Creating and Managing Shelves
Personal shelves help you organize and track your reading interests, from books you want to read to your favorite completed titles. Create custom collections that reflect your unique reading journey.
Create a new shelf
- Navigate to My Shelves in your account menu.
- Click Create New Shelf or the plus (+) icon.
- Enter a descriptive name for your shelf (e.g., "Summer Reading 2025", "Favorite Mysteries").
- Add an optional description to explain the shelf's purpose.
- Choose privacy settings (public, friends only, or private).
- Click Save to create your shelf.
Add items to shelves
- From any item page, click the Add to Shelf button.
- Select an existing shelf or create a new one from the dropdown menu.
- Alternatively, drag and drop items from your search results onto shelf names.
- Items can be added to multiple shelves if desired.
Edit or delete shelves
- Go to My Shelves and select the shelf you want to modify.
- Click the settings icon (gear) or three-dot menu.
- Choose Edit Shelf to change the name, description, or privacy settings.
- Select Delete Shelf to permanently remove it (items remain in your account).
Organizing Content
Keep your shelves organized and easy to navigate with sorting options, tags, and custom arrangements that work for your reading style.
Sort and arrange items
- Open any of your shelves from My Shelves.
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Use the Sort by dropdown to arrange items by:
- Date added
- Title (alphabetical)
- Author name
- Publication date
- Your rating
- Toggle between ascending and descending order using the arrow icon.
- For manual arrangement, drag and drop items to your preferred order.
Use tags and notes
- Click on any item in your shelf to open its details.
- Add personal tags in the My Tags field (e.g., "beach read", "book club pick").
- Write personal notes in the My Notes section to remember why you added the item.
- Use the search function within shelves to find items by tags or notes.
Remove items from shelves
- Navigate to the shelf containing the item you want to remove.
- Hover over the item and click the X or Remove button.
- Confirm the removal (this only removes it from the shelf, not your account).
- To remove from multiple shelves, visit the item's main page and manage shelf assignments there.
Privacy Settings
Control who can see your shelves and reading activity with flexible privacy options that let you share what you want with your community.
Shelf visibility options
- Public: Anyone can view your shelf and its contents
- Friends only: Only users you follow and who follow you back can see the shelf
- Private: Only you can see the shelf and its contents
Change shelf privacy
- Go to My Shelves and select the shelf you want to modify.
- Click the settings icon or Edit Shelf.
- Select your preferred privacy level from the dropdown menu.
- Click Save Changes to apply the new setting.
Account-wide privacy settings
- Visit Account Settings from your profile menu.
- Navigate to the Privacy section.
- Choose default privacy levels for new shelves.
- Control whether your reading activity appears in friends' newsfeeds.
Sharing Shelves
Share your reading recommendations and discoveries with friends, family, or the broader library community through various sharing options.
Share shelf links
- Open the shelf you want to share from My Shelves.
- Click the Share button or link icon.
- Copy the generated URL to share via email, social media, or messaging.
- Note: Recipients can only view public shelves or shelves shared with friends.
Export shelf contents
- Select the shelf you want to export.
- Click Export or look for download options in the shelf menu.
- Choose your preferred format (CSV, text, or reading list).
- Use exported lists for book club planning, gift ideas, or personal records.
Collaborative shelves
- Create a new shelf and set it to Public visibility.
- Share the shelf link with collaborators.
- Note: Direct collaborative editing may depend on your library's BiblioCommons settings.
- Consider using the comments feature for collaborative recommendations.
Pro Tip
Create themed shelves for different occasions: "Holiday Gifts", "Book Club Suggestions", or "Staff Picks" to easily share curated recommendations with others.