Hot answers tagged

15 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

You can just use your pen cap to clamp a bunch of pages so that it would not fly. Its easy and you don't need to buy anything.
Santhosh Arun's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

Physical Text To Digital Text

Use an android phone and the "Google Lens." feature recently added to the photos app and the camera photo review scrwwn. OCR via Google Lens is pretty amazing and accurate beyond any OCR software I'...
hlecuanda's user avatar
  • 529
11 votes
Accepted

How can I transport a book in a backpack without getting the corners bent?

Get an old VHS tape at a thrift store -- should cost less than a dollar. Be sure to select the kind with a snap-closed clamshell case, not those that just slide the cassette into a sleeve. Pull out ...
Zeiss Ikon's user avatar
  • 9,790
11 votes
Accepted

Book holder for paperbacks

Here's a variation of the binder clip idea: First, even a large binder clip won't bite a large portion of a "perfect bound" book. There's a sort of fan-out that happens, and I find that a binder clip ...
Craig Constantine's user avatar
11 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

Make book holder out of old metal hangers. Refer artistshelpingchildren.org for detailed steps to achieve it. Or this video. Or just buy a book clip: Book clips are quite cheaper than the book ...
Ankit Sharma's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

How can I organize books of many sizes for usability?

I had a similar problem. I've got a modular bookcase where you can place the shelves at varying heights. To maximize the number of books, I placed the shelves quite close together. That led to issues ...
Hobbes's user avatar
  • 6,274
8 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

Binder clips fits perfectly for this application. They are also used for various other purposes.
Fennekin's user avatar
  • 473
8 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

I simply use a string. For example when playing piano and wanting to keep the book open on a certain page, I slip the book between the lid and a string that I always have around the lid.
Arne Westgaard's user avatar
8 votes

How would one digitize a thick book into a PDF version in the most time-efficient way, using only a camera and a computer?

You can convert your book to a PDF in about as much time as it will take you to read it through, maybe a bit longer. You will need a sheet of glass to hold the book, spread open, facing downward. ...
Stan's user avatar
  • 14.1k
7 votes

How can I remove gel (?) Ink from a book?

If all your attempts at removal fail or you do indeed damage the paper in an attempt at doing so, I suggest what I would have probably done instead of writing directly into the book: Use a matching (...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 3,195
7 votes
Accepted

Effective ways to dry out books?

The passive solution Put paper towels, tissue paper, toilet paper or anything that absorbs water well between every single page that got damp. Make sure that part of the paper towels stick out of the ...
Elmy's user avatar
  • 2,976
6 votes

Book holder for paperbacks

Binder clips might work, but a chip clip might work even better. The length of the chip clip might be more suitable for keeping the book open. I don't happen to have a chip clip handy, but I just ...
J.R.'s user avatar
  • 295
6 votes

How to COMPLETELY peel off a sticky price tag or label on a book or item without the gunky residue?

Use a hair dryer and pull perpendicular. It softens the glue so that it stays on the sticker instead of the book. Glue residue can be removed with white spirits. However, some glues are really hard ...
Mrten's user avatar
  • 201
6 votes

Physical Text To Digital Text

You can do this in stages. Start with putting everything online as page scans and updating as and when you can. The cerlox™ plastic comb binding makes taking it apart and putting it back into the ...
Stan's user avatar
  • 14.1k
5 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

I am using hair clip when I need to hold the songbook while playing the piano. The advantage of this is mainly that it is large enough to hold the whole book and not only a few pages.
TGar's user avatar
  • 183
5 votes
Accepted

How to store books in less than ideal conditions?

Know thy enemy Your books worst enemy is of course, humidity. Humidity is also conditio sine qua non for the dreaded mold that will happily munch on the cellulose leaving behind not much in the way ...
hlecuanda's user avatar
  • 529
4 votes

Book holder for paperbacks

How about using a paper clamp to hold either side together?
Arazio's user avatar
  • 785
4 votes

How can I transport a book in a backpack without getting the corners bent?

I have used cereal or granola bar boxes and cut the ends off of them. Many of the larger snack boxes are bigger and you can fit a few books in there. They don't last a terribly long time, as they ...
Newbie Analyst's user avatar
4 votes

How can I transport a book in a backpack without getting the corners bent?

Get hold of some of the cardboard folders/envelopes/mailers that Amazon and similar companies send books out in. These are specifically designed to keep books from damage. It will add a little to the ...
Lostinfrance's user avatar
4 votes

How to stop books closing themselves

Just take a large rubber band that will fit over the book from side to side and once you have the page you want....slip the elastic over the book near the top. You can increase the number of elastics ...
user19061's user avatar
4 votes

How do I staple a few sheets of paper in the middle using a normal stapler?

1) Put the paper on a soft but firm surface like a piece of Styrofoam, or even a couple layers of corrugated cardboard (like from a cardboard box). 2) Open the stapler. Position the head where you ...
BrettFromLA's user avatar
  • 11.5k
4 votes

How to keep books from slipping?

The normal solution is to use bookends: (random image picked from a 'bookends' image search) You can buy these, but you can also build them yourself. One option is to get a few pieces of wood in A4 ...
Hobbes's user avatar
  • 6,274
4 votes

How can a layperson decontaminate library books?

I assume this is due to coronavirus fear. Just Googling how long can the coronavirus last on surfaces, the answer is up to 5 days. Viruses are parasitic. They need a living host to survive and ...
Keltari's user avatar
  • 141
4 votes

How can I organize books of many sizes for usability?

One option for marking the spot a book has been removed from is to insert a token of some sort: tab made from a manila folder or card stock, plastic tab, bookmark with tassel, etc. When a related ...
Technophile's user avatar
3 votes

How do I remove a musty smell from my books?

The musty smell of paper is very hard to remove. You could try a method that has proved effective, for me, personally. You cannot wash the book nor scrub the smell out of it without damaging the ...
Varun Nair's user avatar
3 votes

Book holder for paperbacks

You can do a search of "book holders." I think most works best with hard-cover books, but certain models look like they will work well for paperback books as well, for example these two seem to have ...
fuzzy_onesie's user avatar
3 votes

How can I transport a book in a backpack without getting the corners bent?

Put the books in a big plastic cover or kit.Put this cover/kit in your backpack.This will not add much weight to your backpack.
MANEESH MOHAN's user avatar
3 votes

How to reuse a note book paper that can't blank?

There's a technique used in the old days called cross writing to write new material at a different angle across the existing lines of text on a piece of paper. A crossed letter is a manuscript ...
Lawrence's user avatar
  • 717
3 votes

How can I organize books of many sizes for usability?

My hack is for part of the question – replacing a book in its original position. Withdraw the adjacent book part way, so that you can see the place. If that is made awkward because neighbouring ...
Weather Vane's user avatar
  • 4,440
3 votes

How to prevent and remove book fungus

Moisure is a problem for some 3D printer filaments. They are typically shipped in vacuum sealed bags with a small desiccant package within. Once opened, it can be challenging to keep the filament ...
fred_dot_u's user avatar

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