Gaming Bookshelves

[Droogie]

My DM has hundreds of books, but no bookshelves. All his books are stacked on the floor in a spare bedroom in unorganized heaps. Instead of buying shelves (5 shelf bookcase, Walmart, $35) he would rather buy yet another book he'll never use. Addict.

Guess what I'm getting him for his birthday?

 

[woodelf]

The IKEA 6x6 looks sweet!

So, how long have you had that Ikea shelf? I just went and read the product description, and it sounds suspect, as far as long-term durability is concerned (particle board and fiber board have a tendency to disintegrate and/or shatter under stress). Can it be disassembled and re-assembled, or does it pretty much need to stay together once put together? It looks really nice, so i thought i'd get more info before running out and buying one.

My solution is Shelf Expressions. Specifically, their floor shelving modules.

Pros:

• super-strong, stable. These will not bow under your books. They won't bow when storing bricks.
• very light-weight
• set-up and take-down with no tools, and fold flat for transportation
• stackable and modular
• nice looking, and let lots of light in so they don't darken a room or make it hard to see your books
• i think they're more bang for your buck than most shelving, and the only things i've ever seen that are clearly better are also more expensive.

Cons:

• you have to take them down to adjust the shelves. Well, not really, but you have to unhook all the shelves from one side and unfold it before any of the shelves can be moved. This could be done while the shelf is standing (and maybe even with stuff on the shelves), given enough hands, but it's a lot easier when the shelving unit is lying flat. So, pick the shelf locations once, when you set them up.
• sub-optimal for traditional RPG books. The spacing of the slats is such that you can have roughly an 11.5" gap, or a 14" gap. The former works for most paperbacks, but almost no hardcovers; the latter "wastes" around 2" per shelf. Of course, pretty much every affordable bookshelf i've ever looked at has a similar problem, though usually for different reasons (usually: not enough shelves, or shelves in strange places)--in the rest of the book world, they're either coffeetable books, or textbook-or-smaller. So, ultimately, it's only slightly less efficient than my other shelves (or those of my friends).
• I had to put a double layer of corrugated under the insert in each shelf, to get the insert (which sits on the slats) flush with the frame of the shelf.
• they're more expensive than most cheap bookshelving.

I'll be buying more of the 22" modules, to get that set of shelving up to 9'h x 6'w, once i move. I kinda wish i'd started out with a wider version, but then, wider ones wouldn't have fit in my last apartment (where i had two single shelving stacks, rather than the two of them linked to form a 3rd set of shelves). I might buy wider ones this time, but it's probably easier to stick with all one width to maximize options (for stacking). In short, i can highly recommend them.

 

[Digital M@]

I had many books that I never used and few old games really hold nastagia for me so I sold them at auction. Now all of my books fit onto two shelves. And at $40 a book now a days, a book will really have to be something special to get added. I feel I have enough rules to dictate my gaming.

 

[woodelf]

I like that IKEA bookshelf, I may have to see about getting one of those. I don't have nearly enough RPG books to fill it, but it sure gives me a great goal to work towards!

I can see the conversations with my wife now... "Yes honey, I need this book. Look my bookshelf isn't even close to being full!"

I know it looks impressive, but it's really only ~30 shelf-feet (36 if you use the top). Or, roughly 2.5x one of those $40 Target shelves (like you see sagging in Psion's first picture). Though i'm sure it's much sturdier than the latter. But, anyway, it's not all that much bookshelvage. I've got ~25 shelf-feet devoted to RPGs, and another ~26 shelf-feet for other books. And i don't really have that many bookshelves. [of course, i own about 36 shelf-feet of RPGs and 36 shelf-feet of other books, and Origins and GenCon are coming up...] Books add up quickly; I suspect Psion will rather soon need more shelves.

 

[Sledge]

grrrr just realized Ikea does not like Canada... the bookshelf from Ikea is listed at $99 USD and $169 CDN. The Canadian exchange rate is less than 1.25 right now so it is at least $44 above straight exchange. Verily I am annoyed... time to check Jysk.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

What does a set of 6'x6' Ikea bookshelves run these days, anyway? They look ideal - and pricey.

 

[Psion]

What does a set of 6'x6' Ikea bookshelves run these days, anyway? They look ideal - and pricey.

About $150 US.

Yeah, that's a bit more than the cheapie ones you find and Walmart, but once bitten and all that...

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

grrrr just realized Ikea does not like Canada... the bookshelf from Ikea is listed at $99 USD and $169 CDN. The Canadian exchange rate is less than 1.25 right now so it is at least $44 above straight exchange. Verily I am annoyed... time to check Jysk.

Send customer service an email and see if they'll match the price...

 

[haiiro]

I think I qualify as professional - I have 27 full size bookcases in a 2-bedroom apartment. Only 4 are filled with gaming material, though.

Woooooooooow. I've got 11 5-shelf cases, and I thought that was a lot! Andre, that is damned impressive.

 

[wingsandsword]

I use a big solid bookcase I got at Office Depot years ago, I don't recall the name, but it's over 6 feet high and 2 feet wide, and it's filled tightly, with overflow fillling an entire extra shelf in a matching case.

It gets mildly irritating picking up a new book for a game then trying to figure out how to cram it into the shelf where it should go, so I have to reorganize my books every so often to keep books for the same game together. Having just measured it, that's 162 inches (13.5 feet) of books. Pretty good I think for somebody who has only been gaming for 7 years.