Books store well when they go in clean and dry, packed into small, sturdy boxes, either standing upright or lying flat, and never resting on their front edge. Keep the boxes off the floor and don’t overfill them, and you give your books the best chance of coming out just as they went in.
Packing books, step by step
- Start clean and dry. Pack books that are clean and completely dry, because damp is what lets mould and insects take hold.
- Use smaller boxes. Books are heavy, and a big box of them can split or be hard to lift. Small, sturdy boxes are safer to carry and stack, and you can buy them from our packaging range.
- Upright or flat, never on the front edge. Small and medium books can stand upright, as they would on a shelf, or lie flat. Packing them with the front edge (the opposite side to the spine) facing down strains the binding and can loosen it.
- Large books lie flat. Atlases, family Bibles and big art books are best packed flat, with the heaviest at the bottom.
- Don’t overfill. A box packed too full is heavy to lift and can crush the books inside, or the boxes beneath it.
- Skip the plastic bags. Bin liners, carrier bags and cling film can trap moisture and give off harmful gases as they age.
- Label the boxes. A list of what’s inside, stuck to the outside, saves opening every box to find one title.
Setting them up in your unit
Raise your book boxes off the floor, on a pallet or a layer of sturdier boxes, so they’re protected if there’s ever a leak. Put the heaviest boxes at the bottom of each stack so nothing beneath gets crushed. Our units are standard self storage rather than temperature-controlled, so good packing is what keeps books in shape. If you’re storing for a long time, open a box once a year and check for any signs of damp.
Old, rare or valuable books
For a first edition, an antiquarian volume or a book that matters to your family, acid-free archival boxes are the safest choice, because poor-quality card is acidic and can make paper darken and turn brittle. Please call us before you store anything rare or valuable, so we can talk it through and make sure your cover reflects what it’s worth.
Your books sit behind CCTV monitored around the clock by a professional monitoring company, and every unit has its own alarm. To find a unit near you, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585.
Related questions
- How do I pack boxes so they stack safely in a storage unit?
- Are plastic crates better than cardboard boxes for storage?
- Can I store photographs, negatives and old film?
Further reading