Palaeo Book Collectors

[sauroid]

book collectors:
1. how important is condition to you when buying used books? are you particular about certain physical condition of the book? would you prefer it to be like new/near mint? what's the most acceptable condition would you go for when buying used publications?
2. how do you store your books? are they exposed and stacked in a shelf? or are they inside some kind of protective plastic?

[ceratopsian]

It depends on what the book is.  If it's a paleoart book, I want it absolutely pristine if possible. I hate it if the corners of the book are a bit bumped and crumpled.  But that doesn't rule out second hand if that's the only way it's available (i.e. out of print!)  Same if it's a hardback where the illustrations are important and it's important to me.  But if it's a paperback where I really just want the information from it - e.g. a popular account of some aspect of dinosaurs like Egg Mountain - then I'm less particular. I wouldn't mind second hand and a little bit of creasing on the spine.  But there are limits: I wouldn't want it completely battered and dog-eared, it needs to look respectable.

My books are on open shelves, with the occasional flick of the duster.  I have blinds at the window to protect my study bookcases from the afternoon sun (it's a bright room).  I don't keep anything in plastic.  If I had old comics or something of that sort, I would definitely go for  protective coverings (archival quality only) within archival-quality boxes.

I keep my original paleoart paintings framed and out of the sun.

[Chad]

I'm pretty relaxed about my paleo books. As long as it's reasonably clean I'm good. They're on an open shelf in my guest bedroom/den but on the high shelves so my cats won't vomit on them. I recently moved to a house from a cramped NYC apartment and now that I've seen all the books together, I'm kind of shocked how many I have. I think you'll find everyone who responds in this thread will have a different answer as collecting is a very personal endeavor.

--Chad

[Halichoeres]

I only buy paperbacks when there is no hardcover edition and I don't usually buy anything with a cracked spine. I want it to look nice, but I'm not concerned that it be mint, since I use my books pretty extensively (though gently). I don't store them in plastic or anything, but I noticed now that I live in a more humid area (I used to live in a desert) that some of my larger books begin to warp at the fore-edge after some time on the shelf, especially if they're housed next to smaller books. I'd love to hear suggestions on preventing this.