How to Start a Home Reading Library

Start with an Honest Inventory

Before buying a single shelf, gather every book you own into one place. This sounds obvious, but most people underestimate the count by a third or more when books are spread across multiple rooms. A rough count — even in categories like “fiction paperback,” “hardcover non-fiction,” “reference” — tells you how much linear shelf space you actually need versus how much you assume you need.

For the purposes of planning, 25–30 average paperbacks or 15–20 hardcovers fill one linear metre of shelf space at standard depth (25 cm). A collection of 200 books needs roughly 7–10 linear metres of shelving, depending on format mix.

Decide What Belongs in the Home Library

Not every book you own needs to be on a home shelf. A useful working library keeps books you reference, reread, or lend — not every title you have ever read. The distinction matters for space and for how easy it is to find anything quickly.

Keep in the home library

• Books you consult repeatedly: reference, craft, cookbooks, technical manuals.
• Fiction you plan to reread or that has personal significance.
• Works in a specific subject area you are actively studying or following.
• Books from Canadian authors or about Canada that form a deliberate regional section.

Move to secondary storage or donate

• Mass-market paperbacks read once with no plan to revisit.
• Outdated technical manuals (software documentation older than five years, for instance).
• Duplicates acquired by accident.
• Books kept out of obligation rather than interest.

The Toronto Public Library and most Canadian municipal libraries accept donations through periodic book drives — check your local branch schedule rather than assuming drop-off is open year-round.

Choosing Shelving for Canadian Homes

Canadian housing stock ranges from century-old plaster-and-lath construction to modern drywall framing. The shelving you choose — and how you mount it — should account for this.

Freestanding vs. wall-mounted

Freestanding units are easier to install and relocate, which matters in rental units where wall modifications may not be permitted. The trade-off is floor footprint and reduced stability for taller units. Any freestanding unit over 150 cm tall should be secured to the wall with an anti-tip strap regardless of wall type — this is required under Canadian product safety guidelines for furniture.

Wall-mounted floating shelves provide a cleaner look and use vertical space efficiently, but require locating studs or using appropriate anchors rated for the expected load. In plaster walls, the standard approach is to use a metal finder or knock test, then anchor with a toggle bolt or hollow-wall anchor rated for 20+ kg per bracket.

Shelf depth and spacing

Standard shelf depth of 23–25 cm accommodates most trade paperbacks and average-sized hardcovers. For oversized art books or large-format reference works, 30 cm depth is more appropriate. Adjustable shelf spacing — typically in 3 cm increments in quality units — allows the same unit to hold both standard and tall-format books.

Placement: Light, Heat, and Humidity

Books deteriorate from three main environmental factors: ultraviolet light, heat, and humidity fluctuation. In Canada, these translate to specific placement decisions.

Avoid south-facing windows

Direct and indirect UV exposure bleaches spines and weakens paper faster than most owners notice until the damage is visible. South-facing rooms in Canadian homes receive the most annual sun exposure. If the only available wall is south-facing, use UV-filtering window film or keep books away from the window line with shelves perpendicular to the window rather than facing it.

Distance from exterior walls and heating vents

In uninsulated or poorly insulated basements and exterior rooms, shelves placed directly against exterior walls can experience cold surface temperatures that cause condensation on the back of books during temperature swings. A 10 cm gap between the back of the shelf and the wall is a practical minimum. Forced-air heating vents pointed at a bookshelf cause localized drying — the binding glue on paperbacks becomes brittle within a few heating seasons under direct airflow.

A Simple Arrangement System to Start

The arrangement question is less about choosing the “right” system and more about choosing any consistent system. Three approaches work well for home libraries of up to 500 books:

By subject category

Broad categories (fiction, history, science, cooking, reference) placed on labelled shelves or sections. Within each category, alphabetical by author surname. This is the closest to a public library arrangement and works well if multiple people use the collection.

By read/unread status

A dedicated shelf or section for unread books makes a “to-read” pile visible and prevents new acquisitions from being lost in the general collection. Some readers keep this near the primary reading chair rather than integrated into the main arrangement.

Chronological by acquisition

Less navigable by title but useful for people who think in terms of reading periods. Works best as a supplementary arrangement for one category rather than the whole collection.

The goal at the starting stage is not a perfect system — it is any system that means a specific book can be located in under two minutes without searching the whole house.

External References

For further guidance on book care standards, the Library and Archives Canada publishes conservation guidelines used by institutional libraries that apply equally to home collections at a simplified level. The American Library Association also maintains accessible public-facing resources on home preservation.