Bibliomania: the uncontrollable accumulation of books

Most books are designed to be engaging. Not only do they have back covers that explain in the most suggestive way possible what can be found among their pages, but the spine, the cover image and often the title express the intention of capturing attention quickly.

Bibliomania It can be understood as one of the most extreme consequences of this, since the person who experiences this phenomenon feels intensely attracted to books in physical format. However, it is much more than this.

What is bibliomania?

Bibliomania is the tendency to compulsively and uncontrollably acquire and accumulate books.

It is not considered a mental disorder and in fact it does not appear in the DSM-5 diagnostic manuals, but it can be understood as a symptom related to hoarding disorder and with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Besides, It should not be confused with bibliophilia either., which is simply the love of books in an abstract sense.

Thus, bibliomania can be used to refer precisely to the way in which a mental disorder is expressed when the accumulation of books produces problems that damage the quality of life of the person, either due to a serious lack of space at home, the constant appearance of new debts, lack of social life, hygiene problems due to excessive dust, etc

How to recognize that there is an accumulation problem?

The accumulation of books is not in itself a bad thing. As is almost always the case with symptoms of mental disorders, whether or not bibliomania is a problem depends on a matter of degree: the intensity with which compulsive shopping is done, the space left free to move around the house, the hygiene conditions of the home, the way in which the fact of accumulating books has an impact on social life, etc

In addition, it is also necessary to take into account the way in which all of the above is related to the purchasing power of the person; It is not the same to reserve 3 rooms to accumulate hundreds of books if you live with a subsistence income than if you are from the upper class.

Non-pathological cases

As bibliomania is not an agreed diagnostic category nor is it widely used in the clinical setting, this word is occasionally used to describe refer in an ironic or humorous tone to the tastes of some "intellectual foodies" who accumulate large amounts of books that they will not be able to read, among other things, because they want to pretend.

This kind of benign bibliomania is also a way to offer a positive self-image. The fact of having large walls full of shelves with books can produce admiration both for being a bet reliable as a form of decoration as well as for externalizing the curiosities and literary and intellectual interests of those who has.

On the other hand, maintaining an extensive and careful collection of books is a demonstration of one's own criteria and refined tastes as long as any type of literary works is not accumulated and a filter is maintained.

In addition, flaunting very expensive or rare books, such as unique editions, defective copies or incunabula it is also a form of class differentiationTherefore, bibliomania can be based on the desire to legitimize a certain degree of authority over others.

Uncontrollably hoarding books

Although for a long time the image of the buyer has been that of a person who makes decisions purely rational considering the costs and benefits of acquiring something, this idea has long since entered into crisis.

We currently know that processes based entirely on emotions tend to influence after the purchase of a product, even if they are disguised as rationality. For example, something as simple as the color of a box or packaging can make a certain product sell more or less.

In the case of bibliomania, the motivation behind the accumulation of books also escapes conventional logic. That is why this phenomenon is considered a symptom that can appear in certain disorders and that on many occasions is beyond the control of the person: first the acquisition and storage of the book takes place and then the "excuses" created to justify to oneself what has been done appear. made.

• Related article: "Neuromarketing: your brain knows what it wants to buy"

its causes

Regarding the causes of bibliomania, depend on the type of mental disorder with which it is associated in each case, and even knowing this factor, it is not fully known what kind of mental mechanisms are the ones that produce this symptom.

With regard to non-pathological bibliomania, as it is a very abstract concept, there may be an infinite number of reasons: from the belief that time will be available to read everything (in the case of people who are very curious about many subjects or who highly appreciate the habit of reading for leisure reasons) to interest narcissistic for flaunting intellectual goods, going through the simple decorative desire.