As we’ve mentioned before, the Wifey and I read by osmosis. Oh, we do read the traditional way, but owning is that first step to actually acquiring the knowledge bound within the pages on our shelves. Organized? Of course not. Here’s how we started: Wifey’s books on one set of shelves, mine on another. Then a couple bookshelves were added, and books were taken out of storage. Then we bought more books. Then we added shelves. Then we rearranged the rooms. Then we added shelves…et cetera, and so forth, and etcetera forth. There IS a rough organization, where general subjects — feminism, sci-fi, business, graphic design — are clumped together, but I couldn’t tell you what we’ve got or where it’s at.

In fact, we recently attended a book sale, a time when knowing what’s already on our shelves would be an asset. See, as frugal shoppers we went on the last day, during the last advertised hour or so. The big local used-book-sellers were lined around the edge, waiting for the quiet signal: after 2:30, the per-book-sale became a bag-sale. The resellers were waiting like vultures for the final gasp of breath, waiting for the last of the readers to pass by the books that final time, so they could swoop in and take the rest away at pennies a copy. Of course, everybody gets grabby pretty quick — so, if we knew what we’d already owned, we wouldn’t have wasted time on yet another copy of Dick Gregory’s From The Back Of The Bus or a James Blish’s Star Trek adaptation that’s not one of the ones I’m missing. Sure, when it works out to two cents a book, it’s not a horrible loss — but where in the world will we put them?

Last year, someone with a similar problem turned to the geek world for help: he asked Slashdot how to best organize and sort his and his wife’s personal library. Once you get past the snark and humor (telling which is which is tough), there’s quite a few good suggestions. The amateur librarian took the best solutions he was given, and applied it to his library. His rules for the home library are as follows:

1. It needs to be easy to find a book.
2. It needs to be easy to add a book to the system.
3. The systems needs to handle foreign language books.
4. It needs to be easy to maintain the system going forward.
5. The initial cataloging effort can’t take forever.

Ah, if only I could have such high goals! While I’m not Collectors’ Quest’s resident library-expert, it seems that taking cues from modern libraries is the key: use barcodes, organize by tried-and-true structures (the guy above used the Library of Congress’ method), and stick with whatever you decide to do. It sounds like the library-questing guy and his wife are primarily non-fiction-readers, which lends well to the LOC method of organization; Dewey Decimal might be best for fiction lovers, or maybe take notes on how Barnes & Noble does their shelving. If you’re a collector of old books, you may be out of luck when it comes to using ISBNs and barcodes to speed along your cataloging. Using software to catalog the books, of course, only matters if you can shelve them in a findable way — invest in good shelves, lest you start stacking and double-rowing your books like we have. Still, the 5 Rules do not rely on ISBNs, Libraries of Congresses, computers, or zebra stripes — it’s a matter of willpower.

Ah, willpower. How much smaller would our collection of books be if we had some willpower? There’s a Catch-22 in that — if we had the willpower to organize, we’d have the willpower to resist buying so many books and have less of a critical need for library organization. Whether or not we own a copy of Catch 22, I couldn’t tell you. Wifey thinks we own somewhere between zero and ten copies, which is a reasonable estimate; one of these days we’ll narrow it down a bit, when we get to cataloging our library.

This is but one shelf in my home.

This shelf is filled with Gene and other dolls, risqué pinup collectibles, and other icons of femininity. My love of (obsession with) Marilyn Monroe, led to a love of classic films, bombshells and pinups, and items connected to these images. In turn, I gathered more than just films, photographs, dolls, and entertainment memorabilia, but books. While these items obviously sit on other shelves (and in other display and storage devices), they are related to this shelf, this collection.

At first I viewed only the books on films and stars as part of this collection but soon I realized my library encompassed more than moviestar bios and entertainment books. It was even more than vintage magazines and pulp novels. There was a large focus on women in general: feminist works; historical books on etiquette, ‘health’ and grooming; erotic literature and the study thereof; anthropological works on gender and culture etc. These were as much a part of my shelf of ‘girly’ items as the pinups and dolls.

While my books may seem lofty and intellectual whereas the items on this shelf seem pretty girly, I eventually saw that they are not just related but all part of the same collection.

If the objects on this shelf seem sexist, exploitative; as if I am falling for the bunk the books denounced, I’m not. At least not in my mind. Looking at stereotypes on my shelf (the dumb blonde, the voluptuous vixen, the evil jealous woman, the sinner vs. the saint) allows me to put into context what I have read. It’s a reminder of what exists, of the indoctrination, of what it means to be female. At least from my point of view.

Once I made the connection between this shelf and my bookshelves I saw the connections with my other collections. My political collectibles, history of courting, vintage lingerie and beauty items, and quite a few other sub-categories/shelves here at home all fit together too. I may not know exactly what my collection is saying, but I know what it is asking: What does being female mean?

Once I realized what it is that I am really collecting, the focus of my collection didn’t change per se — it sharpened.

Defining what I was doing helped me refine my actions. Not only does this help me in the formation and organization of my collection, but the motivation and context help me articulate to others what I am looking for. I not only search more effectively on the internet, but network with other collectors better. This ought to help me get closer to answering the question my collection is asking. And that’s what it’s all about, yes?

(If you are one of these collectors — if your collection is asking the same question — feel free to contact me!)

If you missed it, Read Part 1 first!
Day two started much the same way, but we began to see progress: the attic had been mostly organized, and the basement was proceeding as well. The garage began to fill with garbage bags. The garbage will be handled by another of the behind-the-scenes people who make estate sales happen: the junk dealer. The unsellable items from the house will have to go someplace else after the sale, and a junk dealer hauls it all away, for a price. In a sense, he’s paid a fee to take ownership of the garbage, but once you see just how much garbage can come out of one household, you’d think he deserves your sympathies. While part of his income is made hauling, he will sell scrap parts and metal to other outlets. Rather than renting a roll-off and sending everything to the dumpin an environmentally unfriendly way, all trash is set aside for the junk dealer to take away after the sale. By the end of day two, the basement was organized and the attic was nearly done; the main floor still had a long ways to go.

Another reason the trash went into the garage was for employee reasons. When a sale fills an entire lot, employees are needed to cover every floor, to both deter shoplifters and answer questions about items. If the garage was also a staging ground for the sale, someone would have to be assigned to the back yard. All the sellable garage items were moved to the basement, so that one person in the attic, one in the basement, and a couple on the main floor would be enough. The tables on the main floor are also arranged so that the checkout position has a clear view of most nooks and crannies, besides allowing for traffic.

By day three, one thing was evident: an estate sale can never have enough tables. The piles of sellable items now far exceeded the display areas, so favors were called in from friends and tables arrived a couple times during the day…but there’s still not enough.

The experts, however, could begin pricing the items finally. Estate sale pricing requires a bit more mathematics than selling in an antique mall or at a rummage sale. On the first day, everything is full price, but drops to half-price on the second day, and one-quarter on the third. The price marked on an item should be reasonably low enough to attract a buyer but get a reasonable price for it — but half-price has to be reasonably high to make it worth selling at all. A few items, with the owners’ permission, were removed to better research prices, and possibly list on eBay if they would bring more at auction.

The end of the third day was the end of my part in the estate sale, due to other obligations. While most of the house was sorted and organized, much had still not been priced, and additional tables are still needed to properly display everything. No Egrets will definitely be working right up until Sunday evening to prepare for the sale — putting in over a week’s work in all.

I had attended estate sales in the past, but had never experienced how much work they took to set up, organize, and put into motion. Of course, the collector in me found a number of items that I’d have liked to take home with me — but, of course, I’d have to wait for the sale and hope to get to it first, just like everybody else. For a few minutes, I thought that my wife and I could get into the business of running estate sales, and maybe get first shot at some cool stuff, but the work involved made me reconsider. I think I’ll stick to finding treasures at estate sales, as a customer - it’s much more fun.