The Strand Book Store has been a New York icon for over 70 years. It’s justly famous for its ‘Eight Miles of Books’ spread over five floors at the corner of Broadway and 12th. And it’s got the largest rare book collection in New York City.

This family-owned store doesn’t just trade on its history, though. It’s at the forefront of a new trend in American book-selling - assembling customised libraries according to subject, binding and size, and charging by the foot. It’s called Books by the Foot and on the company web site, they list the prices they charge their clients:

• Hardcover bargain "variety" chosen from new and used overstock at $10 per foot
• Hardcover fiction at $50 per foot
• Leather-looking books at $75 per foot
• Hardcover biographies of great historical figures at $100 per foot
• New leather classics at $175 per foot
• Antique leather in good condition at $350 per foot

The Strand is not alone in this line of work. Book Décor of Fallbrook, California, also offers books by the foot, mostly leather-bound hardbacks from Denmark at $70 to $120 a foot.

Lest you think that this reduces books to the level of a commodity, Strand co-owner Nancy Bass (pictured) has been quoted as saying, “Most of the people I work with love books and really want their library to reflect who they are.” She adds: “My clients usually buy about 40 feet of books. It's usually people that are moving into a new apartment or want to have an impressive collection."

The Strand has put together libraries for the Plaza Hotel, Steven Spielberg, and Polo Ralph Lauren. And they’re picking up trade from film and TV set designers, too: they provided books for You’ve Got Mail, Saturday Night Live, Law and Order, and A Beautiful Mind.

If you’re moving into a new house and you’ve got empty shelves to fill, you know where to go.