When I was younger, I did not have much space for books at home, so I mostly just read library books. Once I got my own place I started to buy books but with no particular intent in creating a coherent collection, let alone a personal library. Over the years I've given away (and thrown away) lots of books due to moves and such and I'm now finally thinking about building a proper library of my favorite books and the "classics" I haven't had a chance to read yet. My (vain) hope is that such a library would outlast me and be a small foundation for my children to carry on building their own collection(s).
Those of you that have already established their own library - how did you get started? Did you just create a list of the books you wanted and started frequenting book stores? For second hand purchases, are there particular publishers whose editions you'd recommend in terms of quality of print/binding? For example I find the books from foliosociety.com to be very tempting (but expensive!).
Would you be willing to share pictures of your current collection for inspiration?