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Organizing Books |
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I am 13 and I am saving books for my own personal library for when I am older. My problem is that I don't know how to organize my books. I have alot of them and lots of shelves. Am I supposed to do them by author or subject or something?
Thanks for your advice!
Bookluver! from NV
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RE: Organizing Books
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By Cornflower (Guest Post)
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My bookshelves 'rotate' by interest. The centre two shelves hold my current study/interest, and on those two shelves, the books may loosely be grouped by field or author. For example, I give workshops using the MBTI personality instrument, so my central shelves have the topic with the groups of (roughly) workshop materials, spirituality and personality, HR/Career, and general MBTI. Prior to this I was sorking on some history projects. When I changed fields to MBTI, I moved the History shelves to a different bookcase, keeping the same order.
What I like about this is that I can still 'browse' my collection of books, because sometimes inspiration comes from seeing something you don't expect.
One of the things I don't like about electronic library systems is that most all of them don't have a browse mode that is loose like the above. With an old-time card catalog, you look for what you want, and you browse the cards before and after it, and often you will find something else helpful, even if you did not have the 'key words' to look for it directly.
Bottom line, choose whatever organizational form you like, but if it is too tight, don't forget to browse a bit, too.
Posted on 01/26/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
I have an office with two computers (all the computer stuff and books are in one room) Along one wall I have nothing but bookshelves. I have books from when I awas previously in school, the books that have interested me in the years, to the current school books that I need. I have all my books that I have in one spot. All of them except for my collectables9 from my great granmother etc that I keep seperate locked away in the bedroom.
I don't use a DDS or alphabetize them. One shelf, is the fiction that I have read (holding up the books that I haven't read to see what I want to read next.
Another shelf for the references (thesaraus, dict, spanish-english, family bible etc.)
Another shelf for all the computer books, from pragram manuals to digital photography.
Another, gardening, dog books and a few home improvements books.
Another shelf is strictly for the current semester. I put my books here when I don't need them and have a file for each class.
Another for history books, another for philosophy.
There are a few other shelves that have just a few books, magazines that I am just starting on the subject. I use these at the upper shelves and put decrations on.
I don't bother with alphabetizing, As long as the books on the same subject are together, it's better than color coding. I did it once before, it looked great, but I was the only one that knew where everything was.
Posted on 01/16/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
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By DEBBIEDJ. (Guest Post)
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I organize mine alphabetically by author. Then i further organize them by published date. When i go to book sales all my books are on my pda to let me know what i have and what i need. If you don't have a pda try a card file. You can set it up by author a-z and by pub date just like in your shelves. I also know what hardbacks and what paperbacks I have.
Posted on 01/10/2008 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
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By Dawn Reitz (Guest Post)
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My name is Dawn Reitz and I am a professional organizer and the owner of AMOR (www.amoreorganizedresidence.com) in Las Vegas. There is a product called IntelliScanner (www.intelliscanner.com) that can help you. You just scan the bar code on the book and create a catalog on your computer for quick and easy access to your favorite books or specific topics. Then (as a feng shui consultant) I recommend arranging your books in a non-clutter and attractive way. Check it out. Hope this helps you.
Dawn@amoreorganizedresidence.com
Posted on 04/27/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
I organize books by SIZE
Posted on 08/01/2006 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
I have a large collection of books of all sorts.
I list them by subject first, then by titles so they are easy to find.
Hope this helps you.
Posted on 08/01/2006 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
There are so many ways you can do this: The above suggestions are great. My mother worked at my elementary school...she worked in the library and as an assistant. DDS Dewey Decimal System works, we had over 1,000 books of all types at home as well. From reference, to children's to adult sci fi, fiction, non ficiton...She did the DDS at home, too. Personally, I would say go by faves. Your favourite genre, such as fiction, then alpha by author. It is your system, do what makes you feel most comfortable.
Just a hint for school...if you have your computer in your room. Keep a dictionary, grammar dictionary, Thesaurus, and even a spelling dictionary (just used to confirm spellings, not giving out defintions. It will help when you are doing reports. Not only was my mother in education, but my beloved grandmother also was an educator...I never handed in a report, thesis, or any type homework that was not perfect or near perfect. Organising your personal collection will spill over into organising your school books, then your work will become more organised, and on... Good luck.
Posted on 07/31/2006 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
I would organize the books by age group. 0-3, 3-5, 5-7, etc. etc. You would know right away what age group they are suitable for.
Good luck!
Patsy
Posted on 07/31/2006 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Organizing Books
I personally organize Fiction alphabetically and Non-Fiction by catagory. You could also learn the Dewey Decimal System that they use in Libraries. That would be a big help in the future.
Posted on 07/30/2006 | Report Spam or Abuse
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Request: Organizing Books
Archived on 05/30/2001
I have lots of books (ones I use and reread) that I would like to be able to organize. How do you go about organizing your books. I have books for reference, cook books, novels, and non fiction. What is the best way to organize them, all together, alphabetically or by type?
Theresa
Answers:
Type and Subject
I organize my books first by general type: Cookbooks, etc. Then break that down into subtypes: Ethnic>Mexican (or whatever) then alphabetically by author. Same with reference or any other sort of book.. Make sure you have easiest access to those books you do use a lot. (05/31/2001)
By Alekscat the frugal feline in Richmond, VA
Organizing Books
I have lots and lots of books, in every room of the house. I organize my books in several ways. First, I put books nearest their place of use (except for most of the cookbooks which are in the dining room because I have a teeny, tiny kitchen). The reference books all go together in the hallway, the children's books are all in another hallway near their bedrooms, the DIY, gardening, mothering, household management and bird watching books are all in my bedroom and the school books are all in the school area (we homeschool). Within each area, the books are then either sorted by title or by smaller subject. The cookbooks are divided into crockpot, easy, general and food storage sections. The children's books are divided into easy readers, science, people, baby books, and animals. The reference books are divided into dictionaries, atlases, foreign language, wildlife, and encyclopedias. The gardening books are divided into flowers and vegetables. Etc.
This has worked very well for us; books are close to where they are used (generally speaking) and organized enough to make finding things quickly but not have to spend a lot of time keeping each book in its exact spot. (The children's books are the most loosely 'organized' for obvious reasons!) (05/31/2001)
By Jennifer Raffety
By Subject, Then Author
I have hundreds of books myself. What I do, is separate by topic, then place in alphabetical order by author. If I want a mystery by Patricia Cornwall, it's in the mystery section under C [this also makes it easier to check for dupes.] My cookbooks are grouped together by topics and/or types of cooking. Your standard [Betty Crocker, McCalls], special Authors [Emeril, Julia Child], type of cooking [BBQ Chinese, crockpot, Dessert, French, microwave], and the rest just in alphabetical order. I also keep the paperbacks and hardbacks separated, but grouped in the same order as above. (05/31/2001)
By KayD
Non-fiction by Subject, Fiction by Author
I have volunteered in a public library and set up two church libraries and a private school library. It would make the most sense to organize your non-fiction books by subject. You will find that when looking for a particular cookbook, you will automatically go to the cookbook section. Once they are organized by subject, the next step would be by title.
The fiction books, in a home library, would be easier to access if they were arranged by author first and then by title. However, if you have any books that are in a series, arrange them in number order. I have a lot of fiction as well as mystery books. I have all the fiction together and a separate section for mystery. I have a third section for the westerns that my husband reads. By having all of my books organized this way, I can find whatever I want very quickly without having to search. (05/31/2001)
By Betty in Oregon
Organizing Cookbooks
All Cookbooks should be in the Kitchen organized by Topic. Microwave Cookbooks should be together, Crockpot/Slow cooker books together, etc. If you want to organize them by Authors, that's fine, but not necessary.
As for the other books, I agree: Topic, then alphabetized by Authors. (11/25/2004)
By neldafairley
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