Endangered Knowledge

How much value do you place on books, aside from how much you paid for them? To me they are priceless. They hold so much knowledge. We all know the saying "knowledge is power". Power over what? To me it is the power to not only survive but to thrive.

I don't know about you but I can't remember everything that I read. That is why I love books, you can go back and refresh your memory about things that you had forgotten. They were once the holding place for all the knowledge of the earth. What would happen if tomorrow there was no more Internet, no more google. Where would you find the information that you needed? In books!!

I like to refer to my book collection as my survival library. I encourage everyone to start building their own. A broad collection of books is a good collection. Everything from your typical survival guide up to books that cover performing surgery. Don't overlook subjects like electricity, plumbing, and general building practices. I suggest buying two copies of each book. One to read and keep around the house, and another to store.

When storing them I recommend doing so in a fashion similar to food. In a clearly labeled vacuum or just regularly sealed bags, even ziplock bags with an oxygen absorber and a desiccant packet. When placing them in whatever container you choose to store them in be sure to place them in spine down, and be careful not to place them in a way that will deform the spine. This will make them very difficult to straighten. Then put some moth balls in the box and seal it up. Store the box in a cool dry place. As with most important things I would store all my books in the same place.

I can foresee books having a great value in a post collapse society. If I knew nothing about survival I would be willing to trade anything for a book on the subject. So consider by some cheaper ones on sale or even used, and keep them around for barter tools. Another use for books when bartering is determining an objects worth. That way you will know if a deal is fair or not.

As you can see books are very important to us and our society. I hope that you will consider adding books to your preps. Remember knowledge is power!!!