Bookshelves have become one of the most basic pieces of furniture in many places, including family homes, offices, classrooms, and public libraries. Since many homes and public places have limited spaces, books are often stuffed or crammed into bookshelves in an attempt to fit in as many as possible. Even though tightly packed bookshelves do a great job of saving space, there is a major problem that comes from crammed bookshelves.

Think It! When books are stuffed in a bookshelf, it becomes difficult for people to retrieve the book out the shelves. Books that are packed too tightly together have to be priced out with a grunt and a wiggle. This process of yanking books out the shelves requires much effort and time. In addition, pushing a book against other books while pulling it out could potentially cause damage to physical books.

Explore It! Explore It! In order to make the process of retrieving crammed books from shelves less straining, I have decided to invent a new type of bookshelf. This invention is a bookshelf with triangular fulcrums or pillars attached to the back panel. Using the triangular fulcrums as levers, people would have to simply push the tip of the book spine against the fulcrum, which would push the bottom of the book spine forward. Then people can easily retrieve the book out by pulling the protruded part of the book spine.

Explore It! Explore It! Angus Snead Macdonald was an architect and businessman. He improved the bookshelf on how it was designed. Macdonald reformed the production of bookshelves by making them light-weight and adjustable.

Angus Snead MacDonald and his company were the first to create the first compact shelving units that utilized the concept of hinged shelving. No library is known to have copied this original design. Variations of the original bookshelf have been made, however, there are no bookshelves that have been designed or any past research done to make the process of retrieving books from packed bookshelf easier. Explore It!

Sketch It! Sketch It! Lever is a type of simple machine that decreases the amount of force that is needed to do a specific work. When trying to move the book from the bookshelf, the triangular fulcrums attached to the back panel work as the point where the book is pivoted. Therefore when you push the book against the fulcrum, the book is lifted, allowing the person to apply less force when removing the book from the shelf.

Step 1: Get a bookshelf of some sort; you can build one yourself, purchase one from a furniture store, or just use a bookshelf that is already in your possession. Step 2: Get two triangular pillars or fulcrums. You can purchase one from a supply store or you can get a chunk of wood and carve it out. The triangular fulcrum act as a lever.

Step 3: Purchase a Velcro set. Attach a strip of Velcro loop on the back of each triangular fulcrum. Cut out two strips of Velcro hook and attach them horizontally on the back panel of the shelf. Make sure to put one strip of Velcro hook under the other Velcro hook strip. Step 4: After the Velcro strips are securely placed, attach the fulcrums (with Velcro loop on the back) to the Velcro hooks placed on the back panel of the shelf.

Step 5:Gather some books and place them inside the bookshelf until it is tightly packed. Step6: Choose a book you want to retrieve from the shelf. Place a finger on the top of the book spine, then push it. Once the bottom of the book spine sticks out forward, pull the book out with your hands.

Try It! Try It! Trial # The time it took to take out the first book from a tightly packed bookshelf (18 books) without the triangular fulcrums (lever). #12.69 seconds #22.64 seconds #32.71 seconds Trial # The time it took to take out the first book from a tightly packed bookshelf (18 books) with the triangular fulcrums (lever). #11.80 seconds #21.63 seconds #31.87 seconds

Tweak It! Tweak It! My invention, the Lever Bookshelf, uses Velcro to attach the triangular pillar or fulcrum to the back panel. Unfortunately, this does not allow the triangular fulcrums to move upwards and downwards. If the fulcrums can flexibly move around, the placement of the fulcrums can be adjusted depending on the height and size of the books. Instead of the Velcro, which can only stay in one place, the bookshelf can use magnets. One large piece of magnet can cover the back panel and strips of magnets can be attached to the back of the fulcrums. With this improvement, the fulcrums can move up and down, while staying secured on the spot they are placed at.

Sell It! Sell It! My invention is called the “Lever Bookshelf” because it uses the lever effect to make the process of removing books from shelves much easier. My invention should be purchased by buyers because it is an useful, efficient, and simple item. It will save people’s time and energy because it will make taking a crammed book out of a book shelf quick, easy, and effortless.

Works Cited Works Cited ords.ashx?pid= ords.ashx?pid= pieces/bookcases/antique-industrial-cast-iron-archival- bookcase/id-f_393128/ pieces/bookcases/antique-industrial-cast-iron-archival- bookcase/id-f_393128/ ClipArt