Culling your home library collection

And how to pack books for moving if necessary

and

Jun 13, 2024

If you’ve been listening to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, you’ll know that Megan Daley recently moved house. Actually, it felt as though she was moving house for about two years, but that’s another story.

In this article, Megan shares her top tips for culling a home library collection, and for packing up your precious books for moving.

Megan Daley’s tips for culling books – and moving them

In my 20+ years as a school librarian, I’ve learnt a thing or two about culling books. It’s actually an essential skill for every librarian (see my tips for weeding your school collection here) and, while I think many people would imagine that librarians have homes full of books, we’re actually in the business of rotating books and sharing them.

It’s about making sure that what’s on hand is relevant, engaging and meaningful. And that goes even more for your home collection.

These are my top tips for keeping your home collection of books in top shape.

Step one: Categorise your books

Sort your books into categories to get a clear overview of what you have. You can decide what the categories are (genres, authors, themes, age ranges), but keep it simple.

For my recent move, I chose to categories by the age ranges of my four children, and then The Beekeeper’s books and mine.

Step two: Create three piles labelled Keep, Donate, and Discard

Start sorting – and be ruthless.

Really consider the reasons you are keeping books and remember that books will deteriorate if not stored well – so perhaps they’re better off in the hands of another reader.

Struggling to decide? Ask yourself these questions:

•Have I read this book, am I LIKELY to read it and/or will I read it again?

•Does this book hold special significance or memories for me? Are those memories I need to keep in book form? Do my kids feel the same?

•Is this information still relevant and up-to-date?

•Do I have multiple copies or editions of the same book?

Step three: Discuss what’s left over

I was really surprised about which books my kids wanted to keep during the last cull – and which they were happy to discard. Some that I thought were ‘must keeps’ because I had read them aloud 55 million times when my daughters were young turned out to be books they couldn’t remember at all and didn’t want to keep.

But there were others they remembered very fondly and didn’t want to give up. So talk to your kids about which books they want to keep.

I have two books from my own childhood – Hamilton Duck and Little Cloud, and those books will remain with me always because I have very, very fond memories of them (plus I stole them from my siblings).

But each time I cull, I do have to think about whether I really need them in book form, or is the memory enough.

And then there are the multiple copies – even of my own book. I had three copies of each language edition of ‘Raising Readers’ and my daughter was quite firm about the fact that I only needed one of each. So I got my own tips fed back to me…

Step four: Donate Thoughtfully

While it’s tempting to simply drop all your unwanted books at your local charity shop, be prudent with your donations.

Local libraries, schools or childcare centres, or charitable organisations may take your books, but it’s a good idea to check first. Ensure the books are in good condition and suitable for the recipients.

My donate pile is usually split into five different piles, and I donate to various schools, the Pajama Foundation (for which I am an ambassador), local cafes that keep reading material for young visitiors, and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Googling ‘where to donate books in [insert your city]’ might give you places you hadn’t considered, and you can also ask your social media connections. (We don’t allow buy/sell/donate links in the Your Kid’s Next Read community, but there are many groups on Facebook and similar dedicated to spreading the word about your books.)

If your books are not in good condition, I’m sorry but the only place for them is the bin. If a book has mould on it, it’s incredibly dusty, or it’s unlikely to be read, then it’s only suitable to be thrown out or recycled – and you’ll need to contact your local council for best instructions on how to do that.

Step five: Packing your books for moving

Whether you’re moving house or just packing books up for donating, it pays to do it thougthfully.

• Sort books by size and weight and then pack heavier and larger books at the bottom of boxes to provide a stable base.

• Use sturdy but small boxes – it’s very tempting to put a lot of books in a box, and then the box is impossible to move, so lots of smaller boxes is better than a few large ones.

• Choose strong, double-walled cardboard boxes to prevent them from breaking during the move.

• Wrap fragile or valuable books individually with packing paper or bubble wrap.

• Pack books vertically, like they would be on a shelf, to minimise stress on the spines.

• Fill any empty spaces in the box with packing paper to prevent shifting during transit.

• Label each box clearly with its contents and the room it belongs to. This makes unpacking much more straightforward.

• Store books in a place protected from extreme temps and humidity.

Have you got a tip to add? Pop it in the comments – and good luck with your culling!