Animal bookshelves

Zhongshu Book Store
XL-Muse

Cliff

Can be used in any orientation and freely combined to create a full variety of forms. The system includes four horizontal and four vertical pieces, of which the former can be used as shelves and the latter as bookends. The space between the shelves seems random, but was generated by calculations designed to maximise usable space.
nendo

Cheft seat-shelf

 

Inspired by Persian architectural patterns, The CHEFT Seat-Shelf is a combination of three pieces, each made from several interlocking elements which slide in and out of each other through specifically designed grooves, No nails, glue or screws are needed for assembly
Size: 170 cm X 148 cm x 30 cm
Material: MDF, Walnut laminate
Studio Pousti

Library in the shape of an eye: Tianjin Binhai Library

An oval opening, punctured through the building is propped open by the Eye, a mirrored sphere with an auditorium, which takes the main stage within the atrium and enlarges the perceived space within. Terraced bookshelves which echo the form of the sphere create an interior, topographical, landscape whose contours reach out and wrap around the façade. In this way, the stepped bookshelves within are represented on the outside, with each level doubling up as a louvre.

“The Eye is the centre of the library. It ‘hollows out’ the building and creates, out of bookshelves, an environment to sit, to read, to hang out, to climb and to access, to create an organic social space,” explains MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas. “In its heart is the auditorium which mirrors the environment, giving a 360 degree panorama of the space inside; a truly reflective and pensive environment.”
MVRDV

Shelfie

• Explore bookshelves to dig up your next read.
• Digitize your library by taking a Shelfie.
• Create a profile and share your collection.
• Rediscover your books, read and listen anywhere

Shelfie

Hidden library: Albion Barn

Hidden library in Oxfordshire barn conversion. The Albion Barn project includes offices wrapped around a central, hidden library with four secret doors which, when opened, connect the different areas. When the doors are closed, the room is lined on all four sides by bookshelves.
Studio Seilern

Albion Barn from Christina Seilern on Vimeo.
Via dezeen

Sundial bookshelf

The shelves of this bookshelf are arrayed at slightly different angles, like the shadows cast by a sundial, so that the books placed on them and the look of the bookshelf itself are also always changing.
nendo

Liber

Tonelli Design

Cheft

Inspired by Persian architectural patterns, the CHEFT Bookshelf is made of twelve individual interlocking elements which slide in and out of each other through specifically designed grooves, No nails, glue or screws are needed for assembly, it takes about 10 minutes to assemble the bookshelf
Size: 193 cm X 193 cm x 28 cm
Material: Poplar wood
Studio Pousti

Aksel

Long and lean or comely and compact. Available in two sizes, and in white polyurethane lacquer finish. Engineered wood construction.
urbn.furniture

Fa.B. fabric bookcase

Outside the rationale of any shelving system, Fa.B. offers the user renewable storage space. A single or more modular fabric units can be added to the wooden stand in a few minutes. The durable fabric along with the wide open wooden sides of Fa.B. gives us the opportunity to use as little raw materials and natural resources as possible, according to the dematerialization approach that our times require.
dede

Frames 2.0

A freestanding bookcase and can also be used as a room divider.The bookcase is made up of 12 wooden frames. The ‘boards’ have different widths and are open in the middle. The open frames deliver an exciting game of lines. Depending on where you’re standing some of the shelves appear to float.
Gerard de Hoop

Tilta bookcase

Natural oak bookcase, made of three different modules with 2, 4 or 6 shelves.
Paolo Cappello

Book City

For the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño 2013, leading MDF company Masisa invited IHC to design a pavilion for Casa Bosques Bookstore demonstrating the qualities of their materials and the relationship that the resulting objects have on the human environment. The proposal aims to express an allegory between the object, the interior and the city. The work was exhibited at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City in collaboration with Savvy Studio.
Isauro Huizar

Superman bookshelf

Burak Doğan

Indonesian horse library

Ridwan Sururi and Luna, one of his horses who help to run Kudapustaka, a small mobile library in Serang.
On Instagram
You can read more about animal libraries and other unusual libraries in Improbable Libraries. 

Perfume Bottle Bookcase

Not just a bookcase, but an object that lends itself to personal usage interpretations. Frame and the shelves are made of matt painted metal available in the following colours: black, white, saffron yellow, red, blue, green, mint green, anthracite grey, dove grey, brown and powder pink.
Gino Carollo for Panik

Dickens book stand

Made from iron. Painted 'antique' finish.
Oka

Baileys bottle bookcase

My bad. Turns out the bookcase is shaped like a BAILEYS BOTTLE, not a suppository. My apologies. #BaileysPrize pic.twitter.com/wDBx69lhFC

— Philip Ardagh (@PhilipArdagh) June 8, 2016

La Bibliothèque de la Cité

Bookshelf mural in Lyon.
Created by Cité Création.
Photo by Vyshemirsky.

Is it quicker to build a shed or a bookcase?

Exeter Express and Echo

Arte Utilitario: Beso, amanecer, and burbuja

Un los últimos años he desarrollado "Arte Utilitario" a través de Esculturas & organizadores. El "Arte Utilitario" complementa su expresión de arte con la funcionalidad, dando posibilidades de ser intervenida por el usuario e integrada en su quehacer en un contexto dinámico de permanente transformación.
Antonio Yachan

Book stacking in Japan

With bookstores in Japan overflowing with manga, novels and non-fiction, it takes a lot to stand out and get noticed. However, with the advent of the three styles of book stacking, it’s impossible for passersby not to stop and take a gander at these literary works.
Rocket News 24

Shape-A-Shelf

Bookshelves need an update. They need to be more flexible in their use and accommodate all sorts of things. So how to make a bookshelf more flexible? Make it flexible! Literally! No more bookends needed! Shape it like one and forget about them! Flexible soft shelf made out of 100% recycled PET.
shapeableshelf.com (and launching on Kickstarter on August 1)

Chiave de Volta

The hint of a curve not only gives the structure an attractive lightweight look but encapsulates the underlying design idea as well as its purpose: the books lean neatly back against the sides of the shelves giving the structure stability.
967 Arch

Literature Skirt

Rooby Lane

LivreLit booktable: A bed for books

The LivreLit  

Chevron Pattern Suitcase Bookshelf

Kitschy-cool shelf in the shape of a vintage suitcase features vibrant pattern wallpaper at the back for a decorative touch.  
- Mixed metals
- Wipe clean
- 47cm (W) x 44.5cm (H) x 20.5cm (D)
Urban Outfitters

The Open Book

Nestled into the pristine lowlands, The Open Book is a charming bookshop with apartment above in the heart of Wigtown, Scotland's National Book Town. Live your dream of having your very own bookshop by the sea in Scotland...for a week or two.
Airbnb

Author table lamp

Pages and text visible on the base. Finished in bronze resin.David Hunt Lighting

The Safe House: A Decline of Ideas (trailer)

A new documentary which explores the heritage and significance of the British Public Library, also questioning why such a historically important British institution is in dramatic decline in today's contemporary society. The film features intimate and personal stories from great British figures, including names such as Stephen Fry, Irvine Welsh, Bonnie Wright, Amma Asante and Daisy Goodwin. Titled Safe House: A Decline of Ideas, the project will also discuss possibilities of how public libraries could be salvaged for future generations.

The Guantánamo Detainee Library

"Given its location, it isn’t astounding what periodic international uproar the Guantánamo Detainee Library has generated. Created early in the century, there was great concern and speculation about what measures the U.S. Department of Defense might take to deprive their detainees of intellectual and linguistic stimulation. It isn’t the only library in the detention center—there is also one for military personnel—but it is surely the most controversial. According to reports, there are books in eighteen different languages in the bookshelves."
Ilan Stavans and Muira McCammon
Read the whole article at Kenyon Review

Bookshelf designed for cats

Bookshelf with catwalk for family pet
Thinking Design

Supergal Bookend

A female superhero character seems to hold your books preventing them from falling.
Made of metal, painted black.
Size: L 20 x W 12 x H 17 cm ; Weight: 350 gr
Artori Design

Fiction

Make your books fly. Whether vertical or horizontal the Fiction book stand turns an ordinary pile of books into a sculptural feature in your home or office.
Sebastian Bergne 

Book sales up, digital sales down

New figures released today by The Publishers Association shows that the UK publishing industry is in good health with total sales or book and journal publishing up to £4.4bn in 2015. The figures also revealed the UK’s love affair with the printed book is far from over as for the first time since the invention of the ebook, overall physical book sales increased while digital sales decreased.
Highlights of the research include:

• Sales of physical books from publishers increased for the first time in four years while digital sales fell for the first time since The PA started collecting figures
• There was particularly strong growth in sales of physical non-fiction/reference books which saw sales increase by 9% to £759m
• School books sales were up overall by 9% to £319m with growth in physical and digital both home and abroad.
• Audiobook downloads had another good year with 29% growth in 2015.

Commenting, The Publishers Association Chief Executive, Stephen Lotinga, said:
“These figures show that the UK publishing industry continues to go from strength to strength and the UK’s love for print is far from over. Digital continues to be an incredibly important part of the industry, but it would appear there remains a special place in the consumer’s heart for the aesthetic pleasure that printed books can bring. At a time when the Government is looking for world leading sectors to drive growth in the UK economy, they could do a lot worse than look to the success of our publishing industry.”
Image: Cassia Beck

Fond du Lac Public Library's circulation desk

A video showing how the Fond du Lac Library's circulation desk was made

Anita Brookner: Look at Me new cover

Penguin's new cover for Anita Brookner's 'Look at Me'

Tidying your bookshelves

Like a lot of avid readers, I enjoyed Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up but bristled when it came to the section about books. The gist of her now-famous method is this: go through all your possessions by category, touch everything, keep only that which “sparks joy,” and watch as your world is transformed. It seems simple enough, but Kondo gives minimalism the hard sell when it comes to books, urging readers to ditch as many of them as they can. You may think that a book sparks joy, she argues, but you’re probably wrong and should get rid of it, especially if you haven’t read it yet.
Lithub