When I was in college, one of my classes required a tour of the Library-Archives. On this tour, I learned something that stuck with me to this day.

“Never pull out a book by its spine; that will damage it. Always get a book out by grabbing the body.”

As an avid reader, I am most comfortable pulling out a book by its spine. I am also familiar with the damage that comes with that action. However, we readers do that because it’s the easiest way to get a book off of a shelf. When they are pressed together so tightly, it’s difficult to get a grip on the body.

Since my time in college, I’ve been thinking of a solution, and here it is: The Tab.Tilt and Tab.Slide.

The Tab-Tilt allows a book to tilt out just enough to grab the body. Each tab is thin and can be laid side-by-side. Books will then be placed on top of these tabs. When the Tab is pressed, the book will tilt out.

The Tab-Slide works the same way but slides the book out.

This is the Tab.Tilt in action:

and the Tab.Slide in process: