I have been thinking about my personal library a lot because P and I are talking about upgrading to a king size mattress, and that means I have to rehome the bookshelves on my side of the bed. At the same time, we've been talking about how a lot of the books we have are a bit all over the place, because they've gone where there was space, and I'm slowly working on reorganizing as well as decluttering some of my books. At the same time, Jenett posted about decluttering personal books and thinking about it from a librarian's POV. Weeding is important for any library that exists in the physical world, because space is finite and books, it sometimes seems, are not, and after spending multiple conversations with P overthinking this or that specific book, and watching P walk Bug through weeding her own bookshelf based on loving the books and having joy sparked, I thought that it might help me organize my thoughts if I made my own Library Collections Policy for my personal library.
When I mentioned this to Jenett, she gave me some specific things I might want to address in a Collections Policy, and I also looked at some online examples.
With that in mind, if you are the kind of person who finds this interesting, here is my first draft of my Personal Library Collections Policy
Reason for Being
There are a number of reasons why I might own books, and separating these out has been key to both the way I think about my collection and the way I think about my to-be-read pile and want-to-read list. I collect books because: - I like to read new things - I like to hold and reread my favorite books - specialty research materials can be hard to find in ebooks/libraries - research materials can be easier to reference on paper - I want some books in the house for Cori to access when she's older
Scope
Based on those reasons, it makes sense to think of my library as containing multiple collections: 1. my physical TBR 2. my favorite physical books 3. my research library 4. the collection that overlaps Bug's library
Research Collections:
Books by, about or possibly relating to the San Francisco Renaissance/Jack Spicer, and possibly poetry in general Magic and religion books Art and craft books Books for my theoretical future self
For the time being the scope of my Collections Policy does not encompass my digital library or the Library
Collection Constraints
My library is currently constrained by 1. space followed by 2. budget and distantly 3. the time I actually have to read books.
Material Selection
When looking to add materials to my library, I should look at all other categories before the "physical TBR" pile as a consideration first. Is it a book on a subject I'm likely to refer back to, or does it fit in with one of my subject matter collections? Is it by an author/part of a series/of a subject where I'm likely to want to own it as an object representing a set of ideas? Is it a MG/YA novel or comic my kid is likely to want to pick up?
Additional concerns: If I do want it for my TBR, is it available via the library? Am I looking at an edition that will be aesthetically pleasing to me? Can I support the author directly or buy it from a LBS?
Material Deselection, Weeding and Replacement
When looking to remove or replace materials in my library, I acknowledge there are two different mindsets I approach with: First, as someone who is settled in my current location and not going anywhere, or second, as someone who is planning to move and wants to only move books that are most loved. I am currently in the first category and will only outline that for now, in the interest of not triggering myself into the second mindset.
Running out of space for books is the primary reason for weeding my collection at the moment, and most weeding is done either of books that came in to the physical TBR pile or as books for my theoretical future self as that self is refined. In the case of the former, I should acquire books that I am not inclined to keep simply out of guilt because I spent money on them. If I don't know if a book is likely to be permanent, I will acquire a copy that is easy to part with.
As a result, replacement becomes a significant consideration in my process. If I love a book enough to want a physical copy, I want that physical copy to be beautiful if at all possible. I'm currently keeping an eye out for really nice Elric/Michael Moorcock hardcovers, should any turn up. I bought the UK anniversary reissue of Sabriel because it's gorgeous, and I'd love to get matching editions if they make them. Someday I hope to find the out of print fancy faux leather Narnia omnibus that B&N put out or a similarly lovely hardcover edition; I love my fancy Wrinkle in Time hardcover.
Developmental Focus
Regarding books I love: Most of this was covered under Replacement, above.
Regarding poetry: There are a small number of books about Jack Spicer that I'd like to pick up, and I'm still deciding whether I want poetry books as a genre to be a collection or not; I have a number I've kept over the years because I love them, but it may well make sense to consider this its own category.
Regarding my research books: I always have a list of magic and religion books I'd like to own in hard copy. (Most recently added is Deb Castellano's new book.) I keep a wishlist on Better World Books of things I'd like to pick up if they become available used, mostly mending or bookbinding books for my current hobbies, and a few gardening books for my theoretical future self. I'm really trying to minimize the Future Self books I buy and/or hold onto, though. Recognizing that this was even a category was a big shift for me, and I'm still working through the idea of aspirational books as different from reference books or the TBR. I know I've posted about this before as I think through it. Right now I don't need to add more books to my TBR. It's hard not to, because there are so many books I hear about that sound amazing, but the focus needs to be on library books for TBR.
Collection Maintenance
Again, since I have no current plans to move, my collection's maintenance largely consists of remembering to rotate my TBR and send books back out again periodically. I would like to add more shelves, but there are matters of space to consider; it's not just about my space, either. I consciously choose to prioritize my kid's access to and space for books, though I'd very much like to round hers up and establish specific shelf homes, which I think would help her have a better sense of what she has and also would get me some more space.
I would like to find a way to be more intentional about books for my Theoretical Future Self. I struggle between who I think I'm likely to be and who I want to be, and I will spend more time getting my head around what I want this to mean before I do much further regarding this category.
Questions and opinions are very much welcome at this point in the process.