Home Library Organization

When you started using the public library, you probably learned about Melvil Dewey and his system for ordering libraries. The Dewey Decimal Classification System has ten broad categories for organizing books, including philosophy, religion and the arts. Each category is assigned a number, so for example, when you want a book on modern art, you head to the 700 block. Larger libraries, such as those at universities, tend to use the Library of Congress Classification System because it offers a more specific array of subjects for categorization, adding subjects such as medicine and law for a total of 21 categories.

girl organizing piles of books
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Your method of organizing books may only make sense
to you.

Your home library may or may not be as large as your local public library, but a good system of organization will still help you find the book you want quickly. You could take a page from Dewey and the Library of Congress and sort books by subject matter. Sections for subjects such as history, technology or fiction might make their retrieval easier. This system also would allow you to highlight a particular passion, such as an extensive collection of World War II history.

Here are some other ways to organize a collection.

  • Alphabetizing by author works well for fiction but not necessarily for nonfiction books of various subjects.
  • Judging a book by its cover is usually frowned upon, but sorting by color can be aesthetically pleasing to some. Those generally forgetful about the colors of their books might disagree.
  • After a painful breakup, the main character in Nick Hornby's book "High Fidelity" organizes his record collection autobiographically in the order he acquired them. A chronological organization might include shelves that track the progress of your life, from beloved childhood reading and college textbooks to parenting books.
  • To some readers, there are two ways to look at books: read and unread. Prioritizing when you might need the book will allow you to keep unread books at the forefront of your collection, as well as books you reach for frequently, such as reference books or favorite novels.

    wall of books organized by color
    Jamie Kripke/Digital Vision/Getty Images
    Organizing by color gives you a wall that looks like a rainbow.

Organizing Your Collection Electronically
 Want to tell what's in your library with the click of a button? Many online and software programs are available to help you maintain an inventory of your collection. Here are some examples.
  • Online programs: LibraryThing allows you to catalog 200 books for free or unlimited books with a paid account. Shelfari and Reader2 allow unlimited free cataloguing. You can search by title, author or ISBN number to find the books you own and then add them to a virtual bookshelf. These sites also provide a social interaction element because they will link you with people who have the same books. Browsing their collections might help you find something to read next!
  • Software: Delicious Monster is a program for Mac computers. With a handheld barcode scanner or a webcam, you scan the barcodes of books and watch your library grow; they also categorize DVDs and CDs. With Readerware, Mac and PC users can scan a collection or input ISBN numbers manually. Other software programs include BookCAT and Collectorz.com Book Collector.
Electronically organizing your collection can help you maintain records of your holdings or replace books in case of disaster.


Once you've organized your collection, you're going to need a place to put it. On the next page, we'll take a look at bookshelves and other library furniture.