s/o of large library thread--how do you organize?

[Jayne J]

I am building our home library, and loving it. My biggest problem is deciding on some kind of organization. We have non-fiction science books, like Eyewitness and encyclopedias, and living books/fiction like Burgess Bird Book etc. I have historical fiction, and various encylopedias and non-fiction history books. I have leveled readers on every topic, Dr. Seuss, chapter books (on historical or scientific topics like MTH and MSB, just to complicate things) and historical novels for kids, YA and adults, plus classics. I am at my wits end with finding a system that lets dc find what they want, and me remember and use what I have. So how do you large library owners do it?

Are you strict about seperating fiction and non fiction, or do you group by topic and mix fict/non fict? Do you group series together regardless of topic? (again, MTH, MSB, etc.) Also, with older novels and classics, do you group as history or just literature (for instance, is Ivanhoe a historical novel or just a novel? How about The Three Musketeers? and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?)

 

:bigear:

[Jackie in NE]

I am building our home library, and loving it. My biggest problem is deciding on some kind of organization. We have non-fiction science books, like Eyewitness and encyclopedias, and living books/fiction like Burgess Bird Book etc. I have historical fiction, and various encylopedias and non-fiction history books. I have leveled readers on every topic, Dr. Seuss, chapter books (on historical or scientific topics like MTH and MSB, just to complicate things) and historical novels for kids, YA and adults, plus classics. I am at my wits end with finding a system that lets dc find what they want, and me remember and use what I have. So how do you large library owners do it?

Are you strict about seperating fiction and non fiction, or do you group by topic and mix fict/non fict? Do you group series together regardless of topic? (again, MTH, MSB, etc.) Also, with older novels and classics, do you group as history or just literature (for instance, is Ivanhoe a historical novel or just a novel? How about The Three Musketeers? and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?)

 

:bigear:

 

:bigear: :bigear:

[Jayne J]

I'd love any replies, but having done a thread search (I finally hit on the correct term--book catalog) I have pulled up a bunch of threads to read. Thanks!

[Impish]

Ummm...We're supposed to organize? :svengo:

 

Right now, everyone has a 'shelf'. And one of the bookcases is just home school stuff.

 

I tried to enter them into an online catalog, and gave up. Too many books, too tedious a process :blushing:

[amydavis]

Okay, this is what I do. I have 2 large bookcases for Science and 2 large bookcases for History. On these, I have different shelves for different subjects/areas of interest, etc. So, on my science bookcase I have a shelf for books on astronomy, earth science, biology, etc. I include books that match that subject matter regardless of level. So, for instance, in the animal section we have books that are high school/adult level all the way down to pre-k. That works for me. I do the same with history. A shelf on Egypt, on American history, Middle ages, etc.

 

I have 2 other large bookcases that hold fiction. I have historical fiction on their own shelves. "Good" classic fiction is separated by adult and children. Then there are shelves for what I consider "fun" or "beach" reads, also separated by age.

 

3 other bookcases hold the other areas. I have a shelf designated for poetry, one for short stories and fables, one for plays, one for books on grammar, one for books on music, one for books on art, one for Government/sociological studies, one for "how to" books, one for biblical studies, etc. I try to group things that go together, at least in my mind. So, for instance, books on manners, values, character issues (for adults and children) are on the shelf under bible studies, because they fit in my mind. But on the shelves, I put anything from that genre, no matter how far apart they may be. For instance, the music section houses books on the Beatles as well as opera and classical.

 

Oh, and there is a reference bookcase for encyclopedias and dictionaries, etc. Hope that helps.

[regentrude]

I have the grown up books in the living room and bedroom and the childrens books in the children's rooms. I assume you ask about organizing the kids books?

I separate fiction and non fiction. Non-fiction losely by topic (all pirate books go together, all Egypt books together), but I keep series together (I would not split magic treehouse etc). For fiction, I kept series and authors together (all of Little house, all of Roald Dahl), all great Illustrated Classics.

My kids have separate rooms and I would split the books according to their reading level - the beginning reader would have the learn-to-read and early reader books and later pass them on to the younger sibling. The non-reader would have the picture books.

My kids were helping arranging books; even at the age of yours, they had a good idea what books they had and where they were located. So it really did not matter how I grouped the books -as long as there was SOME system. Often the kids were quicker to find the book they wanted than I. If they wanted to rearrange their books, I let them.

[Aubrey]

When I started out, I assigned a shelf for ea year of the history cycle & a matching shelf (beneath) for the corresponding years of science.

 

There were always books that frustrated me because they didn't fit anywhere very well, & as the kids learned to read, there was the expanding fiction section, which I really wanted to fit into the history schedule, but some things don't fit into a particular year of history--sci fi, for ex. And I really didn't like breaking up the MTH into their chronological periods.

 

I fought w/ my books until I sprained my ankle last spring, about the same time I got a label maker for mother's day. I finally settled on the dewey decimal system. It's tried, it's true, it's easy. I was entering the books into Library Thing at the same time, so it was a good time to mark them, & it makes ex-library books a real boon (they're already labeled).

 

I have over 1500 books catalogued now, & I'm not nearly done. This system has helped me curb some of the duplicate buying I was doing, but better yet, it has helped me w/ planning. The tags in LT let me pull together books on a single topic at the stroke of a button, & the dewey system means I don't spend forever trying to figure out how I classified a book & where it is.

 

Then, if you want to get really nuts, you can catalog your manipulatives the same way. :D

[HistoryMom]

I keep thinking that Dewey is the best way, especially since it would help the children learn it. But I'm lazy, and I don't have that much stuff yet. It's mostly grown-up books at this point, and *I* know where everything is anyway. :) I do love the idea of LibraryThing, but again, laziness.

[Alessandra]

Okay, this is what I do. I have 2 large bookcases for Science and 2 large bookcases for History. On these, I have different shelves for different subjects/areas of interest, etc. So, on my science bookcase I have a shelf for books on astronomy, earth science, biology, etc. I include books that match that subject matter regardless of level. So, for instance, in the animal section we have books that are high school/adult level all the way down to pre-k. That works for me. I do the same with history. A shelf on Egypt, on American history, Middle ages, etc.

 

I have 2 other large bookcases that hold fiction. I have historical fiction on their own shelves. "Good" classic fiction is separated by adult and children. Then there are shelves for what I consider "fun" or "beach" reads, also separated by age.

 

3 other bookcases hold the other areas. I have a shelf designated for poetry, one for short stories and fables, one for plays, one for books on grammar, one for books on music, one for books on art, one for Government/sociological studies, one for "how to" books, one for biblical studies, etc. I try to group things that go together, at least in my mind. So, for instance, books on manners, values, character issues (for adults and children) are on the shelf under bible studies, because they fit in my mind. But on the shelves, I put anything from that genre, no matter how far apart they may be. For instance, the music section houses books on the Beatles as well as opera and classical.

 

Oh, and there is a reference bookcase for encyclopedias and dictionaries, etc. Hope that helps.

 

This is pretty much what I do. Since we read historical fiction when we do a specific period in history, I mix fiction & nonfiction together. I also separate classic fiction and 'regular' fiction. Library Thing (or any cataloguing program) is a big help, because I put in cds, dvds, puzzles, games, Safari figures, etc for specific subjects -- otherwise I tend to forget all the 'fun' extras I've bought & stored.

 

Oh, and magazine files are a big help, especially for skinny books -- it's easy to find these when the file is marked 'Pilgrims' or 'Insects' etc. I am also trying to make a few book boxes (as in boxed set) for fiction series books, like Ramona or The Littles. These books are mostly the same size and tend to get misplaced otherwise.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Alessandra

[WTMCassandra]

I wrestled with this for a long time. But one day it dawned on me that since we are die-hard WTMers, and those are the categories I think in, I should use WTM categories. So, I have History Year 1-4 shelves and a general history shelf, I have Science Year 1-4 shelves and a general science shelf, curriculum waiting to be used, teacher's manuals, and then a Teacher Reference section (that holds WTM and other such books). I also have biography, children's classics, high school by subject, young adult fiction, adult fiction, and Christian books. Since I have a lot of those, I have those alpha by author. Upstairs in our bedroom are marriage, parenting, and self-help books. Each child has a bookshelf with his/her personal library.

 

All of my books are catalogued in Delicious Library 2 for my Mac, which I can access on the go through a corresponding iPhone app. This project took me about a year but helps cut back a LOT on book duplication. We currently have about 3400 books.

[LostSurprise]

The root of organization is use. How do you use your books? How do your children use your books? Where do your interests lie? Which catagories require easy access? Which show the fastest growth?

 

What works for us:

 

*age-appropriate shelves with fiction in every child's room.

*1 shelf with children's history & biography in a central area, arranged geographically and chronologically

*1 shelf with children's science, math, and other non-fiction in a central area, arranged by subject

*1 shelf school & art books, by level

*1 shelf of adult history and biography, again roughly arranged geographically and chronologically

*1 shelf of classic American and British fiction, poetry, and drama, chronologically by group

*1 shelf of world literature, poetry, and drama, geographically and chronologically

*1 shelf of modern American fiction (post-1960), arranged by author

*1 shelf general non-fiction, by subject (gardening, biking, travel, biology, organization, etc)

*1 shelf science fiction (by author), mystery, and horror

*1 shelf of religion and philosophy, arranged by subject or type

*1 shelf of reference and photos, arranged according to use

*1 shelf of linguistics and writing, by subject

*2 shelves of business and computer, by subject

 

 

When I say 'shelves' I mean bookcase or built-in. These are all separate units.

 

This is how we use books. Placement and organization reflects how we use subjects. Books for children are at their level and easy for them to browse on their own.

 

I have a list on Shelfari if I want to see them all, but its easy for me to check and see if I have the new AS Byatt book (unless it's in a pile under my bed).

 

Just keep whatever we say as suggestions. How you and your family use books is the most important baseline to organizing your collection.

[angela in ohio]

I didn't want a formal system, so we have ours by category but not numbered. They are all in our family room except for a few series which are in dc's rooms and our school books which are in the rec room.

 

The literature is in three sections: picture books, early chapter, and everything else. They are alphabetical by author. The non-fiction is by topic: American history, ancient history, mathematics, etc. Some sections are subdivided: for example, Bible is sub-divided into classic Christian works, reference books, etc.

 

I keep all literature together, separate from the non-fiction of the same time period, except for the ancient lit, which has its own shelf. Historical fiction is with the non-fiction, though. I keep the series together.

 

We have shelves along the walls of our family room and we keep most books there, except for school books and art books, which are in the rec room, and a few series (Hardy Boys, Paddington, Swallows & Amazons, etc.) which are in the dc's rooms on shelves for space reasons.

Edited December 29, 2010 by angela in ohio

[KS_]

We have one of the spare bedrooms in the basement as our library, and it's filled with bookshelves and shelving along one wall and in the area that was supposed to be a closet. I don't have tons of non-fiction books, but those I try to keep somewhat categorized by subject. I have a section for school books (like math, grammar and science textbooks that we are not using currently but are for future years).

 

Then the rest of the books, which are mostly fiction, are arranged by author. I have several shelves that are off-limits to the dc at this point, either because the books are too old for them, or I'm saving them for another year of school - arranged by author. Then they have a number of bookshelves and shelves that are theirs - arranged by author separately from the off limit shelves.

 

I also started using Library Thing a couple years ago because I was getting too many books to remember which I'd bought (and had purchased a second copy of something). It's been a great help so I don't re-buy something I already have.