Bookshelves and Tips for Organising a Book Collection | Bookriot

Books | Reading

Jen Sherman 08-29-17

Ah, the perennial problem: too many books and too little space. What to do when, once again, your bookshelves are full and not every book has a proper home? The topic of book organising is one we’ve covered before (on unusual bookshelves, tips and steps on organising your collection, and ways to organise your books other than alphabetically), but given that this seems to be an ongoing dilemma, I thought it was a topic worth revisiting. 

Organising a collection

Historically, public libraries were established for the creation of an enlightened citizenry and for the purposes of disseminating and archiving knowledge. Contemporary libraries have shifted in focus and exhibit multiple functions and purposes, including leisure and entertainment. This is evident in not only the content of their collections, but also in the order and display of collections. This also speaks to issues of power and knowledge: the power inherent in curation and display of knowledge, and the ability to influence which books are borrowed and read. How do librarians decide which classification system to use? How easy is it for serendipitous discovery? The way books are shelved and displayed affect how readers can find them; a library is not simply a collection of books, but a collection of books ordered in such a way that items can be found. Read more...