How to Pack Books for Moving

The short answer

Books go in small boxes, packed flat or spine-down, and nothing else goes in with them. A book box should weigh under 40 pounds, which for hardcovers means a box no bigger than 1.5 cubic feet.

The three failures to avoid:

• a box so heavy the bottom gives out on the stairs;
• books packed spine-up, which pulls the pages away from the binding;
• cardboard sitting on a damp garage floor before the truck arrives.

Thin the shelves first

Books are the heaviest thing per cubic foot in a normal household, heavier than dishes. On an hourly move, weight is time; on a long-distance move priced by weight, it is money.

Pull anything you will not read again. In San Francisco, the Friends of the SFPL bookstore, Community Thrift, and the Children’s Book Project all take donations, and most branch libraries accept them too. Textbooks and technical titles often sell; damaged paperbacks go in paper recycling.

Then decide what you need in the first week. That is usually a short stack, and it belongs in a box you open first, not at the bottom of a pallet.

Choose the right box

Small is the whole trick. A 1.5 cubic foot book box is the standard for a reason.

• Small box, 1.5 cu ft: around 20 to 30 hardcovers, or 40 paperbacks. This is the right size.
• Medium box, 3.0 cu ft: only for paperbacks, and only if you fill the top half with something light.
• Large box: never for books.
• Plastic bins: fine, but they get heavier than they look. Keep the same weight limit.

Reinforce the bottom of every box with a second strip of tape across the seam and two more perpendicular to it. Box sizes and what fits in each are listed on our packing supplies page.

Three ways to pack books

Flat, stacked

Lay books flat, covers up, largest at the bottom. This is the safest method and the best one for hardcovers and anything old. It uses slightly more space.

Spine down, standing

Stand books upright with the spine against the bottom of the box, the way they sit on a shelf. Fine for paperbacks and everyday hardcovers. Never stand them spine-up; the weight of the pages pulls the block out of the binding.

Spine to the wall

Lay books on their side with the spine against the box wall and the fore-edge inward. Good for filling a partial layer without leaving a gap.

Whichever you use, fill the empty space with packing paper. Books that slide inside a box arrive with bent corners.

Valuable, old, or signed books

Treat these as a separate category and pack them yourself.

• Wrap each volume in acid-free tissue or plain unprinted packing paper, never newsprint. Ink transfers.
• Do not use rubber bands or tape on a book. Both damage cloth and leather.
• Pack rare books flat, in a box that does not need to be filled to the top.
• Keep them out of plastic for anything longer than a day; trapped humidity is what causes mold and foxing.
• Carry signed or high-value titles with you, and declare them during the walkthrough if they stay in the shipment.

The Library of Congress publishes practical guidance on handling and storing books at home in its preserving your books guide. It is worth ten minutes if you own anything you would not want to replace.

Weight, labeling, and stacking

Aim for 35 to 40 pounds per box. Lift-test it: if you cannot pick it up comfortably and carry it down a flight of stairs, take books out.

Label the top and one side with the room, a short description, and the word HEAVY. Crews stack heavy boxes on the bottom, and an unmarked book box put on top of a box of lamps is a predictable problem.

If your books are going into a garage or a storage unit, keep the boxes off the concrete on a pallet or a couple of boards. Concrete wicks moisture into cardboard.

Shipping books instead of moving them

For a few boxes going a long way, media mail through USPS is usually cheaper than adding the weight to a shipment. It is slower, and it is restricted to books and similar media, so a box with a coffee mug in it does not qualify.

For a full library, the boxes ride with the rest of the move. On an interstate shipment, what the mover owes for a damaged box depends on the valuation option you choose, which the FMCSA explains in its liability and valuation guidance. For a move inside California, the applicable terms come from your move documents and the state household mover rules.

Packing checklist

• Shelves thinned; donations dropped off.
• Small boxes only, bottoms double-taped.
• Books flat or spine-down, never spine-up.
• Gaps filled with paper.
• Every box under 40 pounds.
• Rare and signed books wrapped separately and carried by you.
• Boxes labeled with room and HEAVY.
• One box of current reading marked open first.
• Nothing stored directly on concrete.

When to let the crew handle it

A wall of shelves is a full day of work, and it is the kind of packing that goes faster with materials on hand and two people working a room. Our crews pack, label by room, and load book boxes low so nothing is crushed above them.

Halo by California Movers USA sends in-house employees, and the lead foreman confirms how heavy boxes are stacked before the truck moves. See packing services for what is included, or storage if part of the library is going into a unit.

Related guides: how to pack for a move, packing dishes, moving supplies. To understand how the price is built, see pricing.

Questions people ask

How many books fit in a box?

About 20 to 30 hardcovers or 40 paperbacks in a 1.5 cubic foot box. Weight decides, not volume.

Should books be packed flat or standing?

Flat is safest, especially for hardcovers and older books. Standing spine-down is fine for ordinary paperbacks.

Can I use liquor boxes or grocery boxes?

Only if the cardboard is clean, dry, and rigid. Used produce boxes are often damp and rarely hold a full load of books.

What about ebooks readers and audiobooks?

Pack tablets and readers with the electronics, not with the books. They are light, and they get crushed under paper.

Do movers pack books?

Yes, when packing is in the scope of your move plan. Ask for it to be listed in writing, along with the materials included.

Tell us what you are moving and we will come back with a starting quote.