Well, bookshelves like Expedit are great for carving up space in a studio, so why get rid of your books? One of my friends once used his books to "build" himself a bed. (He'd just moved into a bedbug-ridden apartment and didn't want to take his brand-new mattress out of the plastic. When he moved out of that hole, the books went back on the shelves). There's always a way to incorporate books. And though I have gotten better about giving away books I know I'll never read/use, there are many books that I hold onto because they have intrinsic value beyond their contents (great cover design, great smell--my study always smells like a used bookstore).

Book culling is so painful to a bookworm! If you'll have a traditional bed in your studio or a sofa that sits higher off the ground, or you can set yours higher with replacement legs from eBay or a big box hardware store, you might consider using something like this for additional book storage:

http://tinyurl.com/858doqw

http://www.target.com/p/Trundle-Drawer-Honey/-/A-10325023

There are more beautiful ones available, for far more money, but this kind of thing is also easy to make for under $15/rolling drawer. I'd advise tucking a piece of cotton or canvas into the top to help limit dust.

I culled a lot of books, but I kept my favourites. There is no need to get rid of something you love. I would be creative in having lots of bookcases behind furniture and in hallways. You wont get the minimalist look, but you can work with what it will inspire!!

You can also store boxes of boxes in storage spaces in the condo or at your parents or something like that (I cant imagine renting a storage space, but thats your choice) and then get them back out when you get a larger space one day

When I moved last I went through my books and got rid of the ones I was sure I'd never read again and meant nothing to me personally. There's no point in lugging those around, and culling them every now and then is a good idea. You don't need to keep every book you've ever owned, although it took me overflowing my bookshelves to accept that. The winnowing, however, still left me with hundreds of books. I currently live in a fairly large loft space, and am using a 5x5 Expedit as a room divider. It's full from both sides, and I still have a few books in boxes. It was a bit of a puzzle, too, making everything fit by balancing the deeper books on one side with paperbacks on the other while still distributing the weight evenly to reduce the chances of the whole thing toppling over.

Anyway, I think you should use this opportunity to evaluate your books, but keep the ones you want to keep. I kept two boxes next to each other when I was packing, one to move and one to sell. Label each clearly, and head to the used book store after each packing session. And try not to buy too many new books while you're there. ;)

There's NO WAY anyone could convince me to get rid of any of my books, even if I were moving into a studio.

Is downsizing to a studio fairly temporary or did you buy a studio? If it's temporary, I'd definitely keep the books. If you have less than a thousand, there's not really any reason to get rid of any. Books after all just line up against the wall. They can also be fit tidily into bins or boxes, then stored away in a closet or underneath a bed. You can even box them up, tape them up, and ask a friend with lots of room to keep them for you until you move somewhere bigger.

I don't consider books "clutter," especially not the investment I've made in them. I think people who think of books as "clutter" must own a lot of junk paperback novels. Those I ditch at the gym anyway (our gym has about 100 copies of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on its swap shelf).

I've moved A LOT in the past 10 years and every time I go through all my belongings and get rid of stuff I don't use and don't need. I like to think of myself as some one who's very efficient and non-emotional when it comes to downsizing.
Books and kitchen gadgets are my achilles heel though. I went through stacks and stacks and stacks of books during my most recent move and think I found about 3 or 4 that I was comfortable getting rid of.
Ho Hum.
Pick your battles I guess.

What are those cool bookshelves in the picture? Something modular like that would really solve a lot of problems in my place..

NEVER. I have over 200 books and have always lived in nothing more than a studio. My books are my saviors! Because of this minor* (*read: major and unstoppable) obsession, I've become quite adept with a table saw and brackets. I simply build floor to ceiling bookshelves in new apartments to house all my lovelies. It's super cheap, you don't have to sacrifice your precious books for needed space, *and* your landlord and future tenant will probably love you for leaving the shelves like I've done for my past few apartments. EMBRACE THE BIBLIOPHILIA. NEVER DOWNSIZE.

This post makes my heart hurt.

Keep the books, ditch the girlfriend.

just kidding, but I do distrust anyone who has no books in their apartment. I sold several hundred in my last move, but I kept the copies that have great sentimental value. I sold anything I did not enjoy or would never read again. (if I ever read Aristotle again, I will buy a new addition). When I look at my books, I see an evolution of my interests and life...I even have a shelf with my books from childhood. cull, be selective, but keep the books that have special meaning for you....

I've moved a lot in the past ten years, and the best thing I did was cull my books. I didn't get rid of beloved ones or beautiful ones. I got rid of things I'd read and didn't expect to read again; books I hadn't read and knew I never would. I got rid of crap paperbacks, old college textbooks that no longer served even as good references, books I'd worked on when I was in publishing. I will bet there's plenty of deadwood on your shelves, if you're honest with yourself.

This is me right now!!!! My boyfriend and I are moving to a new city together and we are both huge bookworms. Between the two of us, we have A LOT of books. We are going to be downsizing so I understand the need to get rid of some of the dead weight, but on the other hand, they are such an integral part of our personalities. I'd rather not have any other decorations but bookshelves than get rid of my books.

@MAREN.M - those are cubitek shelves and i do not recommend them. they are expensive and basically plastic. they begin to yellow with age.

If I absolutely had to, I would ONLY get rid of books that meant nothing at all to me. Otherwise, I'd find a way to make it work.

Never ditch something you love.

I posted on here last year about this very topic and my opinions haven't changed - Don't give up the books!!!!!

There are SO many ways to store them, consider running a shelf completely around your room about a foot below your ceiling even if you have a 10X10 room that's 40 feet of storage!

Bring them with you and if you really CAN'T find the room donate them then, but don't do it until you are sure.

Having beautiful old books around just plain makes me feel good. I re-read many, so I keep those and also the ones that look great on my bookcases. I built a floor to ceiling bookcase in my long hallway that is only 7 " wide and spans the entire wall. I love it because it allows me to keep lots of books and has a very small footprint. Other than that, I frequent my local library.

If you love them, keep them, and then buy yourself a kindle. It won't replace all your book buying needs (ie. art books, graphic novels, etc.) but it sure helps with novels. And I agree with whoever said ditch the girlfriend.

Gosh -- if you love them, keep them! I love books and I love CDs -- especially opera boxed sets -- and I live in a 350 sq. ft. studio. The trick is to use space-efficient storage. People here love the Expedit, but I think Billy bookcases are better for books because the shelves are adjustable, you can buy extra shelves, you can buy an extension to make the tall bookcase even taller, and you can buy doors that will hide the books and turn down the visual noise if needed. I do cull and keep only my favorites -- I limit my collections to two bookcases and two CD shelving units. That helps me keep things under control.

I majored in literature during undergrad and journalism for grad school. My love for books is unabashed, yet culling my collection before my last intrastate move was most liberating! I donated them to a local Pages for Prisoners Project. I still have lots of books I'll probably never read or re-read, but my collection is now somewhat more manageable. I'm sure it could stand another winnowing, which will be easier now that I started the process (and haven't missed a single one of the books I gave away).

Even in a studio, if you cover up as much wall space as you can spare with bookshelves, you'll have room for hundreds of books. (Plus if you just do a whole wall of shelves you can also get baskets and store a lot of your other stuff neatly.)

I actually came across your site looking for bookcase ideas. I love having my books around me. However, there are a few books that I find I can part with. When that happens, I sign them in to bookcrossing.com. It's fun to leave them at the salon, coffee shop, subway (anywhere other people can find them) and see where they go from there. I need to decorate my living room around one large piece of art and a lot of books. I'll be checking back here to see what other tips people have for bookcases and ways to display them.

I got rid of a huge book collection when my son was born, you couldn't move in my flat except through wobbly stacks of books. It was great once the initial panic passed, I kept maybe fifty that were given to me by people I love, stuck them in a crate and marveled at the space I had.

Now I treat books like furniture - unless I absolutely love it or it serves a fundamental purpose, it gets donated. Sure, sometimes I buy a book again when it turns out I can't live without it. otherwise the lack of dusting and piles made it worth it.

When my husband and I combined homes for the first time more than a decade ago it was total panic mode. No room for our combined libraries in our 20s bungalow. So what we did: We invested in two large, quality hardwood bookshelves, one for each of us and agreed that each of us had to have no more books than would fit on our individual shelves. It was painful, cutting each of our collections by probably two-thirds, but so worth it. Knowing you'd have to get rid of a book when you bought a new one also had a great upside that has served us well in this recession: It made us both more devote library patrons, and in turn, better readers as the deadline of a due date is a great motivator. We also have become big regifters of our books, which is also a nice way to pass on something you've enjoyed. The advent of a Kindle into the home has changed that dynamic but I'm glad to no longer be overwhelmed by the physical presence of books. Very liberating.

yeah, not an option. why would you get rid of books? I hate clutter and my apartment is pretty empty in general but the one thing I would never get rid of is books.

Back in the Olden (pre-internet) Days, I prepared to become a professor of history by amassing the library I might need to teach anything anywhere. I did that for a while and then decided to move on to other things. In the past decade I have sold/donated/given away almost 2,000 books and STILL have hundreds of them for which I have been unable to find good homes. At this point in my life I find physical books more a burden than a blessing. The really important ones, I know almost by heart, and so no longer need them. From the others I've gleaned what I need to know and would willingly part with them. It's a double-edged sword, book-loving, but for myself I've decided that when the time comes to move again, I cannot and will not move more than two boxes of books.

I live in a teeny apartment, and completely sympathize with you.

I used to work in book publishing and love books. I also love my friends and family, so I combined both into a book-friendly solution!

Now, when my shelves are overflowing, I give away a few books that I enjoyed, but that I've "outgrown", and that I think someone else will enjoy just as much. I'm not arbitrary, I do try to specifically pair the books/friends-family members based on their interests/needs at the time.

It gives you a chance to share your passions with those you love. I don't know how far you are moving, but if it's far (or if you don't see the person as often as you would like), it gives you a chance to be close, even if you are far away. Even if they never read it, it will always be a sweet reminder of you!

I just went through and did a small culling of paperbacks that I didn't feel I was going to read again. I didn't have any issues parting with them.

Instead of just giving them to a random charity, I donated them to a local convalescent hospital and the longer-treatment rehab ward of my local hospital. They are usually very grateful for book donations and I would encourage anyone who is thinking of getting rid of books to see if their local hospitals and rehab centers are taking books.

Don't get rid of your books! I used to live in a studio with my hundreds of books. At the time, I had 5 bookcases. It's hard to explain what I did in words, but I will try. Basically, I created a partial wall out of the bookcases that divided up the "living room/dining area from the "bedroom." I put 4 bookcases back to back with their sides to the wall. I then put the fifth bookcase facing out from the side of the 4. The bookcases were deep enough they also served as my "bedside table" where I could set my nighttime glass of water. Everyone who saw it thought it was genius and loved it.

As a serious reader who's had to move a fair share of times (and always lived in small spaces), I have a very strict policy: I do not keep books I am not going to read more than once. This still results in owning a lot of books, but whenever I finish a new book, it makes the decision to keep it very easy: will I read this again? No? Donate.

@Holly14, as an English teacher and current PhD student, I know that the profs in our department who are retiring often put their books out on a table somewhere in the dept and we grad students who can't afford books but somehow still need them anyway can make use of them. And we're always very, very grateful to see that table of free books.

I'm with the Keep the Books crowd, but then I'm a writer and teacher (and currently a student at the moment). I'm lucky enough to have high ceilings in my 2-room, 400 sq ft apartment, so I have books everywhere and I'm always needing to find new space (I usually go up). Occasionally things get culled, but my 700+ book library isn't going anywhere and if anything it's going to get bigger. As a result, my wall of books has turned into the focal point in my apartment and that's where everybody goes first when they come in the door. I like all the colors and shapes against the dark wood. It makes my apartment feel cozy, comfortable, like it's a place you shouldn't be afraid to put your feet up in, shouldn't be afraid to take a book off the shelf.

whimsicalife, that is genius.

Ditch them. And while you're at it, ditch any CDs you have lying around. Same for magazines. Get a library card instead.

YES, ditch the books you don't love. Keep the ones you do.

I'm in the process of getting ready for a move, and just like Holly, I've gotten rid of nearly 2000 books. I've still got around a couple thousand in my collection. People get overly attached to the romance of bibliophilia, but I think a real bibliophile loves books that are *special*, not just anything that happens to be printed on paper that they read once.

Don't think of it as "downsizing" or getting rid of books. Think of it as curating. If you've already got a marvelously curated collection, and you love every piece, then congratulations! You're done, you don't have to change a thing. And the added cost if you ever move is just a cost of living, like an art collector moving their gallery collection.

If you've got iffy books though, it never hurts to take a hard look at them and think seriously about whether they're really special enough to deserve a place in your collection. And of course, remember that many text-only books can be very easily replaced in your digital collection. The important thing for those books is their words, not their paper.

Can anyone identify the chair in this photo for me?

Books do not count as clutter, they are easy to pack, unpack and store. Just weed out the ones you no longer care for and keep the rest.

Keep the books.

As an avid reader, I was heartbroken when I had to sell more than half of my collection. I was 23, moving across country via train, and had only $2k in the bank to make it in a new city. On the bright side, I made it!

My husband is also a book lover, and the past year, we've kept them all in boxes in the basement due to house renovations, but it's been painful to not have them. I *cannot* wait to bring them up when we're done building the library.

Also, book boxes (full of books) make excellent chairs/tables. Haha.

Yes, ditch *some* of the books. Some of the ones I would ditch are:
1.) Classics. You can download most of them for free so you don't have to worry about keeping all of your Jane Austen.
2.) Textbooks, especially old ones in the biological sciences. They're way out of date even if they are only a few years old. College is over. Move on already.
3.) Old decorating coffee table books. You can probably pitch that old Laura Ashley book.
4.) Self help books. Yeah, when are you ever going to read those again?
Those right there should clear a lot of your bookshelf. What's left will be books that are still copyrighted and that you still need. Get rid of the rest. You'll throw your back out trying to lug all of those heavy boxes around when you move.

As a veteran mover I say cull. In this digital age it's so easy to do. Only keep books you've read more than three times.

Remember if you're using a moving company they charge by the pound.

Why does this sort of thing keep getting asked? If you care about it "enough", which is an arbitrary measure you determine for yourself, you'd go to the trouble and expense of transporting them. If you later berate yourself for not ridding yourself of the trouble, make a note of it for next time.

My current collection of books is 1,230; iBookshelf app is amazing. Currently they're housed in only 4 Billy cases w/ extension tops, and one lawyer's bookcase that I refinished in high school. I would never get rid of my books, they're a part of who I am. I would dispose of my dining room table and chair first, and a few other pieces before I even though about the books.

I've recently found the love of ebooks, but I would never give up the physical books I've collected over the years. Some of them were gifts from people that have passed away, some where purchased while traveling. They're more than the sum of the words on their pages, they're part of the experiences of a life time.

I struggle with this myself since I'm a military wife and I LOVE books... so does my husband. We move every few years, and it becomes ridiculous lugging our books around. I have a large cookbook collection and art/craft book collection. I found that I had many cookbooks that did not apply to the way I was currently living and eating (healthier, more raw, vegetarian, less sweets). While I don't want to get rid of everything that I am not using... I chose to part with those that were not books I really LOVED or good staples for my kitchen. I kept several great baking books including Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, but donated the cheap bargain books on cake decorating, etc. that I've NEVER used. I thought about what books I'd actually use (or have already) and thought about what books I'd want to pass down in the future. I'm actually about to go through this process again since we have limited space and as much as I adore our books, I really only want to keep the things I truly love and use in our space. You can always donate books to friends who you think would use them... or "loan" them out... odds are you'll forget about them, not miss them.

We just did a huge book purge a few weeks ago--got rid of about 20% of our book collection, and still have many hundreds more we kept. It's amazing how much lighter the place feels. We recently got both a kindle and an Ipad, so our method was to get rid of anything we didn't love that could easily be found electronically. I learned that most classics are available on kindle for free download--so out the door went anything I was just keeping around because I felt like it belonged in a good library, but which I didn't really love. Cookbooks were another big offender--we seem to have amassed a lot of these over the years that we rarely used, and the availability of searchable recipes on the internet meant it didn't make much sense to keep these freeloaders around "just in case". I love books, and it genuinely hurt a bit to part with so many, but in the end my house feels cleaner and more functional without them.

As the other commenters have said, it's not all or nothing. Keep your favorites and figure out what criteria you have for whether a book is worth keeping. My own book collection was so large as to be unmanageable and I live in a fairly spacious house. I decided to keep books by those authors whose books make me feel happy when I see a new one, those authors where I've read the book more than once, and those books that I know are out of print or not available electronically should I ever get the urge to read them again. This was what worked for me, and I know the storage and management of my books is now very stress-free.

I went digital and got rid of about 90% of my books because i could get them as pdf's or epub's. I kept my signed books, some really old ones that might be worth something, a few Jules Verne, and a bunch of rpg books. I have two 4'x3' book shelves and will not let my book collection grow larger then that.

Like Holly14, I've always had masses of books even after multiple purges. But, honestly, they're starting to feel like a burden. All those cheap paperbacks I loved but will never read again. Topics I used to love reading about in minute detail and collecting book about that no longer interest me. I still have a roomful of books that feels like old history to be passed on to someone else who will appreciate them anew. And, I never thought I'd say it, but I've converted the convenience and compactness of ereaders. I dream of paring down to just one bookcase.

I love reading but I only keep my visual books and reference books (and out of print books). All other books go. iPad/kindle is a great way to store books you want to access but aren't "special".

Get rid of as many books as you can bear, then keep the rest on whatever shelving best suits your limited space (taller is often better).

I've invested in a Kindle for reading novels, and now I only have to worry about accumulating reference material, or my very favorites. I have found that people keep books they won't ever open again simply as a matter of pride or as a status symbol. They think showing off their massive collection will impress their friends. It's just more work to maintain.

Reading a library book, or reading then donating a book doesn't make you less of a bibliophile - it just makes you less of a hoarder.

To each his own. My husband and son and I just downsized to a very small apartment, and we DID get rid of a lot of books. We still have a ton of books, but we donated all of the ones that we didn't absolutely LOVE. We realized there were about 150 books that we liked, but probably wouldn't read again. So we donated them to the library, as well as to a local nursing home. Then we created one large wall of shelves in our bedroom (there was no room anyplace else in our new apartment) that is just dedicated to all of the books we have decided to keep. Our new rule is that this is the book wall. It's huge, and there is more room for new purchases. But should these shelves become too full, we have to get rid of more books before we buy more new books. This is where our books live. It forces us to be very picky about which books we buy, and it encourages us to use the library a lot more often. We also love reading books on our electronic reader, and borrowing books from friends. They borrow from us as well. This cuts down on our purchases.

I am a firm believer that you do not need to hoard books to love books. I LOVE books. My husband LOVES books. Our two year old son LOVES books, and has a ton of books! We LOVE LOVE LOVE books. But we also love our space, and we love saving money too. So we borrow books. We share books. We buy books we feel we must absolutely have, but we try to keep it at a controlled number. We are a book-lovin' family. But like I said, we don't think that you have to be a book hoarder in order to prove that you love to read.

Generally I use the library, or the free online book downloads. I would call myself more of a Contentworm, than a Bookworm. I enjoy what's inside the book. You would think I'm not a big reader if you looked around my house, but I enjoy a minimum of 3 books/week. Sometimes I don't have time to read and so I *gasp* will put on a book on CD from the library while I do chores or run errands in the car.

Definitely don't assume if someone does not have many books they are not readers. I enjoy books but I can't say that I LOVE them. It's not the book I remember when I quote or think back on the material. The few books I keep or would even buy are book sets, collectors, classics, and plain beautiful books. Also, books that general guests would read and reference books. And children's books.

Novels I could part with, but art books would be really difficult to get rid of. Even if I only look at them once a year (or less...)

I'm going to plead with you to keep your books. For several years out of college, I led a nomadic life, so I make a conscious effort not to buy or keep books. I borrowed from my local library, from my friends, and then I gave away most of the books I did gather, except for a box or two.

Then I met my husband, who hadn't moved that far before we met, and who has a lovely, large book collection. I regret that our eight 8' tall, 3' wide bookcases do not have more of my life and memories in them, though it was nice to get connected to a new copy of a book I'd read somewhere else.

We've moved them several times, across the country once, and I don't regret a bit of the effort.

So keep your books! They're part of you.

We dont count our books bc it would cause us too much pain, take days, & ignore the several hundred in two different storage places.

Non book people dont get it - when we moved back to Australia from the US, someone I worked with in America asked why we didnt just sell all the books & buy them new in Oz! Apart from the insane price of books here (over twice what you can pay in the US), some of ours are old, rare, and so on - some people...

If you aren't going to read the book again, dump them. There is no sense in keeping that beach paperback. Getting rid of a book doesn't take away the fact that you read it. Listen to littlemisssunshine.

I love books, but i just went through my shelves and reduced the piles a little bit. I realized I really don't need that copy of "Eat Pray Love" but the art book my parents gave me on my tenth birthday is precious to me forever!! I think going through your books and giving some away once every couple of years or so is a good thing. Like "FancyD" said, getting rid of a book doesn't take away the fact that you read it.

On the other hand if books are your top priority in life, then you'll have to make a storage solution a top priority as well!

Over the years, I went from 2,000 plus books to maybe 300, primarily art books. I didn't move and had room for them, but as much as I loved my books, including a large collection of non-Western literature in translation and travel books, they were only one of several things I loved and I didn't want them dominating my apartment.

What I did was decide how much bookcase space I was willing to have and I kept editing to ensure everything fit. I recently cut back to the current number because I realized that I would never read many again - including the foreign books.

After I have new bookcases built, I will edit again. Books that I can easily get on my iPad will go. Then, if there art too many art books, I will prioritize and sell the rest.

Remember: we don't live in the 19th century where a library was all you had to read, so some of our romanticism about libraries should be re-assed.

If you have a buddy or family member with an attic or basement, ask if they will store most of your not-so-loved books in bins for the time being. Then play with the space and see if you can create a nice bookshelf that will accommodate some of your girlfriend's beloved objects as well. If any stored books strike you as boring, donate them to a school or kid's center. That way they will have a good home.

@taureg: you are so right! I'm constantly trying to re-ass my romanticism, but it's so difficult! ;)

I love books. After moving 8 times in 11 years, however, I did not love lugging them from place to place. My collection is now, like others have commented, books that I would read again or have some special meaning. All other books are donated, hopefully to someone that will enjoy it more.

We've never believed in sacrificing something that you love for more space. If these pieces are important to you, you'll find a way to incorporate them into whatever space you have.

I periodically cull my book collection -- I find it weighs me down less if I don't "hoard" books as much as I used to.

That said, do NOT get rid of them just-because-you-think-you-should, if they are still so important to you.

I've found that learning to let go of books can be very freeing -- but it's something to do if and when you're ready. If there are any you are comfortable getting rid of -- even if it's only a box or two -- that can "lighten the load" both literally and metaphorically for the move. But DON'T get rid of them if you're not comfortable doing so.

There's always a way to find room for the things that are truly important to you.

(Plus, if you get rid of them and regret it, it would be easy to end up resenting your girlfriend for "talking you into it", which would be bad.)

I moved 12 years ago, after living in the same place for ten years. I'm a big reader, was a big book buyer (I'd long since run out of room on five crowded tiers of IKEA Niklas shelving), but was never a *collector* of books, per se. I never organized any but my cookbooks and large art books. I just put books on a shelf when I was done reading them. And that was the last time I touched most of my books.

When I moved (pre-internet), I gave away around 1,000 books. I wasn't going to schlep them over to Second Story Books (Washington, DC) to have that little snot who bought their books go through paroxysms of glee as he rejected half of them, so I left them in the laundry room of my co-op. They were gone in a couple of days, which was nice to see.

I didn't miss anything except for the cookbooks I gave away. I ended up buying some of them back. So my basic message to you is this: CULL, BUT IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO MISS A BOOK, KEEP IT.

During upheaval like a move and a relationship shift, I think it's important to consider how your books support your identity. Books that give you a sense of context and personal history (old editions you've proudly discovered), that reflect the richness of your own mind and interests (deeply geeky stuff on wildly divergent topics), books that have changed you (new ideas, touch-stones you keep coming back to), can act as a sort of physical reminder of your inner self. For me, having that reminder has been hugely reassuring as other parts of my life have changed drastically, with moves across the country and in and out of apartments and relationships.

Of course, I'm also the gal who moved into a 380 sq ft apartment on the 3rd floor with a dozen boxes of books, so certainly not the voice of moderation.

This question seems to come up a lot, but for a lot of people it seems based on the idea that HAVING a book is important in itself, whereas for me that's not true. In terms of owning books, I guess I think of them the same way I think of owning most other stuff - you hold on to the things you love and use, and get rid of the rest. So I cull my books along with old clothes, kitchen utensils, etc. I guess there doesn't seem to me to be any intrinsic value to having a book in your house, particularly ones which you don't actually, you know, read. I say this as someone who does have a lot of books in a small space, but all ones which I care about and use frequently.

And as a couple of other people have said: library cards, people! Public libraries are an amazing resource (paid for in part by your tax dollars!) - use 'em!

I, too, am a bookworm and my husband has requested that I begin to cull. I simply can't, though, so I've decided to make my books a focal point in our home. We have a very long hall entry way, so I've bought dozens of "L" wall brackets and mounted them willy-nilly all along the wall so that there are clumps of 5-7 books here and there ALL OVER the walls from top to bottom. When I come home, it's like walking through a fantasy land through books and it always puts me in a good mood.

Too many posts, too little time -- please forgive me if somebody already said this.

I've been a book hoarder all my life, as one would expect from a Librarian. I learned how many friends one could LOSE asking for help moving! My father was one of the first to revolt. Boxes of books are heavy and can hurt the backs of those hauling them around.

In recent years I realized that I keep certain categories. I READ mysteries a lot, but I borrow them from the Library or I buy them as second-hand paperbacks, and when I finish, they go away. The only fiction I keep is well-loved classics, certain sci-fi, and fantasy (Harry Potter!)

I also have a lot of non-fiction reading and reference books. These I thin out as interests change. Once my gardening and landscaping was mostly set up, the older, less referred to books on those subjects were donated. All my old decorating books, featuring ideas from the 70's and 80's went away too. Craft books, mythology, and some other categories remain until I don't love them any more. I try to be ruthless, but not insane -- and I never get rid of something I know I'd be attracted to at a used book sale. I set up a library/office in our new house, and my plan is that only the books we can fit in those shelves can stay -- something in, something out.

I came to the conclusion that book ownership can be a kind of hoarding. I got free Kindle editions to replace all the out-of-copyright paperbacks in my collection, painstakingly tracked down all duplicate titles (there were A LOT more than I thought!), weeded outdated technical and science books, took a hard look at what I was really attached to/likely to reread, etc., and either sold or donated the discards to people would could and would really use them. Isn't that better than hoarding them? I still have almost 2,000 keepers, but now they're all on shelves (some doubled-up, but hey...).

Why not auction off the ones you are not too attached to on eBay? You would be surprised how much money you can make off of them. Then use the money to build or buy the bookshelves you need or to buy new books!

Downsize? Yes, yes, and YES. Keep your favorites, but that doesn't mean every one you have a mildly fond (or no) memory of. Keep the ones that are signed by the author, have a note from a loved one inside the cover, or that you read at least once a year. The rest can be sold or donated to your local library (and then you can check them out when you really want to read them again - all for free!).

I struggled to get rid of my books but in the end have only a couple shelves of my favorites (including a couple of paperbacks with unbent, glossy covers), and I don't regret it. You still have the stories in your head, but keeping them on your shelf just makes your psyche heavier (and don't you just dread the idea of having to pack them up and move them when you move again in a couple years?). Beware of buying books, especially now, as they will dip in value as ebooks become more popular, but keep your favorites, since nothing beats curling up with your favorite, dog-eared volume on a rainy day.

I am a huge bookworm and amassed a large collection of books. Then I realized that I rarely, if ever, re-read them, and that instead of using my reference books, I looked up information on the web.
Books are meant to be read. I realized that, by passing them on, I was keeping them alive instead of entombing them.
I will tell you that releasing my books into the wild was not something I could manage to do all at one blow. I review my shelves regularly and take down the one or two or five that I can release at that moment. I sell some on Amazon; others I give away to friends or my library's used bookstore.
I think the secret is doing it a little at a time.

I will be facing a similar dilemma soon when I finish my uni course. As an architecture student all the books and magazines I've amassed will be important in my future career and the novels I have I've already purged in each move to a new student house and cant bear to part with any of them. I agree that you should keep your books if you've already sorted them and instead look somewhere else to save space. I have moved all my dvds, cds, and computer software cds into cd folders to save shelf space since I have over 100 films on dvd. Now all of them fit into space in the bottom of my bedside table.

Another book keeper, who had to change.
I moved with 27 boxes, 10x10x12 inches, across country, using fed ex.
Originally, that would not have even held my books alone.

So I thought about where they could benefit others, and found a place to donate them (selling was too time consuming).
Once they had homes in mind, I was able to pull the ones that really mattered or got many multiple reads.
Out of print, first editions, and autographs were no brainers. So were the few books form my late grandparents' collection.

Truly geeky info books we resorted, and I did keep a few that I just had to keep. Mother Earth News Almanac, anyone? I gave my large collection of the magazine itself to a friend who was delighted by them.

What got me there is in your original question. You remember being surrounded by books at the library. I have that memory of libraries for everyone, not just kids. Quiet places of awe and wonder.

My books that didn't have exact homes with friends went to small mountain town libraries in Colorado. I spent a day going to three communities I loved, just to go one more time, and left books with places that can use them aside from selling. I did give some to he local Friends of the Library as well.

Same with some CDs.
I spent about a week mentally listing where books could go, and making the piles in the living room.
Getting them to their new homes was a full travel day and two half days. Meet friends for lunch, give them boxes. It was fun seeing them open their new treasures.

And a year later, I need to get more shelves, again! People have given me books.

I am a HUGE reader (well, I was before I had a kid).. My husband and I are scientists and I like to sew/knit... so we had books. Then, we lost our house, and all of our books, in a huge wildfire. In the process of the recovery, we're learning a lot about our stuff and if it owns us or if we own it. Yes, we lost some valuable books, some old sentimenal books (Zane Grey with my grandfathers signature in it)...

Now however, we're not replacing any of the books and want to have as few in the house as possible (including only one or two cookbooks). I bought a Nook Tablet and read tons of books on that. It's small and it works great.

Books on shelves for some people make them "feel" smart - maybe they think that others will think that they're smart when they have them ... My husband and I both have advanced degrees - we don't need the books visible to tell us or anyone else our intelligence level.

Ultimately, books are heavy, take a lot of space and probably don't get used as much as you think they do. They are nice to hold and smell and... but reading a book on an ereader as it turns out is also very enjoyable. Different but in some ways better, other ways not so much. And if you're looking for space savings while still getting your word fix, you can't go wrong digitally.

i'd get rid of any books you have around that you dont love, but keep the collection. if that is your 'thing' you can find ways to work around it. For instance, i have a vinyl record collection, which is a huge space hog, but I would never, ever get rid of it if it meant losing pieces of furniture instead. Your book collection is a big part of who you are and it is important to hang onto that.

We just donated almost 10 cartons of books to the local library. After many moves we realized a lot of them were sitting in storage. We kept the ones that had meaning to us or were classics. It helps with the space to be able to connect with the ones on the shelf vs just stuffing shelves just to have them there. Every book we look at now tells a story - we can remember when we read it or experienced it's significance.

Why does it have to be all or nothing? Keep the ones you love and have space for and get rid of the rest. Maybe make room for some new books in your life?

I'm a bookworm - have been all my life, and will sit with the t.v. totally silent for days while I read instead. That said, I keep downsizing and downsizing my physical book collection, and increasing my digital books. I borrow audiobooks and Kindle books from the library (no late fees!!), and I buy Kindle books from Amazon (waaay too many Kindle books! But they are all available from all of my Kindle devices - phone, computers, Kindle) so I get the guaranteed backup, so long as Amazon stays in business.

That said, there are some books I just can't get rid of in paper form (favorite series I read over and over, emergency preparedness and survival like how to grow food in a city, regional hiking books), and those I put in several baskets so it's neat and the full shelf space is taken up, but I can slide out the basket and select the book to read.