After you've determined your specific bookshelf needs, you'll need to decide whether you want ready-made or custom designs. Ready-made shelves range from the inexpensive knockdown variety to exquisitely crafted pieces of fine furniture. At the low end are pieces made of fiber-board or particleboard, covered with laminate or veneer, with snap-together joints that loosen if you move or rearrange the furniture often. Higher-quality pieces are generally made of wood-veneer-covered plywood or solid wood. Higher-quality bookshelves are also more stable. Perform your own test by pressing your weight against the side of a bookcase; there should be no give. The benefits of ready-made units are obvious: You bring them right home and fill them up, and they are usually less expensive than custom shelves. The major drawback of a ready-made piece is that it won't be made to measure, although units with adjustable shelves will allow you to accommodate oversize books. Also, most ready-made pieces require some assembly.

Low sectional tables, ideal for oversize books, can create an ideal reading nook. Sultan Series sectionals, $675 each, John Kelly Furniture, www.johnkellyfurniture.com. In a kitchen, shelves of 3/4-inch plywood, painted to match walls, are perfect for organizing cookbooks. Humidity is a book's worst enemy, so keep books in the kitchen away from the sink and the stove. Often paperbacks are lost amid larger books in bookcases. And some people feel they're just not pretty enough to be shelved with hardcovers. To solve the problem, give them a six-inch-deep shelf of their own, crafted of 1 1/4-inch pine, stained reddish brown. Put it in a guest room, where overnight visitors can enjoy the selection. Shelves measuring 10 inches deep by 12 or 13 inches high are ideal for hardcovers. Chicago 8 Box, $1,400; visit www.sleekspaces.com.

When chosen with care, ready-made bookshelves can be as effective and offer as much architectural presence as custom units. Three square 12-inch-deep units with extra-high 19-inch shelves lined up along a dining-room wall, easily houses oversize design books. Arranging the shelves horizontally, rather than vertically, makes a more dramatic statement. (These can be used either way.) Bogart stacking wall units, $775 each, the Joe Ruggiero Collection, available at most Norwalk Furniture Idea Stores; visit www.norwalkfurnitureidea.com for store locations.