In On Arranging Books by Color (Design Observer), author Rob Giampietro discusses the way we use store and use books. He examines the history of classification and retrieval systems like the Dewey Decimal System and compares it to alternative mechanisms like Pantone color matching. It’s an interesting read full of photographs of book shelves arranged in esthetically-pleasing ways. Giampietro writes: “To rearrange your books is to see them afresh and to investigage yourself in the process. Even if you make a terrible mess, Perec reminds us that ‘Disorder in a library is not serious in itself; it ranks with Which drawer did I put my socks in?‘ … and your sock drawer is probably color-coded already.”

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