Bookcase

A bookcase holds many books.

It has flat shelves. Some are tall. Some are small.

Some have glass doors. These doors keep out dust. They help you see the book titles.

In big libraries, shelves can move on wheels. This saves a lot of space.

Bookcases help us keep our stories safe.

A bookcase is a piece of furniture used to store books.

It has flat shelves that hold books in place. Some bookcases are small and sit on a desk. Others are very tall and reach the ceiling.

Some models have glass doors. These doors keep out dust and moisture. The glass lets you see the book spines. This makes it easy to find a story.

People have made special bookcases for a long time. In China, people used revolving bookcases. These could spin to save space.

In the past, books were often kept in small boxes. As people got more books, they made larger cupboards. Long ago, people often stored books in piles. After printing was invented, they began to stand them up. This let people see the titles on the spines.

Big libraries use many types of shelving. Some shelves sit in long rows called stacks. Other shelves are on wheels. These are called mobile aisle shelving. They move to create more room for people to walk.

This clever way helps libraries hold even more books.

A bookcase is a special piece of furniture used to hold books and printed materials.

You can find them in many places like homes, schools, and big libraries. Some bookcases are small and sit on a desk or a chest. Other models are very tall and reach all the way to the ceiling.

Most bookcases have horizontal shelves to keep books organized. Some even have glass doors to protect the pages from dust or moisture. These glass doors are helpful because you can still read the spines of the books.

There are many ways to set up shelves in a room. In big libraries, long rows of shelves are often called stacks.

You might see shelves placed flat against a wall. Other times, they are arranged in bays that jut out at right angles. Some libraries use mobile aisle shelving to save even more space.

These bookcases are mounted on wheels and move on tracks. A gearing mechanism lets you slide them to open a path to walk through. This clever system helps libraries fit many more books into one room.

People have been finding ways to store books for a very long time. In imperial China, people used revolving bookcases called zhuanlunzang.

These special cases could spin to help people find scriptures easily. In ancient Rome, some people had very fancy bookcases made of citrus wood and ivory. Long ago, books were often kept in small boxes or chests. As people collected more books, they began using larger cupboards. These early cupboards were the ancestors of the bookcases we use today.

How we use bookcases changed when printing was invented. Before printing, books were often kept in piles or stood with their edges facing out. People would write the title on the edge of the pages instead of the spine. Once printing made books cheaper, people started writing titles on the spines. This made it much easier to see what a book was about. In England, some of the oldest bookcases are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. They were placed there in the late sixteenth century.

Many famous makers have designed beautiful bookcases over the years. English makers like Chippendale and Sheraton created elegant designs with lovely wood. Some bookcases were even made with fancy materials like mahogany or marble. In 1876, John Danner invented a revolving bookcase that saved a lot of space. He even won a gold medal for his work in Paris. Another special type is the barrister's bookcase, which has separate shelf units. These are great for people who need to move their many law books easily.

A bookcase, also known as a bookshelf, is a piece of furniture designed to store books and other printed materials.

These structures typically feature horizontal shelves that can be fixed in place or adjusted to different heights. Bookcases serve many roles in society, appearing in private homes, schools, offices, and bookstores. In large public or university libraries, they are essential tools for organizing vast collections. When these shelves are arranged in large groups, they are often called "stacks."

Because they protect valuable knowledge, bookcases can even be fitted with glass doors to guard against dust or moisture.

The way a bookcase is built depends on its intended use and the space available. Some models are small and sit atop desks or chests, while others reach from the floor to the ceiling.

In many designs, the doors are glazed with glass. This allows readers to see the spines of the books without opening the cabinet. For extremely rare or valuable items, libraries may use locked cases made of wood or glass. In modern large-scale libraries, the materials used for shelving can vary greatly. Some stacks are made of iron covered in cowhide, others are steel, and some are even constructed from slate.

Libraries use different systems to arrange their stationary bookcases to maximize efficiency. One common method is placing them flat against a wall. Another method uses stacks or ranges that run parallel to each other, leaving just enough space for a librarian to pass. A third method uses "bays" or alcoves, where the cases jut out from the wall at right angles. To save even more space, some libraries use mobile aisle shelving.

These bookcases are mounted on wheels and packed tightly together. A gearing mechanism allows a user to move the rows to open an aisle exactly where they need it. Because of the risk of being crushed or tripping on floor rails, these systems sometimes include electronic sensors.

The history of book storage shows how much our relationship with reading has changed. In imperial China, revolving bookcases known as zhuanlunzang were used to store Buddhist scriptures.

One such design was documented in the 12th-century architectural treatise, the Yingzao Fashi. In the late Roman Republic, wealthy Romans used bookcases called armaria. These were often made of expensive citrus wood inlaid with ivory. As manuscript volumes grew in religious houses and wealthy homes, they moved from small portable chests into larger cupboards. These cupboards were the direct predecessors of the modern bookcase.

How books are organized on a shelf changed significantly with the invention of printing. Before printing, books were often kept in piles or stood upright with their edges facing outward. Because books were often scrolls or handmade manuscripts, titles were frequently written on the fore-edge, which is the edge of the pages. Once printing reduced the cost of books, the codex—a book with bound pages—became the standard. This allowed people to write titles on the spine. This change meant books could be shelved with the spine facing out, making it much easier to find specific titles.

Many skilled designers have treated the bookcase as an art form. In the 18th century, English cabinetmakers like Chippendale and Sheraton created elegant models.

They often used beautiful woods like mahogany, rosewood, or satinwood, sometimes adding marble tops or gilded bronze. In 1876, John Danner invented a revolving bookcase with a "pivot and post" design.

His design was highly efficient, allowing 32 volumes of the American Cyclopedia to fit in a very small space. Danner even won a gold medal at the 1878 Paris International Exhibition for his work.

Specialized bookcases were also created for specific professions or tasks. The barrister's bookcase is a portable version made of separate shelf units that can be stacked together.

This allowed lawyers to move their heavy law books easily. These shelves often use an "up and over" door mechanism instead of standard side-hinged doors. Another unique example is the book boxes designed for Thomas Jefferson. When Congress purchased his library of about 6,700 books in 1814, they used special three-tiered pine boxes.

These boxes were designed to be stacked and carried easily, helping to form the foundation of the Library of Congress.