Sizing down guidebooks

I think Rick mentions how to cut them out in the Europe Through The Back door book... Pretty much just crack the spine for the sections you want to take out and use a razor to cut. You can then either just leave them loose or get them spiral bound or something.

As for destroying the books, I look at it this way. By the time I am going to go somewhere again, it will be in my best interest to buy a whole new set of books so unless I want to give them away or sell them in pristine condition, why should it matter? Consider it part of the expense of travelling, buying decent guide books.

Another thought is, if you make your own mini-guide book with this method, that would make an awesome souvenir!

I am making my own guidebook about the same size as a Rick Steve's book (but not as thick or heavy!). I have printed out tube/underground maps, maps of the main parts of each city I am going to, and a list of places to visit including hours, prices, and any hints Rick gives about dodging the line-ups! I have coil-bounded it so it is easy to search through. Since I am going on a tour with pre-arranged accomodation and my main transportation included much of Rick's books aren't that useful to me this time I head to Europe.

You'll find lots of other suggestions, too, in the archived tips but what I always do is tear the books to pieces! Then I recyle all the unused pages, if none of my friends want the books. This, in spite of the fact that I am a librarian and spend my non- travel time preserving books! It's essential for traveling light and keeping organized.

Anyway, I make a ziplock baggie for each destination, with just those needed pages and all the hotel contact and confirmations, etc. I always make a little booklet out of the RS museum tours, too. I shrink Internet info to as small as possible and that goes in there, also.

It also makes it easy to review the plans for the next leg of the trip while on the train or in the hotel the night before.

Lastly, as an avid scrapbooker, with the baggie system I discard pages I no longer need as I go but can still keep notes and acquired info, postcards, etc organized. These used baggies go in the bottom of my carry on.

Instead of distroying the books, I would make copies of the pages you need, if there are not many.
You also can find good info on line. Print them out on both sides of the paper to save room.

OK I have such a hard time with this! I love books, and I have heard the same thing to rip it to pieces but I cannot bring myself to do it! Someone who has done this, you are going to have to convince me that its worth it. Also how do you rip sections out without tearing the pages?

Amanda, I so sympathize! I even have problems writing in my books for school (English major so school books are no longer text books)! I just can't bring myself to rip a book apart... though a perfectly reasonable things to do I was cringing throughout Jon's post. Instead, I am making copies of the things I want from the books (I'm lucky enough to have a home copier/printer) and printing lots of stuff from online as well as flight/hostel/train reservations and compiling them all into a binder. The binder will also provide a place to put things (entry tickets, brochures, post cards etc) that I might want to keep.

We make photocopies and then give them to the hotel or TI when we leave to help them assist other English speaking tourists.

Here is the system we use, we put it on our personal travel website, because we swear by it and anyone we have converted to it....says they loved it!

Very lightweight and compact once sealed

this is to our main page, go into journal, then organizing

http://when.do.we.leave.googlepages.com/

Guide books aren't meant to be kept as the information gets out of date. If you make copies of pages, you're just using more trees - IMO, for no good reason. Anyway, buying new books helps the ecomony.

We donate our guidebooks to the library...

and charitable organizations who hold booksales..

such as the American Cancer Society

I like the method given by isailtheseas. I'm doing pretty much the same thing only in a binder with closable plastic sleeves/sheet protectors for things that are really important/too small to attach (ticket stubs etc). I thought about the file method, but things make more sense to me in binder format... don't know why, maybe the conditioning of doing that way for school =)

I don't feel comfortable ripping apart my brand new guide books, but do love the idea of donating them to our public library! I have noticed that they have lots of Frommers and Fodors but hardly any recent Rick Steves'.

I will copy if I only need a few pages but frankly in the last 7 trips using RS guidebooks I take them with me. they are not that heavy and the wealth of info in them is incredible, it is imp to have them entirly.
Also I write notes, info, changes in margin and love reading thru them yrs later. You may be amazed how often on a trip you will ref. the info provided.

We don't need hotel info but restaurants probably, and also admission fees, directions for driving etc., metro info.

I guess cutting the books up might be okay after all.

Unless you really need just a few pages I think photocopies are not only wasteful but also heavier. Many books are made with lighter paper. Some books now come in PDF (Lonely Planet) so you can print 4-pages per page on some printers. But in reality (and rick always says it) = these books are only good for 1-2 yrs so rip them up with a good exacto blade. Ricks books work well this way since you can keep the chapters you need and remove the ones you dont with a little effort - then put back in the cover and a binder clip - saves pounds!

the razor is a good idea. i think i will use my utility knife to take what i need and hole punch them. i got them on amazon cheap.

I broke down and cut up my Rick Steves book last night. It was freeing! Now I have all these cute mini books that can stay packed until I am in that city. I was planning on taking the whole book around with me in a day pack. Now I only have to put the small section for that city in my day pack and save a ton of space and weight.

When I went on a trip where I was only in Paris a few days but in Rome for 10 and Germany for 17 days I took the whole book for Rome and Germany but I took out the Paris section out of the Best of Europe. I also had a hard hard time with the thought of tearing up a book. But I did. I broke the spine and took out the section I needed. Then, so the pages didn't come apart more, I used a 3 hole punch and then used yarn bound the pages together. It worked great and then I left the Paris left the section on the endtable in the lounge area of the hotel. There was another France section on the same table.

Let me post 1 more scenario to consider for those that claim the guidebooks will be out of date..and to just cut them up...

I leave in 2 weeks for Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia. We return mid May...

We do this every year to beat the crowds..

that gives at least 6 months of travelers to go to these places and utilize Rick Steves Croatia/Slovenia 2007 book ` up to date, current info by checking it out of at the library.

How does this help the economy...well it helps my library keep book supply current as funds have been cut dramatically for libraries throughout the United States which in turns helps them use $$ elsewhere to keep the library open...and since Rick is such a supporter of PBS, I would think (and hope) he would embrace this option.

that's all ...

just want to express that scenario..

no judgements on any other options presented!

Let me post 1 more scenario to consider for those that claim the guidebooks will be out of date..and to just cut them up...

I leave in 2 weeks for Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia. We return mid May...

We choose this timeframe to travel every year to beat the crowds..

that gives at least 6 months of travelers to go to these places and utilize Rick Steves Croatia/Slovenia 2007 book ` up to date, current info by checking it out of at the library.

How does this help the economy...well it helps my library keep book supply current as funds have been cut dramatically for libraries throughout the United States which in turns helps them use $$ elsewhere to keep the library open...and since Rick is such a supporter of PBS, I would think (and hope) he would embrace this option.

that's all ...

just want to express that scenario..

no judgements on any other options presented!

I never cut up my Steves guidbooks.When I return I use the info for a few years to share. On more then one occassion while traveling another traveler will need info on a location that is in Ricks book but they dont have.It is nice to share this info.

I've cut sections out of some of my guidebooks -- the ones that have lots of info I know I won't be needing -- and I've been able to bring them home and put them back together again. I use mine for a few years at a time also, and this has worked for me.

By my count, we're at seven votes for and seven votes against tearing a book apart (with some repeats and non-committals uncounted.)

I have no intention of breaking the tie.

I just want to say that - in a book margin or on the back of a copy - hand written notes on your choices for dining, lodging, top attractions, must do's, etc. can really be helpful.

Writing it out to yourself lets you activate your photographic memory and frees you up to not have to refer to the guide material so often.

I do this before I start baking a cake so most of the measurements are memorized and I'm not mucking up my nice cookbook with creamed butter and sugar, wondering if it was a "t" or a "T" of baking soda.

Once, in Dublin it began to rain (imagine). We were farther west than we had ever been and a bit disoriented. As I was about to grab for the map, I looked up at the street sign. It was Fade St. I said, "Hey, I think Market Bar is on Fade St." And presto... something scratched off the wish list.

I'm a cutter, too! When I'm done I pass it along to one of the many fabulous people I meet in my travels. It's not hard to get rid of!

Or I just leave it in the lobby or at the Reception for them to pass along next time someone asks for recommendations. Whether they toss it or not, I don't know but at least I made an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle.

All right, now that the tie has been broken by Flight Attendant, I will say that the note I made to myself about the Market Bar was in nice big letters on the back of a copy of Karen Brown's walking tour of Dublin.

P.S. - Roughly 20% of the highlights she mentioned in a 6-month-old guidebook were undoable due to closure, construction or a misstatement of the actual operating hours.

I too am a librarian...and it was a colleauge who gave me the exacto knife idea...Shocked at first!! But when we went to Hungary, i took only Budapest with us and left the rest of Eastern Europe at home....And for a recent return to the Louvre, i cut that section out of the Paris book. That book was left with us by the above mentioned friend...Chartres and Chantilly are missing, but that's okay.
Baggage wise books get pretty heavy..and by the time you get to amsterdam you'll be torturing yourself over continuing to carry or not paris and vienna.....
So go ahead and cut...most libraries end up using your gifts for the book sales, not on the shelves..