Basement Library Design Help Needed

Hello;

I am new to LibraryThing so please excuse me for any newbie infractions in my first post. I'm looking for guidance and knowledge on creating my first library in a basement location. If this is not the appropriate place to post my questions, please direct me to the proper group. I have attempted to search for an answer to my questions but haven't found a comprehensive answer so I am creating my own post.

My wife and I just bought a 1950's mid century modern house in Seattle. I am relocating my ever growing photobook collection (I am a photographer) from a storage unit to the house once our home renovations are complete. I have allocated a large multi-purpose room (14x28) in the basement for the shelving units. The house sits on a hill, but has a French drain system protecting it so no exterior water intrusions are expected. The basement is concrete with radiant heat from the basement floor (copper pipes). There are two windows in the large room, and a working fireplace. We will install a foyer and an egress door to the outside. There is no central HVAC system, and no circulating air.

The collection is about 600 books and growing. I have been recommended to install a Vitsoe 606 shelving system. I am aware that I should mitigate moisture, humidity, sunlight, and structural support in any shelving plan. My three questions are:

1. If I simply install the shelving system out of the sunlight and away from the external door and fireplace with a dehumidifier, am I good to go?
2. Are there any less expensive metal shelving systems other Vitsoe I should consider?
3. What am I missing in terms of potential threats to the books given my environment (and how should I mitigate those risks)?

Thanks!

You will probably find that during the heating period the area is dry rather than damp. In our cellar, the room that is heated needs a humidifier in the winter if anyone is going to spend much time there. (Our cellar room is guest room as well as having a lot of books in it.) I'm not sure how bad the dry air is for the books.

You will certainly want to have a sink near that room for emptying and cleaning the tanks of the dehumidifiers. My experience is that the units differ a lot in how easy it is to keep them clean. I have one that is full of small corners and is just horrible once algae or bacterial films get established.

I see that this is a wall mounted system. Of course the obvious thing is to put heavy books near the bottom and lighter ones at the top.

Silverfish are a potential problem. I don't know how you guard against them.

The Container Store has a shelving system called Elfa. You may want to look into that.

There's always the ubiquitous Billy bookshelves from IKEA. They don't make much of a fashion statement but they work. You can spruce them up with optional doors and other widgets. I've got 8 or 9 of them.

Once you put books on a shelf, the shelves disappear to a large degree. At least the details of the case are less important. This helps us because many of the cases in our library room (there are books in most non-humid rooms of the house) were purchased from generic "Oak Furniture" stores. They have a similar style but the dimensions and other details vary. We fit them in the bedroom devoted to the library we show off. Once the books were on the shelves, those differences we notice from one case to the next disappeared.

Since books like the ranges of temperature and humidity that people do, you will want to be mindful of this in your basement. I always have a sense of basements being prone to humidity issues and the potential for insects and vermin. This depends a lot on how the basement is "finished," of course.

Excess moisture will affect your books (causing pages to stick, boards to warp, and encouraging mold and mildew) but it can also affect particle board shelving such as the IKEA Billy cases use.

Photo books tend to be heavy so you will want to be mindful of the shelf material. I see where you are considering metal. If wood, it should probably be a plywood for strength (perhaps with a veneer to your preference). The particle board or composite materials will sag in short order under heavy books. This is particularly true if the shelf exceeds 24-30 inches in span.

I would probably suggest that the shelves not touch the walls directly, if possible, and keep the lowest shelf some inches from the floor itself to avoid problems. Books (and cardboard boxes) tend to wick up any excess moisture from cement, for example, and this could be an issue.

You may want to have some kind of recording thermometer and hygrometer to monitor the environment since it could become an issue. The same is true with alarms for unwanted flood water.

I suspect that there is an investment in these books and they would not be cheaply replaced so taking some extra steps will help you enjoy them for a long time and preserve them for the next owners.

James

We have had minimal sagging problems with Billy. Some of ours must be 20 years old by now. It has been an issue with similar bookcases from other companies, and some we built ourselves we had to turn the shelves over every year or so. They now have videos and DVDs on them. Problem 'solved'.

I don't have a recording hygrometer, but I do monitor temperature and humidity. I just look every time I'm in the room. I aim at 50-55%, which is what I find comfortable to breath. Whether you want to record might depend on how often you are in the room. Unless you can plumb the dehumidifier units you will be checking them at least once a day. This summer is hot and dry, so I don't have to empty that often, but some years I've emptied twice a day. I think Seattle is a lot more humid than Vienna. I have two units: A noisier one out in the hall near the laundry area, and a quieter one in here. In the winter they are unplugged, and I have a Venta humidifier in here instead. (It's heat wave time, and I sleep down here at 20 instead of under the roof at over 30.)

Based on my own experience I strongly agree with Keeline's recommendations:
"I would probably suggest that the shelves not touch the walls directly, if possible, and keep the lowest shelf some inches from the floor itself to avoid problems. Books (and cardboard boxes) tend to wick up any excess moisture from cement, for example, and this could be an issue."

What'd you end up going with?

Also, you might be interested in The Care of Fine Books by Jane Greenfield as the book goes in depth and explains appropriate temperature/humidity/light/bookshelf location/etc. The book covers a number of topics in depth, and does it quickly. For instance, she mentions you want a relative humidity of 45-60% (probably closer to 45) with a temperature between 60-70 degrees F and to keep your bookshelves away from heat sources (and off of outer walls if possible), as rising air from radiators will deposit dust.

As for book cases, if you still haven't decided I'd recommend taking a look at the Hemnes series at Ikea. They're higher quality than the billy series (hemnes is solid pine, billy is particleboard). Additionally, the adjustable shelving heights will make it easy for you to accomodate what are surely going to be some oversized photography books (although depth may be an issue for you). I average 150-180 books per case using all 6 shelves with mostly a mixture of regular sized hard/softbacks. That being said, if you do get them, I would recommend re-enforcing the bookcase (specifically the back and shelves themselves) in some way as there are some design flaws.

Nate

The Care of Fine Books by Jane Greenfield