Libraries

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Keesa
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Libraries

Post by Keesa »

From Klewlis, in the post "Do you Use Book Covers"<br /><br />In north america *most* houses are wood. Only the old (or rich) ones are made of brick, and I can't think of any made of stone. Here it is about getting the houses built as quickly and cheaply as possible, so wood is the obvious choice. There's no room for expansion though if you live in the city, as you'd be running into your neighbour. :P <br /><br />Most of our walls are wood, also, and those are the ones that you would remove. However, some are actually stone and mortar, built with quartz that we hauled up ourselves from the creekbed. Of course we wouldn't go through those! But a library would be nice. <br /><br />How many of you have special rooms in your house set aside for nothing but books?

Puella Parva
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Re:Libraries

Post by Puella Parva »

From Keesa in "book covers" <br /><br />"I'm thinking of adding a library sometimes soon...something along the lines of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," perhaps. "<br /><br />Yeah, right. She thinking of having ME add a room on, I'm the one who does most of the construction. It is a good idea...I've got too many books for my room as well, so I can use the space!

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Re:Libraries

Post by Alundis »

My parent's house does have a library. It contains some chairs, a rug, and a bookcase. There is a small flight of stairs which leads to an upper shelf for books. The ceiling is perhaps 20ft high, and there is a tall window on the left side. Our cats use it more than any of us though ;p

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Re:Libraries

Post by Puella Parva »

Your post = jealousy! I wish I had a library like that! :'( Our cat would like it too-especially if she could sit on the book you're trying to read! ;D

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

<br />Nope, no library yet. :( We're currently house hunting and one of my hopes is to find a house with enough rooms that will allow us to turn one of them into a library. My husband and I have sooooo many books between the two of us that we would need a large room with plenty of shelving. Right now all the books are either on shelves, in boxes, or piled on the floor.<br /><br />How/where do you store all your books?<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Shelves. Floor. Desk. Counter. Cabinet. Anywhere where they aren't in danger of getting kicked, stepped on, or spilled on. I think I need to buy the land next to us so I'll have room for a library big enough for all of them...

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

[quote author=Puella Parva link=board=6;threadid=743;start=0#7290 date=1064875587]<br />From Keesa in "book covers" <br /><br />"I'm thinking of adding a library sometimes soon...something along the lines of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," perhaps. " [/quote]<br /><br />I must have missed this (the above) somewhere.<br /><br />I remember the library in "Beauty and the Beast"! That's the library I want!!<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Oh, me, too! I would love a library like that. <br /><br />The original post is in the thread that this is a spinoff from, Do You Use Book Covers?

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

[quote author=Alundis link=board=6;threadid=743;start=0#7292 date=1064875746]<br />My parent's house does have a library. It contains some chairs, a rug, and a bookcase. There is a small flight of stairs which leads to an upper shelf for books. The ceiling is perhaps 20ft high, and there is a tall window on the left side. Our cats use it more than any of us though ;p<br />[/quote]<br /><br />Sounds like a lovely room. Can I move in? I'll even help dust the books... :)<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

[quote author=mariek link=board=6;threadid=743;start=0#7306 date=1064877540]<br /><br />Sounds like a lovely room. Can I move in? I'll even help dust the books... :)<br /><br /><br />[/quote]<br /><br />And I'll sweep under the rug! I'm good at remembering to do that. :)

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Re:Libraries

Post by klewlis »

my bedroom is big enough that I could turn half of it into a library if i wished... however, I decided that it was more desireable to have a large exercise space instead (I have a heavy bag for kickboxing, and it requires space so that I can properly move around it...). However, in the living half of my room I have several of those cheap shelving units that you assemble yourself, plus several shelves mounted on the walls... and that is enough for now (we'll see how many more books I acquire this year.... ;). In this side of the room I also have space for my big comfy chair, so it is like a little study. <br /><br />
First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you need to do. ~Epictetus

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Properly my room is 10x10, square, but I have bookshelves on three walls, and they do tend to encroach on one's space. I've got my desk, my bed, drawers with books on top and a mirror. I'm thinking about replacing the mirror with more bookshelves, since I never use it. I've already got stacks of books under it...then, of course, there are Mom's bookshelves. You wouldn't think that we'd be running out of room for out books if you had seen our place.

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot the boxes of books under my bed. Mustn't forget those!

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Re:Libraries

Post by Carola »

It's so great to hear that most of you have the same book storage problem as me! Now I don't feel so bad! :D<br /><br />I really should make a list of my books one day - I'll put it on the "things to do when I retire" list (at the moment I need to live to 150 to get through it).<br /><br />I wish furniture manufacturers would make a bookshelf suitable for small books - most paperbacks seem to be lost in the shelves which seem to be designed for large volumes. Something like a CD tower without the CD slots. Then you could store about 50-60 books in a very compact space. (A bit hard to visualise when I can't draw a diagram - a tall thin bookshelf which holds about 10 small books on each shelf and each shelf only about 22 cm tall). If my carpentry skills weren't totally non-existant I'd make one myself. Then you could put it in those odd little corners that would be far too small for anything else.

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Re:Libraries

Post by klewlis »

my problem is not space... i have tons of that. it's having to buy new shelves a couple of times a year... :P
First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you need to do. ~Epictetus

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

Is this because you have more books and need more shelves? Or because you have so many heavy books that they eventually cause the shelves to "sag"?

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Re:Libraries

Post by klewlis »

I generally have more books than shelves. However, I moved a week ago and my new bedroom had four long shelves already on the walls so it has bought me some extra time!
First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you need to do. ~Epictetus

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

<br />Oh, I love built-in shelves. I once stayed in a house in Massachussetts where there were shelves built into the walls of many rooms and also in hallways. And they were collectors of old books, so the shelves were all filled up with a nice collection. <br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Carola »

[quote author=klewlis link=board=6;threadid=743;start=0#7326 date=1064888263]<br />my problem is not space... i have tons of that. it's having to buy new shelves a couple of times a year... :P<br />[/quote]<br />-------------<br />Lucky you - I have to share the house with tons of musical & PA equipment. It's getting so bad I'm thinking of setting up a tent in the back yard!

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

[quote author=Carola link=board=6;threadid=743;start=0#7320 date=1064883771]<br /> <br />I really should make a list of my books one day - I'll put it on the "things to do when I retire" list (at the moment I need to live to 150 to get through it).<br /> <br /><br />Hmmm, a list-it sounds like a good idea! I've made a list of all the books I've read, but not of all the books I have. I'll have to do that someday. <br /><br /><br />I wish furniture manufacturers would make a bookshelf suitable for small books - most paperbacks seem to be lost in the shelves which seem to be designed for large volumes. Something like a CD tower without the CD slots. Then you could store about 50-60 books in a very compact space. (A bit hard to visualise when I can't draw a diagram - a tall thin bookshelf which holds about 10 small books on each shelf and each shelf only about 22 cm tall). If my carpentry skills weren't totally non-existant I'd make one myself. Then you could put it in those odd little corners that would be far too small for anything else. <br />[/quote]<br /><br />When you make it, let me know! ;D

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Re:Libraries

Post by ingrid70 »

When we bought this house, we designated the biggest room as the library. But then we got kids, and they need space too, so now it's the smallest :(. No comfy chair any more, no reading lights, just bookcases and books, books, books.<br /><br />The kids' books are everywhere where they are, in the living room, their own room, the computer room, the library...<br /><br />Ingrid

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

[quote author=Keesa link=board=6;threadid=743;start=15#7370 date=1064921235]<br />Hmmm, a list-it sounds like a good idea! I've made a list of all the books I've read, but not of all the books I have. I'll have to do that someday. [/quote]<br /><br />I haven't done it for books yet, but I have done it for DVDs. I did this because I needed to keep track of who I lent them out to. Haven't started with books because I have way more books than DVDs. Should probably make a list for music CDs too, but there are probably as many CDs as there are books.<br /><br />I think there's software to help you keep track of and organize your book collection. Does anyone use such software?<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Lex »

I have a room I call my "office", even though I don't use it for business. In it, I have two bookshelves filled with books, more books in the closet, and a U-shaped computer desk also stacked with books. Unfortunately the room isn't big enough for all my books! I also have another bookshelf in my living room, my pantry is filled with books (it's a good thing I don't cook), larger "coffee table" books are stacked next to my sofa because they won't fit in the shelves, and the upper shelf of my room-length bedroom closet is packed with all my "brain candy" paperbacks (sci-fi and fantasy fiction, crime and mystery novels, etc).<br /><br />But I don't have too many books yet; that will come when I need to rent a storage locker to have room for them all!
I, Lex Llama, super genius, will one day rule this planet! And then you'll rue the day you messed with me, you damned dirty apes!

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Oooh, I love science fiction and fantasy! (Three shelves!) I have about six shelves of classics, two shelves and three large piles of French books (books in French, not French textkits), some needlework pattern books, about half a shelf, classics in French on another shelf, science books on two shelves, boxes of mostly children's books under me bed, and three shelves of encyclopedias. And that's just my room...

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Re:Libraries

Post by mingshey »

My problem is that I don't own a house. I'll have to keep the number of my books low since I'll have to move in a few years. But I have a dream of having a small library of my own. I could design a bookroom filled with small moving bookshelves, where only the space for one shelf is free.<br /><br />A quiz from a bulletine board:<br />Once upon a time there lived a book collector. He had a small house and his home was full of books. His wife couldn't bare it and she complained him every day. so he decided to put all of his books into a small bookroom. He decided to use small wheeled square booksheves moving on rails to save the space and put as many books in the room.<br /><br />Now the conditions are as follows:<br />0. shelves are located on square grid points in the rectangular room.<br />1. The shelves and the librarian can move only by the unit of a square grid, or the bookshelf will get stuck. But the shelves cannot change the direction of their face.<br />2. Man can go in and out through a single door - as wide as a bookshelf.<br />3. The librarian must have the access to every bookshelf - say to the face of the bookshelf so that he can pick and put books.<br />4. a single shelf can move in one direction, east-west or north-south.<br />5. The librarian can pull or push the shelves to its adjacent grid if the shelf can move that direction and the grid is empty.<br />6. the librarian cannot move to a diagonal grid if there's no orthogonal path to the destination. But he can reach and pull(or push) the shelf on the nearest diagonal point if the destination is empty and the direction is allowed for the shelf.<br />7. a shelf can have one face - either of north, south, east, or west.<br />8. a shelf can have a fixed direction of motion : east and west or south and north.<br />9. conditions 7 and 8 are independent.<br />10. The rail on the floor runs either direction, so that any kind of the shelf can move from one end to the other.<br />11. when the door's open, the librarian can pull or push the shelves in the neighboring grids from outside the door.<br /><br />Now let me say the room has 4 by 4 grid. how many shelves can be put in the room, satisfying all the conditions above?<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

??? Umm...one! At least one, anyway. :-\ <br /><br />Actually, I am not the best person to answer that post. However, the idea of wheeled square bookshelves is an interesting one.

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Re:Libraries

Post by Emma_85 »

Well, we can't just build on another library, but the back wall of the study/dining room is just bookshelves (the wall is probably 3 meters long), but those are just my mother's books. I have one small Ikea bookshelf in my room and don't really have any room for another one (my room is probably 3 meters by 5), but it's under the roof, so the roof is to low for a book self in one half of my room). My sister has banished her bookshelf to the cellar, though, so books I don't use very often are going to be moved down to the cellar, so that should give me a bit more space upstairs. I don't have that many books anyway, so I hope that'll be enough :).<br /><br />Brick and stone houses are just as expensive as kit-houses here in Europe (though it's very expensive to build new in stone). Brick is probably the cheapest option, though it depends where you live really. Wood is probably cheap in Scandinavia...

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Re:Libraries

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[quote author=mingshey link=board=6;threadid=743;start=15#7439 date=1064969487]<br />Now let me say the room has 4 by 4 grid. how many shelves can be put in the room, satisfying all the conditions above?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />I'll guess 14; 2 grids must be left, one to stand in, and one that is empty so another shelf can be moved into it.
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Re:Libraries

Post by mingshey »

Wow, you got it.<br />Can you configurate a possible arrangement?<br />Using '-' and '|' to represent the direction a shelf can move.<br />A fixed shelf denoted by 'x' and the librarian by 'L'<br /><br />ex)<br />- - - - <-- horizotally(east-west) moving shelves<br />| | <-- vertically(north-south) moving shelves<br />| | <-- vertical shelves<br />| L <-- a vertical shelf and the librarian<br /> d <-- door<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

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[quote author=mingshey link=board=6;threadid=743;start=15#7550 date=1065058411]<br />Wow, you got it.<br />Can you configurate a possible arrangement?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />No, I wasn't able to. I tried last night with little squares made from index cards (yes, I have no life), and I couldn't get past 12. Do you have an example configuration that would work?<br /><br />Wouldn't it be terrible if you got stuck inside the library, and forgot how to shift shelves so that you could get out again?
I, Lex Llama, super genius, will one day rule this planet! And then you'll rue the day you messed with me, you damned dirty apes!

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Re:Libraries

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[quote author=Lector link=board=6;threadid=743;start=15#7573 date=1065103041]<br />Wouldn't it be terrible if you got stuck inside the library, and forgot how to shift shelves so that you could get out again?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />Actually it wouldn't be so bad. At least you'll have plenty of time to read all the books in there. :) We're assuming there's an adequate light source in the room? Guess I should mention that I'm the type of person who can spend an eternity inside bookstores... so getting stuck in a library is just as good.<br /><br />Though I'd eventually need a food & potty break... ;D<br /><br />

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Re:Libraries

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[quote author=mariek link=board=6;threadid=743;start=30#7585 date=1065110417]<br />Though I'd eventually need a food & potty break... ;D<br />[/quote]<br /><br />Yes, that's what I meant. It could be like being stuck inside a life-sized Rubik's Cube, and not knowing how to solve it so you can get out.
I, Lex Llama, super genius, will one day rule this planet! And then you'll rue the day you messed with me, you damned dirty apes!

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Re:Libraries

Post by Carola »

Has anyone read Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose"? Now they had a really good library (although it came to a poor end - I won't give away the entire plot). Not only could you get lost in it but you had to understand the code to get around in it.

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

Nope, i've never read it-although it sounds neat! What is the copyright date? Any chance of my finding it on Gutenberg or another such site?

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Re:Libraries

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I doubt it... it's not that old, lol.<br />You've really never heared of it? It's really good (you can't go by the film, the book is totally different).

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Re:Libraries

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[quote author=Emma_85 link=board=6;threadid=743;start=30#7655 date=1065189915]<br />I doubt it... it's not that old, lol.<br />You've really never heared of it? It's really good (you can't go by the film, the book is totally different). <br />[/quote]<br /><br />Is that the one with Sean Connery and Christian Slater as monks?
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Re:Libraries

Post by Emma_85 »

Yes, that's the one. Though the film is more sort of a murder mystery than anything else...

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Re:Libraries

Post by Keesa »

[quote author=Emma_85 link=board=6;threadid=743;start=30#7655 date=1065189915]<br />I doubt it... it's not that old, lol.<br />You've really never heared of it? It's really good (you can't go by the film, the book is totally different). <br />[/quote]<br /><br />I've really never heard of it. And I've never seen the movie, either, so...<br /><br />Sean Connery? As a monk? ???

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Re:Libraries

Post by mingshey »

NotR and Foucault's Pendulum are mind boggling masterpieces.<br />Hide-and-seek game of intelligence; accidence or conspiracy, design or self organization?<br /><br />And as for the puzzle, I got up to 13 shelves. Some guy gave 14 shelves arrangement:<br /><br />

Code: Select all

<br />x - - |<br />- | - |<br />-   | -<br />| L - x<br />  d<br />
<br /><br />Try to place the librarian next to the shelf at the upper left corner. To get out, you only have to reverse the process. Other shelves will be easier. <br />

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Re:Libraries

Post by mariek »

<br />This is reminiscent of that little square puzzle containing squares numbered 1 through 15, and an empty slot where you can push the numbered squares into.<br />

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