#Stacks of books full

For some reason, though, the Stack always looked to me as if it had defied gravity (or perhaps obeyed some other, more mysterious force) and grown down the far side of the dresser instead. At some point in the Stack’s development, it had overtopped that piece of furniture, whereupon it met a second tower of books, which, at some slightly later point, had begun growing up along the dresser’s other side. The Stack had started in a recessed space near my father’s half of the bed, bounded on one side by a wall and on the other by my parents’ dresser, a vertical behemoth taller than I would ever be. Helens of books, since it seemed possible that at any moment some subterranean shift in it might cause a cataclysm. But by the time I was in my early teens it was the case-and seemed by then to have always been the case-that my parents’ bedroom was home to the Mt. I suppose back then it was just a modest little pile of stray books, the kind that many readers have lying around in the living room or next to the bed. I can’t remember it in its early days, because in its early days it wasn’t memorable. It was this pair of convictions that led to the development of the Stack. The other, which governed the upstairs books, was instituted by my father, and was based on the conviction that it is very nice to have everything you’ve recently read near at hand, in case you get the urge to consult any of it again and also that it is a pain in the neck to put those books away, especially when the shelves on which they belong are so exquisitely organized that returning one to its appropriate slot requires not only a card catalogue but a crowbar. One of these, which governed the downstairs books, was instituted by my mother, and involved achieving a remarkable harmony-one that anyone who has ever tried to organize a home library would envy-among thematic, alphabetic, and aesthetic demands. When I was a child, the grownup books in my house were arranged according to two principles. Just be sure it’s not a cake.This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from. If you ever find a book in our catalog that identifies a location of Closed Stack, ask at the Circulation Desk. This effect evokes the scattered bits of foxing present in older papers used in these bindings. For a special surprise, use a confetti batter, which will expose the sprinkles dotted throughout the cake when sliced.

As a result of this detachment, one needs to use book tie, a cotton band used to secure together the boards, spine and text block. The boards on this cake are made of gingerbread cookie and are completely separate from the cake sponge representing the book’s text block. The structure of older books tends to weaken with time, as well, often resulting in a detached spine and boards. To get the red rot effect on the cake, use ample cocoa powder to dust the covers. Following are instructions to make your own Closed Stack book cake.īecause Closed Stack holds aging books, the materials used in the binding age too, like the leather covers, which disintegrate with red rot. To celebrate a major milestone of 50% completion, and to thank Simen Kot and Cullen Gallagher for their hard work, I baked a cake to resemble a typical book from Closed Stack. This project has included many staff hours spent among the books. We have been embarking on a long-term project to inventory all 30,000 volumes housed in Closed Stack, to ensure the dependability of our collection and catalog and to prepare for future building changes. This variety of materials is what makes Closed Stack interesting! Some materials hold special signatures or item-specific rarities that must be kept intact. Some materials are too large for any other shelves in the building, so specially-built shelving was created to hold 1000 linear feet of materials lying flat. Some materials are in Closed Stack because of their condition and require special housing. This in-between is what is held in Closed Stack. Did you know that we also have a closed stack, open only to staff? In this aptly named Closed Stack, we house ten percent of our collection, in compact rolling shelving to make the most of this subterranean space to hold around 30,000 items.Īs a collecting institution, we have materials that range from unique rare materials to 2022’s newest books and everything in between.

#Stacks of books full

You know all about our open stacks that members are welcome to browse, full of books ready to check out.