A bookshelf recipe won’t fit in your inventory’s crafting grid, and choosing the wrong shelf leaves you without the book storage you wanted. Regular bookshelves use books, while chiseled bookshelves use wooden slabs and hold books you insert. Here’s how to craft both, place them with your device’s controls, and arrange regular shelves for enchanting.
Craft a regular bookshelf at a crafting table
The inventory’s 2×2 crafting grid is too small for a bookshelf recipe.
Gather six wooden planks and three ordinary books for each bookshelf.
If you need the books, craft each Book from three paper and one leather. That’s nine paper and three leather for one bookshelf.
Open a Crafting Table to use its 3×3 grid. With default keyboard and mouse controls, right-click the table.
Fill the top row with three wooden planks.
Place three ordinary books across the middle row, one in each slot.
Fill the bottom row with the remaining three wooden planks.
Take the Bookshelf from the output slot. Each craft produces one regular bookshelf, and this recipe works in Java and Bedrock Editions.
Use the recipe book to handle the layout
At a Crafting Table, open the recipe book. Search for Bookshelf.
Select Bookshelf for a regular shelf or Chiseled Bookshelf for book storage. The recipe book’s presentation varies by edition and input device.
Supply the displayed ingredients. The recipe book shows missing ingredients; selecting a recipe doesn’t supply them.
Collect the bookshelf from the output slot once the ingredients are in place.
Place your bookshelf using your device’s controls
These controls place either bookshelf type in the world.
Move the bookshelf to your hotbar.
With a keyboard and mouse, select its hotbar slot using the mouse wheel or number keys 1–9. These are the default controls in Java and Bedrock Editions.
Aim at the surface where the bookshelf should attach.
Right-click to place it.
With a controller in Bedrock, select the bookshelf using the shoulder bumpers.
Aim at the target surface.
Press the left trigger: LT on Xbox, L2 on PlayStation, or ZL on Nintendo Switch. These are the default bindings; custom bindings change the placement control.
On a touchscreen in Bedrock, tap the bookshelf in your hotbar.
With a tap-to-interact control scheme, tap the destination surface to place it.
With a crosshair scheme, aim the crosshair at the destination surface.
Press the interaction button to place the shelf.
Make a chiseled bookshelf for book storage
A regular bookshelf is the wrong block when you want to insert and retrieve books.
Gather six wooden planks and three wooden slabs for a Chiseled Bookshelf. This recipe requires no books and works in Java and Bedrock Editions from version 1.20 onward.
Open a Crafting Table.
Fill the top row with three wooden planks.
Put three wooden slabs across the middle row.
Fill the bottom row with three more wooden planks.
Collect the Chiseled Bookshelf from the output slot. It starts empty and holds up to six books.
Place it using your device’s placement control.
To store a book, hold it in your hand.
Aim at an empty slot on the shelf’s front.
Use your device’s interaction control to insert the book.
To retrieve a book, use its occupied slot with an empty hand. Chiseled bookshelves do not strengthen enchanting tables.
Arrange regular shelves for enchanting in Bedrock
Use this arrangement to strengthen an Enchanting Table in Bedrock Edition.
- 1.Gather regular Bookshelves, with 15 as the useful maximum.
- 2.Place your Enchanting Table with room for shelves around it.
- 3.Surround the table with regular bookshelves, leaving a one-block gap between the table and the shelves.
- 4.Leave that gap empty for a straightforward arrangement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many materials do I need for 15 bookshelves?
You need 90 wooden planks and 45 ordinary books. Making those books requires 135 paper and 45 leather.
Which books can a chiseled bookshelf hold?
It accepts ordinary books, enchanted books, written books, and books and quills. In Java Edition, it also accepts knowledge books.
Can I get bookshelves without crafting in Creative mode?
Yes. In Bedrock Creative mode, open the inventory and find Bookshelf or Chiseled Bookshelf. Move it to your hotbar. Select it and place it repeatedly. Creative placement does not consume the stack.
Can a Crafter make bookshelves automatically?
Yes. The Crafter is available in Java and Bedrock from version 1.21 onward. Open a Crafter and arrange either bookshelf recipe in its 3×3 grid. Keep all nine slots enabled. Send a redstone pulse using a button or another redstone source to craft and eject the item from the front. Refill the ingredients and pulse again for repeated production, or automate both. The Crafter produces item drops; it does not place bookshelf blocks in the world.