
I have been collecting books for quite some time, and there was a time when I read each book as I added it to my library. Those days are over. I am now almost hopelessly behind, due to multiple purchases at a time, less time to read and, perhaps, a shortened attention span.
But, through the years, I have developed a more refined and more discriminating approach to building a library. And, I have improved my will power when it comes to purging my library of books no longer consistent with a more refined and more discriminating approach. Listed below are several tips I have found very helpful in building a good library in key subject categories without filling rooms with books I will never read again or recommend to anyone.
Develop Your Written List. This may seem simplistic, but it is often an overlooked step in building a good library. I suspect most people collect books rather indiscriminately--the result of fleeting interest,
random recommendations, or what catches the eye in a local bookstore. There is nothing wrong with such practices, but it leads to a somewhat haphazard library filled with books of disparate quality. So, develop a written "wish" list of the best books available in the subject areas you want to develop in your library. The Internet has made this an easy task these days. It was much more difficult when I first began to formulate my list. It is primarily from this list that I have built my library through the years. And it is from my library that I have created another important list--the 100 Most Influential Books on My Life. I rigidly restrict the list to 100 entries and I cannot add a new book without removing an existing entry. It helps to understand what ideas have been most influential in forming the way one thinks and acts.
Follow the "Footnote Trail" in Creating Your Written List. I am not certain, but I believe it was from my good friend, George Grant, that I first heard the phrase "follow the footnote trail," but it was a practice I had followed for years. It simply means that you should trace back the sources of the ideas that capture your attention when reading by obtaining and reading the books cited by the authors of ideas that catch your attention. The footnotes cited by good authors are an outstanding and fertile source of other good books and ideas. It is this approach that has been most helpful in narrowing down my list to the best books available on topics that interest me.
Systematically Purchase Books from Your List, Instead of "Toys". It is amazing what kind of library can be built over the years, even on a modest budget, if one wisely uses their resources on books instead of the latest automobile, the biggest boat, the fastest motorcycle, a country club membership, or the most technologically advanced home entertainment system. Establish your priorities, withstand the urge to invest in things that have no lasting value, and be patient. It takes some time to identify and invest in the best books available in the subjects you wish to emphasize. A standing rule that you will read each book as you purchase it will help with the patience you need. It is a rule I followed when my book buying budget was quite limited.
Buy Gently Used Hardback Books When Possible. Used books are better on the budget and hardbacks are better in the hands and on the library shelf. If necessary, hardback books can be rebound. I have purchased books on the secondary market from all over America, Canada, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, and other countries.
Don't be Afraid to Purge. I cannot overstate the importance of this tip. Filling one's house with books of questionable quality that do not come immediately to mind when someone needs a recommendation is imprudent at best. Through the years, I have purged my library twice of approximately 1600 volumes each
time. On many other occasions I have eliminated from 20 to 300 books at a time. I kept many of the books for years, through several purges, but eventually I was able to admit that the books were not among the "best" I could acquire in the subject areas that interested me. So, I gave them away or traded them for credit at a bookstore in a city where I lived years ago. Each time I did this, I clarified my thoughts of where I could go for the ideas that influenced me most in the quest for truth. The purpose of a good library, beyond the pleasure of reading itself, is to capture and retain sources of truth in subjects of interest. If one cannot readily identify and recommend those sources, or return to them when memory begins to fade, then they are of uncertain value. My memory began to fade some time ago, but I can still walk past the shelves of my library and readily extract the best books I could find on virtually any subject of interest to me.