Library copyright 2019 Douglas Stockdale
I have a bit of a problem which can be brief summarized as being related to one of the principals of physics; two physical objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Realistically I did not need to complete my physics class to understand this principal. This issue is that my photobook library collection has continued to grow and now over-runs my studio space as well as some other places. So trying not to appear too much like a pack-rat I have found some creative alternative places to store my collection and regretfully one of those places came crashing down last night. Good news: no photobooks were damaged.
Bad news as this now relates to my dilemma as I need to decide what I want; a growing library collection or studio space to develop my artistic and book projects. One alternative is to obtain more studio space so that I can have both; duh. Bad news, a larger studio will substantially increase my expenses and I will need to relocate everything to a new space, which is a big pain and probably further from my home.
When my photobook collection was small the storage of course was not an issue; but once your collection is over a thousand books, this collection takes up a lot of wall spaces and then some. Yes, I have a few boxes of books as well.
Since my artistic endeavors are more critical to me than this collection I think the answer is going to be a downsizing of my library. Although I really enjoy almost every photobook in my collection, some much more than others, there are some books that I have not opened in over five years or more. So obviously if I am not compelled to spend time with these over that duration it might be better to find these a new home.
I have previously gifted most of my photo-technical how-to books to a San Diego College photographic department and doing something similar with a part of my collection would be a quick process to open up a lot of space. Nevertheless, I still have some concerns as I would prefer that this collection would stay somewhat intact, be accessible to the public and located near enough that if I wanted to use these as reference that these would be accessible to me as well.
A second alternative is to sell these to other collectors, which is do-able but will take a considerable amount of time. I can also use the funds to support the underlying cost of my new photobook magazine PhotoBook Journal. Which is giving me a gem of an idea; perhaps I can do a fund raising event for PhotoBook Journal with a portion of this collection? hmmm. Something to noodle while I repair the damaged storage area today. sigh.
So if you collect photobooks and are interested in purchasing some titles that I have reviewed for the PhotoBook Journal please message me; doug@douglasstockdale.com
cheers
Singular Images 
Leave a Reply