And Everything in its Place
How I (Try To) Organize My Library
by Harry Lafnear. January 10th, 2010
This essay is currently STILL in progress...
From Casual to Classified
I enjoy physical, printed books. I may turn to the web for quick research, but when reading at length, I prefer the sensual, static, old-fashioned feel of a book. Maybe there's a subtle sense of kinship between the flesh of my hands and the flesh of the book. Whatever the reason, I've built up a rather large personal library over the decades.
Of course, in the beginning I didn't have to worry about organizing my books: When there were just a few, the right ones were always easily at hand. Even as the collection grew, there were few problems as a rather simple, casual structure evolved. Only rarely was any reshuffling needed, such as when I brought in books on a new hobby, or when a specific shelf or bookcase filled to capacity.
Such an ad-hoc organization eventually proved its shortcomings, however. Now that my personal library includes about 1000 shelved books, it's harder to remember exactly where I put a specific title, and downright frustrating to find a book if it's been misfiled. Even worse, my household has moved numerous times over the last few years, and each time that I've hauled by books to a new location, I've found the structure unreasonably difficult to rebuild.
The first major failure came as the result of over-efficient packing. Before a move, I boxed my books mostly by size, avoiding empty box space and thoroughly shuffling the collection in the process. I assumed that I knew my library inside and out and could just restock the shelves by memory. Unfortunately, it took me a couple of months to get around to unpacking my books in my new home. By that time, I had forgotten far too much about how the books were originally filed. It took days to sort out an acceptable arrangement.
Having learned my lesson, I wrote down the library layout before my second move, only to find that my new office ceiling was too low to accommodate my old bookcases. I went and invested in a new, modular system of stacked cubicles for my library and again had to reorganize everything to fit the new system. The remaining moves have been equally eventful. Between botched note-taking, rushed packing, and reconfigured shelving layouts, I've come to realize the importance of having a formal system for organizing my library.
This is my system.
Logical Classification
Classifying by Topic
Sometimes, I have only a vague idea of which book I want. At other times, I know exactly what I'm after. A well organized library should help me efficiently find the appropriate book in either case. Since I have too many books to waste time on a full, shelf-by-shelf search, I rely on classification. Classification is the art of dividing a large collection of objects into small, well-defined, well-organized groups.
Books can be classified by almost any criteria, such as author or title. However, classifying books by their topic seems most powerful to me. The topic, whether poetry or computing is usually the first piece of information that comes to mind whether I'm looking for a specific book or just browsing aimlessly.
A decent list of topics will break a large library into manageable sections. A better list will make it pretty clear as to which category any specific book belongs. This usually requires a hierarchical list that offers a handful of top-level, general concepts that are each further divided into a few specific subtopics.
The ideal topic list will do all that, and then arrange the topics themselves across all levels from general to specific, past to future, base to exalted, and any other intellectual spectra one can naturally imagine. Taken as a linear whole, the ideal list illustrates the smooth continuum of human knowledge as topics flow in a seamless sequence. Theoretically, if books were organized according to such a list, I would be able browse even the most massive collection, efficiently refine or exapnd any search simply by shifting up, down, or sideways to adjacent, related topics.
Flirting with Dewey
I'm not the first to think of all this. Libraries all over the world use a variety of well-established, formal classification systems. I've examined a number of them and have found none that quite achieve the ideal. One of the closest I've seen is the Dewey Decimal System. It shows real promise as a raw resource, assiming one is willing to fix the flaws.
Pros
- Thorough, heirarchical topic list
- Created specifically for books
- Proven in public libraries, schools, and universities
- Creates tremendous consistency among different libraries
- Time tested
- Periodic revisions are designed for minimal disruption to established libraries
Cons
- Includes a massive set of topics not relevant to my library
- Skips topics not usually found in public collections but exist in private collections
- Doesn't provide enough depth for some topics of large bias in my collection
- Misfiles a few topic branches for historic or technical reasons peculiar to limits in the numbering system
- Cumbersome numbering
- Suggests physically labeling the books
All said, the Dewey topic list makes a good starting point, but it requires substantial revision to make it useful for private collections like mine.
Customizing the List
Here are the general tasks I used to build my own custom topic list:
- I found a copy of the Dewey topic list on the web (see below).
- I copied the topic list into my word processor.
- I cleaned up the list and placed the topics into a three-level outline. I used the "hundred" numbered topics (100, 200, etc) as top level categories in the outline, the "tens" (110, 120, etc.) as level two, and "single" numbered topics (111, 112, etc) as level three.
- I deleted a truly massive number of topics that didn't seem relevant to my library.
- I added a lot of new topics and subtopics that appear in my library but seemed to be missing from the list.
- I reorganized the topics to make more sense to me. This required moving, merging, and splitting topics.
I limited myself to three levels in the hierarchy because additional levels seem to create ambiguity about where each particular book may fit, and fewer levels just didn't provide break the books into small enough groups. I also placed no more than 10 items in each level and sub-level. This becomes highly useful later, when creating a catalog or database of the books, but there will be more about that later.
My resulting list was radically different from Dewey's, but fit my personal library quite well and offers room for expansion. My full system is shown at the end of this essay, but here are the top-level topics, illustrating the general lines of division:
- 000 Miscellaneous (this small section includes autographed books and those I've written myself)
- 100 Belief/Behavior (from religion to psychology)
- 200 Civics (such as history, law, and business)
- 300 Science (such as physics, technology, and biology)
- 400 Architecture (including construction and interior design)
- 500 Fine Art (including art collections and technique)
- 600 English (including fiction, poetry, and language reference materials)
- 700 Performing Arts (such as music and theater)
- 800 Leisure (such as travel, games, and entertaining)
- 900 (Reserved for future expansion)
At this point, I must admit this is more of an art than a science. While refining my list, some topics seemed equally well at home in multiple branches, and others seemed to have only the most tenuous link to their parent and sibling branches. Also, I may have gone overboard with the sub-categories. In the end, I could not fully eliminate personal opinion. Other librarians would have certainly made other choices. That's why I'm presenting the ideas behind this system, rather than just the rules than comprise it. As my collection evolves or my sensibilities change, I'll be returning here for tips on adapting the system to suit. My hope is that you can do that too.
To borrow a term from computing, I consider my topical classification to be "logical." In this context, logical doesn't mean that it makes sense (though I hope it does). Instead, logical means that it represents an abstract, mental model. The classification describes only how the books are conceptually related, which due to practical and aesthetic concerns is not necessarily how they are physically arranged on the shelves. In my system, this logical classification comes first, and only then can the physical organization be addressed.
Other Systems
If my personal classification system doesn't work for you, I encourage you to use one of these full-scale classification systems as a starting point for your own system:
Physical Location
Physical vs. Logical
As explained above, my books are logically classified by topic. The topic list logical classification describes the conceptual relationships between the books, based on their purpose or meaning. However, this logical structure is very difficult to duplicate in the real world. Though I try very hard to honor the topical structure when placing the books on the shelves, there are usually practical compromises that must be made.
For example, there is a real limit to the number, size, and placement of bookcases in any given room. Different room sizes and their door, window, and vent placement can require entirely different placement of the shelves. Then there are personal considerations: I like to keep related material close together, and I dislike stooping to reach frequently referenced books or reaching overhead to pull down the heavier books. And because I need to conserve shelf space, I also like to group sparsely populated topics into larger flows. As a result, when I move to each new venue, I'm often forced to adopt an entirely new approach as to which topic goes on which shelf.
Does this mean that I must revise my topic classification each time I move? Not at all. If I changed the classification to suit the physical layout of the shelves, the logical topic list would absorb all the compromises made for the room, severing some important topical relationships and forcing false ones in other places. Going forward, each time I adjusted the shelving, compromises would accumulate and the whole system would become increasingly arbitrary and disjointed.
Instead, each time I must confront a different shelving scenario, I just discard any ideas about the old physical shelving layout and refer back to my predefined logical classification list as a guide for developing a new physical layout. In this way, only the compromises necessary for the current floor plan are implemented. Prior compromises are not carried forward.
In essence, I manage two complementary systems: a reliable logical list of topics, and a malleable shelving map. However, to make this work, I have to do some advanced planning each time I move my library.
Measuring
First, I need to record the amount of shelf space occupied by each topic. Because my books are already divided into their groups, this isn't a big problem. I just use a tape measure and record the width of each flow on the topic list. Later, once my shelves are re-installed after the move (a whole process unto itself), these measurements will be used to help build a proper shelving plan.
However, if your books aren't yet sorted by topic (such a when you're trying this for the first time), you have a larger task on your hands. The first time I did this, I made dozens of separate stacks of books, each one representing a different first- or second-level topic. They covered my desk, table, and floor almost completely. But it did make them easy to measure.
One more factor in measuring is to make a note of those topics that have lots of books of the same general height, especially when they're not very tall, as with a bunch of paperbacks. I just put an asterisk (*) next to the measurement for such flows on the topic chart. This becomes very useful later when building the physical map, as it helps identify flows that can be condensed to occupy less shelving space with a few stacking tricks. I'll explain later.
The Floor Plan
Once I have my measurements, I can pack the books and move them to their new home. Of course, before I can unpack, I have to decide on a floor plan for the shelves.
The floor plan refers to the way the shelves are positioned within the room (or rooms or buildings). Though it's nice to put the shelves together, side by side, sometimes that isn't possible. The position of doors, windows, outlets, and vents have a big impact on where I can put shelves and other furniture.
I also prefer to put my books where they don't get direct sunlight from windows. And I prefer interior walls. If placing shelves against exterior walls, I prefer northern and eastern walls under the theory that here in the Northern Hemisphere they're more thermally stable than southern and western walls that get more direct sun.
Here are two examples of my recent office floorplans:
This is where my modular system shines. I'm using cheap Ikea kitchen cabinets. They're deeper than typical bookcases and attach easily and securely to the wall. They also include cabinet doors that protect my books from dust and fold up nicely out of the way. The doors also come in different colors and have large, clear windows. They're also easily interchangeable so I can swap them around to form different designs.
Still, no matter what type of shelves you're using, the shelves have to go somewhere (hopefully somewhat together) without blocking important fixtures. Once a valid floorplan is formed and the shelves in place, there's still a bit to do before shelving the books.
Mapping
Next, I map the logical topic list to the actual shelving layout.
To make the map, I draw a picture of how the shelves are physically arranged in the room. Nothing fancy; No 3D or anything. I just need to make sure the relative position of each shelf is represented (there are examples above and below).
I then take each topic on the logical classification list and write it on a shelf in the picture, along with the topic width measurement. My shelves are all 18-inches wide. One shelf will fit multiple topics if they each need just few inches, though some topics are big enough to require an entire shelf to themselves, or even multiple shelves.
This part reminds me of playing Tetris, moving topics around to fill shelves as much as practical while also trying to keep related topics on the same shelf, or at least near each other. I also like to keep the heavier books on the lower shelves, and the most often-used books on middle shelves nearest my desk.
I spend quite a while arranging and rearranging the map. Still, it's much easier to try things on paper (or on a computer since I have a nice drawing program), than to find myself committed to a bad layout by adding books to the shelves without a developed plan.
Even so, some topics just refuse to fit in the spaces available. This is where those little measurement asterisks come in handy. Asterisks indicate topics that can possibly be compressed to take up less shelf space (with a couple of tricks covered in the next sections). If I need only an inch or two to make a topic fit, and the majority of topics on the shelf have this "compressible" trait, I will assume that the topics will fit, even though the shelf may appear slightly over-allocated. This can provide crucial leeway in building the map.
Here's my current map:
I'm very lucky that my office has a large wall where all of my shelves fit nicely together. As shown in a prior section, this isn't always the case. My previous office had a low ceiling with more doors and windows, resulting in a far more complicated floor plan and shelving map. Even so, the same organizing principles were applied.
Arranging the Books
Inner Divisions
Once I have a map, I can shelve the books. However, in my library, the books within each topic are further divided into a few last sub-levels. I consider these divisions invisible because I don't shown them in the classification list. They're just too common. Adding them as sub-levels under every topic would just clutter the list.
Size Format
For fiction books (English: Fiction Read; Fiction Unread), I first separate them by their size:
- Trade - Hardbacks and trade paperbacks
- Paperback - Standard, mass-market paperbacks and pocket books
I do this to conserve shelf space. I have so many fiction books that it becomes vital that I pack them into the shelves as efficiently as possible. Separating them by size allows me to stack two rows of paperbacks on each shelf, doubling the shelf capacity. If I had the larger hardbacks inserted among and throughout the paperbacks, I couldn't fit two rows in each cubicle and my fiction section would then use up 16 cubicles instead of just 8.
Publication Type
Next, all books in all topics are grouped by their publication type:
- Periodicals - Magazines with regular issues.
- Anthologies - Book with multiple authors contributing independent works which are collected and arranged by a primary editor.
- General - Independent books written by a single author (or small collaboration). These may stand alone or be part of their own limited series. Most ordinary books are of this type.
- Collections - Books which belong to a broad series developed or extended by multiple independent authors. For example: the vast array of books set in the Star Trek "universe".
- Personal - Informal books or binders created by me, or those including some type of reference to me or a project I've been involved with. This includes For instance, my highschool yearbook.
Separating by type is a tremendous help with the next phase of organization: sort order. Different types of books require a different strategy for sorting within each topic. Dividing them by type helps me to remember which sorting method to use when accessing or stocking a particular book.
Sort Order
{to be added}
Compressing Flows
{to be added}
Cataloging
{to be added}
The List
| Classification | Code | Size | Physical Location | ||
| Miscellaneous | 000 | ||||
| Borrowed | 010 | - | G3-00-01 | ||
| Self-Authored | 020 | ||||
| Video Games | 021 | 2" | G2-00-01 | ||
| Technical Publications | 022 | 10" | G2-00-02 | ||
| Published | 023 | - | G2-00-03 | ||
| Special | 030 | ||||
| Early Editions | 031 | 2" | G3-00-02 | ||
| Signed | 032 | 13"* | G3-00-03 | ||
| Autographs | 033 | - | G3-00-04 | ||
| Belief/Behavior | 100 | ||||
| Occult | 110 | 2" | A2-00-01 | ||
| Scientology | 120 | 5" | A2-00-02 | ||
| Myth | 130 | 6" | A2-00-03 | ||
| Religion | 140 | 1" | A2-00-04 | ||
| Philosophy | 150 | 7" | A3-00-01 | ||
| Psychology | 160 | 5" | A3-00-02 | ||
| Sex | 170 | ||||
| Relationships | 171 | 5" | A3-00-03 | ||
| Sexuality | 172 | 5" | A4-00-01 | ||
| Erotic Art | 173 | 7" | A4-00-02 | ||
| Straight | 174 | 1" | A4-00-03 | ||
| Gay | 175 | 2" | A4-00-04 | ||
| Civics | 200 | ||||
| History | 210 | 6" | A5-00-01 | ||
| Government/Politics | 220 | 3" | A5-00-02 | ||
| Military | 230 | - | A5-00-03 | ||
| Law | 240 | 1 | A5-00-04 | ||
| Criminology | 250 | 3" | A5-00-05 | ||
| Economics | 260 | ||||
| Money | 261 | 3" | B5-00-01 | ||
| Investing | 262 | 2" | B5-00-02 | ||
| Occupations | 263 | 3" | B5-00-03 | ||
| Business Operations | 264 | 6" | B5-00-04 | ||
| Sales/Marketing | 265 | 1 | B5-00-05 | ||
| Management | 266 | 2" | B5-00-06 | ||
| Education | 270 | ||||
| Reference, General | 271 | 2" | B5-00-07 | ||
| Teaching | 272 | - | B5-00-08 | ||
| Science | 300 | ||||
| Theoretical Sciences | 310 | ||||
| Mathematics | 311 | 4" | B2-00-01 | ||
| Geometry | 312 | - | B2-00-02 | ||
| Physics/Cosmology | 313 | 11"* | B2-00-03 | ||
| Chemistry | 314 | - | B2-00-04 | ||
| Astronomy/Space | 320 | 5" | B3-00-01 | ||
| Nature | 330 | ||||
| Geology | 331 | - | B4-00-01 | ||
| Meteorology | 332 | 1" | B4-00-02 | ||
| Botany | 333 | 2" | B4-00-03 | ||
| Paleontology | 334 | 2" | B4-00-04 | ||
| Animals | 335 | 4" | B4-00-05 | ||
| Medicine | 340 | ||||
| Anatomy | 341 | - | B4-00-06 | ||
| Health/Diet | 342 | 2" | B4-00-07 | ||
| Disease/Treatment | 343 | 6" | B4-00-08 | ||
| Technology | 350 | ||||
| Technology, General | 351 | 2" | B3-00-02 | ||
| Invention | 352 | - | B3-00-03 | ||
| Engineering | 353 | - | B3-00-04 | ||
| Transportation | 354 | - | B3-00-05 | ||
| Electronics | 355 | - | B3-00-06 | ||
| Computing | 360 | ||||
| Computing Theory | 361 | - | G5-00-01 | ||
| Programming | 362 | 18"* | G5-00-02 | ||
| Hardware Manuals | 363 | 2" | G4-00-01 | ||
| Software Manuals | 364 | 13"* | G4-00-02 | ||
| Clip Art Indexes | 365 | 3" | G4-00-03 | ||
| Architecture | 400 | ||||
| Architectural Works | 410 | 6" | C4-00-01 | ||
| Architectural Theory | 420 | 5" | C4-00-02 | ||
| Building Plans | 430 | 2" | C4-00-03 | ||
| Construction | 440 | 1" | C4-00-04 | ||
| Maintenance/Repair | 450 | 3" | C5-00-01 | ||
| Landscaping | 460 | 2" | C5-00-02 | ||
| Interior Design | 470 | 8" | C5-00-03 | ||
| Home Office | 480 | 3" | C5-00-04 | ||
| Fine Art | 500 | ||||
| Photographic Works | 510 | 22" | C2-00-00 | ||
| Photographic Technique/Business | 520 | 16" | C3-00-00 | ||
| Fine Art Works | 530 | ||||
| Art Works, General | 531 | 13" | D2-00-00 | ||
| Children's Books | 532 | 4" | D3-00-01 | ||
| Graphic/Photo Novels | 533 | 8" | D3-00-02 | ||
| Science Fiction/Fantasy Art | 534 | 31" | D4-5D-00 | ||
| Visual Reference | 540 | 11"* | E2-00-00 | ||
| Fine Art Technique/Business | 550 | ||||
| Art Tech/Biz, General | 551 | 2" | E3-00-01 | ||
| Drawing | 552 | 3" | E3-00-02 | ||
| Painting | 553 | 7" | E3-00-03 | ||
| Graphic Design | 554 | 3" | E3-00-04 | ||
| Material Crafts | 560 | 2" | E3-00-05 | ||
| English | 600 | ||||
| Literature | 610 | ||||
| Poetry | 611 | 21"* | F2-3F-00 | ||
| Essays | 612 | 1" | F3-00-02 | ||
| Drama | 613 | 3" | F3-00-02 | ||
| Fiction Read | 620 | 194"* | A1-1G-00 | ||
| Fiction Unread | 630 | 44"* | G1-1H-02 | ||
| Reference | 640 | ||||
| Language Theory | 641 | - | F4-00-01 | ||
| Etymology | 642 | 3" | F4-00-02 | ||
| Words | 643 | 7"* | F4-00-03 | ||
| Citations | 644 | 2" | F4-00-04 | ||
| Symbolism | 645 | 4" | F4-00-05 | ||
| Writing Technique/Business | 650 | ||||
| Grammar/Style | 651 | 14"* | F4-5F-06 | ||
| Publishing/Business | 652 | 5"* | F5-00-02 | ||
| Performing Arts | 700 | ||||
| Music | 710 | 10"* | E4-00-01 | ||
| Dance | 720 | - | E4-00-02 | ||
| Theater/Shows | 730 | 1" | E4-00-03 | ||
| Movies/TV | 740 | 23" | E4-5E-04 | ||
| Leisure | 800 | ||||
| Humor | 810 | 9"* | H2-00-01 | ||
| Games, About | 820 | 5"* | H2-00-02 | ||
| Games, Actual | 830 | 4" | H2-00-03 | ||
| Collecting | 840 | 3" | H3-00-01 | ||
| Sports/Activities | 850 | 2" | H3-00-02 | ||
| Travel | 860 | ||||
| Atlases/Maps | 861 | 1" | H3-00-03 | ||
| Travel Guides | 862 | 9"* | H3-00-04 | ||
| Specialty Travel | 863 | 2" | H3-00-05 | ||
| Entertaining | 870 | ||||
| Etiquette | 871 | - | H4-00-01 | ||
| Event Planning | 872 | 2" | H4-00-02 | ||
| Food & Drink | 880 | ||||
| Cooking | 881 | 15"* | H4-00-03 | ||
| Drinks/Bartending | 882 | 8"* | H5-00-01 | ||
