books of such physical quality that any normal ageing or dust is not a problem.

As a reader and a collector, I do not worry about dust. The house is relatively dust-free and a dusting once or twice a year is sufficient. Keep direct sunlight away from them as well as neon (tube) lighting. It's the UV light that fades them. Don't pack them too tightly on the shelves and conversely, don't let them lean over--use book ends. My shelving is wood. No problems there. Barrister cases look cool, but those glass doors can be a pain in the keister after a while. Shelve 'em, read 'em, dust 'em & keep UV light off of 'em. That'll do the job.

>6 Glacierman: If a book has been undisturbed for a while I'll blow the dust off before opening it - I'm sure that is better than using a duster. Careful not to spit though ;-)

As a reader, I love barrister bookcases and loath dust. A bit allergic as well, which makes the old bookstores I like to frequent and some old books I buy occasionally challenging. So I dust often, and I dust less dust in the barrister's than in open shelving. So I like any glass fronted bookshelves. Biggest downside of Barrister's are that they are not adjustable, so your bigger books don't usually fit in them...

P.S. When I open my used bookstore, dusting will be required of all employees, so I'll probably be working alone a lot.

>7 abbottthomas: Right! Or use canned air to blow it off. If one does have to use a duster, use lightly AFTER blowing off the loose stuff.

>8 jveezer: The one real problem I have found with most barrister cases is that they are NOT dust-free. The doors fit poorly, often leaving a pretty wide gap. If one can find a REAL barrister case (not one of the cheap modern kit things), check for a snug fit on the doors. And, yes, they aren't adjustable. But they sure are nifty looking!