Summary: In an age dominated by digital media, the growing popularity of BookTube and personal library tours suggests that readers (especially younger generations) are reclaiming bookshelves and home libraries as spaces of identity, memory, community, and resistance to an increasingly virtual world.
Once upon a time, libraries were part of a house blueprint. For centuries, libraries occupied an important place in upper-class homes. If grand estates always had a library, smaller estates could also host one, often called a study because of its smaller size.
It was a room unlike others because its walls were covered with bookshelves and books. Grand estates were the repositories of such rooms, and books were transmitted from generation to generation. In my imagination, a personal library or a study always contained a cozy armchair to welcome the reader, thick rugs to muffle noise, and carpets to complement the hundreds of books lined on bookshelves, parallel and firmly attached to the walls. Libraries were among the most beautiful rooms in a house where one could find solace, refuge, and silence. However, with estate prices rising, the growing number of inhabitants in a building, and shrinking indoor space, personal libraries as we knew them up to the early 20th Century disappeared, making way for more utilitarian rooms. Plus, the rise of digital books in the 21st Century led to the rise of digital libraries. Or at least, that’s what was happening for a while.
The Rise of the Personal Library
There is a growing trend on YouTube that gives hope for the return of the personal library. The number of videos devoted to bookshelves and personal library tours shows that people are devoting space to books in their homes again, whether in the form of nook spaces, shelves, or rooms entirely dedicated to books and the art of reading. Books are reclaiming their place in our homes. For members of the BookTube community, the bookshelf tour has become a staple and a favorite video. Not only are there a lot of them, and I mean A LOT of bookshelf tour videos out there on the web, but they also accumulate thousands of views and comments. Some title it their Bookshelf Tour, others the Home Library Tour, and others their Dream Home Library Tour. Let’s add that, according to Publishers Weekly[1], about 762.4 million books were sold in the US alone in 2025. That’s a lot of books to add to our bookshelves; that’s a lot of bookshelves to build to host them.
Why Film a Personal Library?
The most inquisitive souls will ask the question: Why? Why film the spines and covers? We could indeed wonder about the motivation behind such videos. Could it be to boast? “Look at how many books I read… Look at my knowledge”. I’ve watched a lot of bookshelf tours, and honestly, this isn’t the feeling that comes up most often in these videos. Readers are usually more on the quiet, inquisitive side and keep to themselves. So, what could motivate them to put themselves out there and show their library?
Let’s begin by saying that booktubers are readers talking to other readers. The YouTube algorithm always works in its own interest: to find people interested in the topic covered in the video, to keep people watching, and make more money at the same time. So, for readers, it will be… readers. When I joined BookTube, I found a community that shared the same interests. For the longest time, I felt lonely in my love of books. Well, I don’t feel so isolated anymore; there are thousands of people like me out there! One striking feature of bookshelf tour videos is that they are not among the shortest. Some go way beyond the 1-hour mark, others count 2 or 3 parts. And given the number of views these videos have accumulated (we are talking tens of thousands for some), we can safely say that the interest is real.
Bookshelves host stories in and out. As I was going over my bookshelves, I found myself telling the story behind the books: who purchased it, how I acquired it, where it came from, etc. Because of that, books become emotional anchors that connect us to family members, family stories, friends, and book club fellows. They represent the shared experiences and memories that build us. We are the sum of all the books we read, and some will stay with us forever.
Readers are quiet people with a passion or a strong interest in a topic, and, like anyone with a passion, will understand. Posting a bookshelf tour video is the first step in sharing an experience with an audience that finally understands why we accumulate books, people like us who understand us, and will not tag us with the negative nickname of “nerds” or “bookworms”. Libraries are the banking systems of the mind. They stand for investments of time and money that yield intangible interest returns in entertainment, knowledge, escapism, organization, discussion, and intrapersonal exchanges. Building a library is an investment in oneself, which is never lost.
Most of the bookshelves I visited were organized. I bet I could ask any of these booktubers to find a specific title they own; they would know exactly where to find it among hundreds or thousands of books. Like the art pieces in a collection, books are rarely placed at random on bookshelves. Whether by genre, publisher, author, subject matter, or favorites vs. less favorites, the organizational possibilities are endless. Indeed, the personal libraries presented on BookTube are carefully curated to match their owner’s taste.
Owning multiple editions of the same books seems odd to non-readers. But readers are collectors too. One cannot have enough editions of Pride and Prejudice, even if most editions are to stand on a shelf. Some will claim that we are falling prey to a well-thought-out strategy. Who cares? If owning six versions of our favorite books makes us happy, then why not? At that point, books, stories even, become pieces of art because they tell who we are, they make us who we are. Displaying multiple editions of the same book is simply the exhibition of different interpretations of the same story.
A Figment of Hope Among Younger Generations?
It is said that to own a personal library, one should have accumulated more than 1,000 books. Although this number is reached by the older YouTubers (GenX, Millennials, or generations before), these videos are often (but not exclusively) made by younger Booktubers standing in front of curated bookshelves, their own bookshelves, covered with hundreds of books. Within a short time, their libraries will compete with those of the older generations. Personal library owners are inviting their audience to join them in sharing their interests and their resistance to the digital world’s invasion through a thoughtful, guided tour of what constitutes their secret pride: a library. Would these videos signal a return to personal libraries in homes and apartments among the younger generation? We certainly hope so.
[1] Millio, Jim. “Print Books Sales Rose Slightly in 2025.” publishersweekly.com, January 9, 2026. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/99417-print-book-sales-rose-slightly-in-2025.html.
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