Best way to pack books for storage?

[jgenie]

I need to box up some books - some may stay in storage for a while. What is the best way to pack them - spines up, spines down, stacked on top of each other in the box? TIA

[jgenie]

i need to box up some books - some may stay in storage for a while. What is the best way to pack them - spines up, spines down, stacked on top of each other in the box? Tia

Bumping.....

[specialp]

I do not know which is the best way for the books' condition, but we packed spine up so we could easily find one if we needed. We used smaller book boxes to keep the weight and size manageable.

[lizzywednesday]

I pack books spine up in Rubbermaid tubs.

[queenmama]

If you're not stacking them or standing them as you would on a shelf, spine down is better than spine up because you risk warping and bending covers and pages. Probably not a factor if it's not long-term.

Lara

[sariana]

I've heard books never should be stored spine up. The spine is not intended to support the weight of the book that way. The best way to store them probably is stacked horizontally. If that is not an option, then they should be placed in the same position they would be if placed on a shelf (so spine out, I guess?). Spine down would be the last option.

[ChristinaLucia]

I would make sure to put them in plastic totes. We lost over 2000+ books because we had them in cardboard boxes and the got moldy in a storage unit that I would have never thought would have a problem.

[WatchingThemGrow]

PM montrealmum. She is our resident library scientist.

[weech]

Pack them flat on top of each other (horizontally) so that neither the spines or the edges are bearing weight. If you have room for two stacks (or more), fill the space in between with newspaper or peanuts to prevent them from moving around too much/getting damaged. Definitely do not put weight directly on the spines. If you have to store them standing up (as if on a book shelf), be careful to make sure the spines are not misaligned when they're stored because they'll stay that way once you take them out (and will have permanently crooked books).

Also make sure to store them off the ground and in boxes with no holes (not even handles). Rodents and bugs are particularly fond of the glue used to bind books.

Spoken from another resident library scientist :)