DesignerDeco

Bookcases

Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by DesignerDeco in Home Office

Bookcases are pieces of furniture where books are placed. These bookcases safeguard books from dust and other elements. Bookcases have protective doors, unlike bookshelves, which have opened fronts.

All about bookcases

Historically, the first books were kept in shelves or cupboards. Like bookcases, these cupboards had doors that protected the manuscripts from being exposed too much to the elements and dust. These cupboards soon evolved in the same time that books evolved. Books went on to be reprinted in printing presses, instead of by hand. Bookcases, on the other hand, lost their doors or had these replaced with more decorative ones, which displayed the books contained therein.

In England, the oldest bookcases are said to be the ones in the Bodleian Library of Oxford University. These bookcases date back to the latter part of the sixteenth century.

The most common bookcases are made of wood. Not only are these the better-looking options, but bookcases made of wood are also “gentler” on books. Some bookcases may be made of metal, even when metal can be abrasive to the paper material of books. With wooden bookcases, you get looks and functionality in one. These bookcases have doors that protect their contents. These doors are often made of glass.

How to organize bookcases

Bookcases may seem quite hard to organize. Are you supposed to arrange by book size, color, title, or genre? Where is the line between looks and function? Here are some tips on organizing your bookcases:

1. Although it seems ideal to organize books alphabetically according to title, this may prove to be inefficient and unnecessary, especially if you have a lot of books. There are many ways to organize books in bookcases. However, the main point should be that users can easily find the books they want. In this sense, organizing books according to genre may be the best thing to do. Genre is easy to distinguish by the titles of the books. Likewise, there aren’t as many titles to arrange per genre, than when alphabetizing your whole collection. Within each genre, organize according to title, size, and then, perhaps, even color.

2. Have some free space between books. This way, bookcases are easier on the eyes. You can achieve this by using bookends.

3. Put loose paper and magazines in small boxes that can fit inside bookcases. This way, you have everything together in order and there are no flimsy magazine pages and loose papers all over the place.

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