This was posted out of incredulity, and wishing to share and discuss the challenges of such collections, not braggadocio.

I needed to figure out how much added weight my RPG library would be for the Wheelchair Friendly RPG Trailer - http://rpgtrailer.com

Not counting my Tolkien Books Collection, or my Recreation Therapy and Research Psychology shelves, just my RPG books weigh a whopping 1,400 pounds! - http://spokanerpg.com/archives/images/game-rooms/hawkes-game-room-1/dsc-1819.jpg/view

Fortunately, even after fuel, water, etc, that still leaves more than 1,000 pounds cargo capacity for the 22' trailer.

Should be enough for the LARP gear, and the computers running the computer-based RPG sessions.
Phew!

So the shelves in the bookcases in the photo are interior capacity 27.5" wide, and each segment weighed on a scale was about 67 to 74 lbs, so I rounded it to 70 lbs even.

If placed horizontally end to end (internal diameter), that is 550” = 45.83... FEET of RPG books!

So, that had me wondering, not counting tables, chairs, miniatures, statues, broadcast set and equipment, just the RPG rulebooks, modules, etc. what is your collection like?
 

Updated: A Response to those regarding PDFs and RPG:

I have tried several times to use the ebook options in tabletop RPG.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                             
Most of the systems I enjoy running the most are either out of print and/or never legally made available on PDF.                                              
                                                                                                                                                             
If the group wants to make characters from scratch, rather than use pre-mades, then typically need 4-5 simultaneous copies of the player related books/pdfs/tablets/devices to speed up that process. For one-shots pre-generated characters are fine, but for long campaigns, players usually want to make their own charcters from scratch.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                             
while I have many tablets, laptops, and desktops, left over from my computer science days, I have not budgeted for 5 tablets for players to use, instead having to rely on the mish-mash of what I have and the players own.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                             
Since I run games at remote locations, such as rehabilitation centers, hospitals, schools, game stores, rural areas, my offices, etc., I have to pack up a large portion of my library for each group, haul it down, un-pack, then the inverse for each session. In addition to regular games, I run free game sessions for many special needs populations including Autism, Deaf, at-risk youth, brain injury, etc.                
                                                                                                                                                             
It will be a very nice thing about when the trailer is built, I will no longer have to haul them around separately, they will all be right there at our fingertips.  http://gofundme.com/rpgtrailer                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                             
My back will be very grateful when the trailer is finally built. :-) 　                                                                                      

The trailer, after gas, water, etc. has around 2,500 lb cargo capacity, and my SUV that will be pulling it has a 10,000 lb towing capacity, so it will work out very nicely.

While I have been a strong advocate for eBooks since the 1990s (heck, I was CTO of an ebook company), for RPG I have found that players having tech devices far too often takes people out of the game too much.

I had started years ago transitioning (where I could) to ebooks for RPG, but after running somewhat controlled experiments between groups I allowed to have tech out, those that I partially allowed, and those I didn't allow at all, the assessment scores were much higher (Better) for those that I banned tech, than those that were allowed.

Since then, for some groups I have had to ban people taking out their smart phones until breaks, because it is too easy, especially for younger generations, to get sucked into them when it isn't their turn, and they get too distracted from the game.

Generally not exactly an overt ban, but consequences in-game for not paying attention when their turn comes around and they don't know what's going on completely (even though they think they do), so some get the message, really young ones need it spelled out for them.  

Using recreation therapy related tools, the assessment scores are both observational (my observations and assistants') and self-reported satisfaction, immersion, "flow", fun, retention, and other areas.

There is a dramatic difference between the "unplugged" groups, and the plugged or partially plugged groups. Since then I have been insisting the players go with the "unplugged" option for the tabletop RPG sessions (obviously not the case for the computer-based RPG sessions).

Something to keep in mind, since most people don't perform such assessments/experiments, you may not realize just how much technology devices at the tabletop RPG game session impact game play quality and satisfaction.

Happy Gaming!
-Hawke Robinson

http://rpgrsearch.com

Photo of the game room contents that would be moved to the trailer:
http://spokanerpg.com/archives/images/game-rooms/hawkes-game-room-1/dsc-1819.jpg/view

Do you need to haul around 1,400lbs of roleplaying books?
Sounds more like someone trying to preen some feathers.

Quote from: Sommerjon;860792Do you need to haul around 1,400lbs of roleplaying books? Sounds more like someone trying to preen some feathers.

That would be my take.  I rather doubt that if you took the corebooks of the twenty most popular systems out there, along with the top five published worldbooks from each of those systems, you'd come anywhere remotely close to 1,400 lbs.

Hell, I expect most gaming stores don't have 1,400 lbs of RPG books on the shelves.

But yeah.  1,400 lbs of books!  45.83... FEET of RPG books!   This is absolutely a Mine Is Bigger Than Yours thread.

Well, sir.  Yours is indeed bigger than anyone else's.  You win.

We done here?

Man, are we bitter...

I've got a meagre 6 feet worth of books in my collection, although admittedly, I've lost and had to throw out quite a few in the last few years.  Rest in Peace, my Palladium Games library.

Pfft! This is the RPG Site! You only need a retroclone for each edition of D&D, and a printer for making character sheets. You gaming needs are met and exceeded!

rpgresearch, what is the purpose of this thread? Is there a question you wanted answered or something you wanted to discuss?

As a piece of advice, starting this thread with, "Hey all, I just wanted to share this project I'm working on because I think you'll get a kick out of it." or something to that effect would make people more likely to take this thread as is. Then people might come back with, "looks like fun."

Oh, and not title it along the lines of 'mine's this big. what about you' Yeah, that wasn't good.

Quote from: flyingmice;860826Pfft! This is the RPG Site! You only need a retroclone for each edition of D&D, and a printer for making character sheets. You gaming needs are met and exceeded!

Thanks for coming.  

RPGSite Posters: Salty as Fuck.

Quote from: Sommerjon;860792Do you need to haul around 1,400lbs of roleplaying books?
Sounds more like someone trying to preen some feathers.

Sorry that it came across that way to folks.

The original title was "Woah, my collection is 1,400 pounds!", as in shock and incredulity.

http://spokanerpg.com/blogs/how-much-does-your-rpg-book-collection-weigh

While I see them each day, and have felt the strain when moving portions to sites, having some hard numbers just made it seem more shocking. And I was kind of hoping there were many others out there with far more.

It was also looking for dialog on the topic. For example elsewhere, it triggered conversations about people using PDF instead, and the pros and cons of that approach.
Also, as someone did state here, the challenges of trying to hang on to so many books, when there can be problems with theft, moving loss, and other challenges.
Or even if it is really worth it to hang on to all these over the years.
Happy Gaming!

Quote from: Christopher Brady;860823Man, are we bitter...

I've got a meagre 6 feet worth of books in my collection, although admittedly, I've lost and had to throw out quite a few in the last few years.  Rest in Peace, my Palladium Games library.

Oh my! You threw some away? No local game store or library they could have been donated to?

Quote from: Ravenswing;860821 I rather doubt that if you took the corebooks of the twenty most popular systems out there, along with the top five published worldbooks from each of those systems, you'd come anywhere remotely close to 1,400 lbs.

Hell, I expect most gaming stores don't have 1,400 lbs of RPG books on the shelves.

That is why I was so surprised myself by how much it added up to. The formula (and photo of the room with about 70% of the books)

I started accumulating them in 1979, so it was a slow trickle over decades.

And that paper just really adds up quickly in weight.

I had never thought to try adding up those number until it became necessary for this project. Again, sorry folks took it as anything other than just sharing my incredulity.

Quote from: rpgresearch;860841Oh my! You threw some away? No local game store or library they could have been donated to?

Some got eaten (Chewed) by mice, and a place I lived in had an infestation of bedbugs, which stained several books and ran the risk of spreading.

Honestly, I miss some of them too.  My Dark Champions for 4e collection, most of my Palladium Books (Including an original printing of TMNT.)

Quote from: Willie the Duck;860827rpgresearch, what is the purpose of this thread? Is there a question you wanted answered or something you wanted to discuss?

As a piece of advice, starting this thread with, "Hey all, I just wanted to share this project I'm working on because I think you'll get a kick out of it." or something to that effect would make people more likely to take this thread as is. Then people might come back with, "looks like fun."

Oh, and not title it along the lines of 'mine's this big. what about you' Yeah, that wasn't good.

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I thought it would be taken as the starter for friendly (maybe bemused) dialog, and my own incredulity at what it all added up to over the decades, not the beginning of a pissing match.
I (mistakenly) approached it with a more friendly conversation style that I'm used to on my own email lists. Of course, the folks on those friendly and polite lists, we've known each other for decades, so such misunderstandings are rare. My apologies for not thinking first to address the unknown audience members more appropriately.
Happy Gaming!

Quote from: Christopher Brady;860844Some got eaten (Chewed) by mice, and a place I lived in had an infestation of bedbugs, which stained several books and ran the risk of spreading.

Honestly, I miss some of them too.  My Dark Champions for 4e collection, most of my Palladium Books (Including an original printing of TMNT.)

Oh! That is a bummer! Curse those +10 infestations of your "many a quaint and curious volume(s) of forgotten lore,".

I had a few close calls with floods over the years, but just pure luck saved the books themselves, while other things around them (half a dozen computers for example!) were ruined.
Some of my old fantasy novels had problems with moth larvae a few times, but fortunately never my RPG books (too much use?).
Never thought about the other types of infestations.

Do you have measures in place to protect what you have left preventing that happening again?

Quote from: Willie the Duck;860827Oh, and not title it along the lines of 'mine's this big. what about you' Yeah, that wasn't good.

Is there any way to change the title? I can't seem to find an option from Edit.