What are my options with covering contact paper? Can I paint? Or should I strip?

Question:I am redoing my church's nursery and they have two decent bookshelves, but they are covered in contact paper- its still in decent condition, but its very outdated and doesn't go with the new room- IF i strip it (which I did a small piece) its all sticky underneith (obviously) but if I paint over it, wont that give me very visable strokes? Any suggestions would be so appreciated. Thank you!

Answers:
You had better strip it off; You can*t paint over contact paper without haveing a big mess later, it may even lift the paper off. I got mine off my bathroom wall by using a hair dryer on it. it gets warm and comes off in pretty big strips.
As far as painting over it? I think you would have to be sure all the glue is off first, try washing with white vinegar water, about half and half, the smell doesn*t last long. I wall papered over my walls (after removing the contact paper ) I can*t say about the painting over it part.but bookshelves shouldn*t be too obvious., with books on them.