How to best organise your library shelves?

When you walk into any library, you will be greeted by an abundance of books. With library shelves holding thousands of books, it is important that you organise them so that both the library staff and visitors can easily find what they are looking for.

So, how can you best organise your library shelving? Here is what you need to know:

Reading Level

Your library is likely to be visited by people of all ages, and all reading levels. Sort your books from the lowest reading level to the highest. If you have a large library space, separate the reading levels in sections, for example, have the young children’s books in one part of the library, and the adolescent books in another. If you have a smaller library, place the lowest reading level books at the bottom of the shelves, by placing the lower reading level books closer to the ground, you are ensuring that these early readers have ready access to reading materials at their levels.

Genre

Dedicate various shelves in your library to different genres. Separate each genre in piles and place the stacked books together on a shelf so that all of the books that fit into each designated genre sit close to each other. Make sure you use large font signs to label the shelves so library users can easily find books in a genre that interests them. This could be fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, biographies and so on.

Alphabetical Order

Once you have sorted the reading levels and genres, now it is time to organise the books in alphabetical order. You can organise alphabetically by the title or author of the book. This makes it easier for visitors to find a particular book title or author. This also provides an organised system for the library staff.

At Abax Kingfisher, we supply a wide range of shelves that are durable and will withstand the weight of books. For more information contact us on 1300 811 054.