I saw this and immediately thought of you guys. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/bigger-storage-library-stair.php OK, I lie, my first thought was "WANT!" My second thought was that you all might like it.
(http://www.treehugger.com/stair2.jpg)
Ailsa that is [cool]. But I wouldn't really want it as it would take too long to go up and down with the reading as you go. Maybe modify it for tools ;D
One of my neighbors homes where I grew up, held a massive collection of first edition books. They would have really benefited from this system. Their storage consisted of cardboard boxes and books stacked from floor to ceiling in every square foot of the house including the stairs. It was really neat and mysterious to see as a child, but I can't imagine living that way.
This is very accommodating.
Christina
My mother has about 3000 books. many she inherited from my grandparents. They are stored in every corner of her house, every closet, shelf, on the floor, in boxes etc. Every few years she has some reason for needing to move some or most of them and calls me to help. I have probly moved these same books 20 times in my lifetime.