Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ultimate shelf?

The ultimate shelf is the most popular items across all users' shelves. Each night we count up all the items people have added to shelves that day and add them to the running totals for that item. If any item breaks into the top 5ft we do some rearranging and refresh the shelf.

How often do you update the ultimate shelf?

Every night we add up the numbers for the day and rearrange the top shelf. Specifically the count currently happens at 7am GMT.

The original Harvard Classics had the criteria of a liberal education. Is this the same?

Users are free to add their favorite books, albums and movies to their shelf regardless of the item type. The aim is to find the modern classics—books, albums and movies thought to be essential for modern living. It could be argued that this deviates slightly from the Harvard Classics but we disagree. The Harvard Classics contains Greek drama and Shakespeare amongst other fiction and we feel the modern shelf should too. In fact Dr. Eliot even produced a 5ft shelf of fiction. The real difference we believe comes in the fact that our shelf is created by internet users rather a single authoritative source.

So you're not fans of the original (Dr Eliot's) 5ft shelf then?

Yes we are! We think the collection is a great idea and contains some of the best literature ever produced. We just wanted to know, 100 years later, what people would add to a modern version—their all time favourites books, albums and movies.

What are mini-shelves?

Mini-shelves are half size shelves (2½ft) that contain only one subject matter. Like the ultimate shelf they only show the most popular items from all users' shelves but this time it's limited to a certain category. They are perfect for exploring passions and interests.

How are the mini-shelves categories devised?

The mini-shelf categories come from the categories assigned to the book, albums and movies. We take these categories from Amazon when we first import the item. As such the items potentially available to each mini-shelf increases as more new items are added to shelves.

How does your recommendation system work?

We're quite proud of our recommendation system. It works by looking at all the items on your shelf and finding members with similar shelves. We then combine all their items together and find the most popular items that you don't have. It works a lot better than traditional online store recommendations as they factor in every item you view or buy and neither of those criteria is a guarantee of liking something. As our algorithm is based entirely on your favourite items the recommendations it produces are more accurate. Better still the more people that join 5ft shelf, the more data we have, and the more accurate your recommendations become. So be sure to check back regularly for new recommendations.

Why have I got no recommendations?

The recommendation engine needs a minimum amount of items on your shelf in order to generate recommendations, typically 2-3 items. The more items you add to your shelf the more accurate the results become (we reckon around 10 items of a given type is the point at which the recommendations start to become quite accurate).

What are shelf views?

Shelf views allow you to look at the same shelf from different points of view (the contents always being the same). There are currently three views available:

  • Spine view mimicks what a shelf looks like in the real world from the perspective from a person looking straight at the spines. To enable the shelf to fit into the browser window it is split into two 2½ft shelves
  • Cover view allows you see books rotated on the shelf so you see the front covers not the spines (much like feature books at bookstores). As the shelf width is measured on spine size there is no relation between how big the shelf looks and how much space it would take up in real life.
  • List view presents a more traditional web view where there is no analogy of items on a shelf

The easiest way to find your preferred view is just to try them all and see which you like the most.

How do I change view?

On the front page there is an area dedicated to allowing you to change view on the right hand side below the search strip. On all other shelf pages there is a button above the shelf that lets you change the view.

What's does following somebody mean?

To follow another user means to watch what they do on 5ft Shelf. So for example if somebody you know adds a book to their shelf you will see this in your news feed. This makes it really easy to see what people are changing without having to keep visiting their shelf and noticing the changes. No personal activities such as changing passwords are exposed in the news feed - it is only adding and removing books/albums/movies from shelves and commenting on items that are exposed.

How do I find my friends/people to follow?

You can find you friends by either searching for them by name or by using the friend importer which uses your GMail, Yahoo Mail or Windows Live Hotmail account address book to find people you know on 5ft Shelf.

What's my news feed and how to I get to it?

Your news feed contains the updates of all the people you are following. This includes actions such as adding or removing a book/album/movie from a shelf or following another user. When you are logged in the news feed can be reached by clicking the Home link on the menu bar.

How are the items width measured? Are there any limits?

The width of the items are measured by placing the items vertically so the spine is facing away from the shelf, just like a real bookshelf. This is equivalent to our shelf view. There is a limit of 2.5½ft for books, 1.5½ft for movies and 1ft for music. This is enough space for around 30 items of each.

You mention you can click straight through to buy items. How does this work?

On the product pages there is a button 'Buy on Amazon' or 'Buy on iTunes' depending on your profile settings. For Amazon items, clicking the button shows the produce page on Amazon where you can order that item along with anything else you may wish to order at the same time. iTunes items open the iTunes application which can then be purchased from there.

How can I support 5ft Shelf?

We are a bootstrapped company with a popular site which means large server bills to cover. The best thing you can do is click the "Buy on Amazon" or "Buy on iTunes" button on our site before making purchases. It doesn't matter what you buy so long as you click the button on our site before making the purchase. In return for sending them a customer, Amazon send us a referral fee. With enough of these, donations from supporters, and money out our own back pocket we can just about cover the server bills. This do not effect the cost to you on Amazon or iTunes so we really appreciate your support on this.

What's the cart? Are you an online store?

No we're not an online store! However as we focus on discovery people often find they want to purchase new items they have found. As such we've added links through to Amazon and iTunes to make this process quick and easy. With Amazon the items are first added to a local cart on 5ftshelf.com. These items can then be added to your Amazon cart when you're ready to checkout.

Do you track what I buy on Amazon/iTunes?

No - we wouldn't want to do this and besides the agreements with have with Amazon and iTunes don't allow this.

Can I change the price I see on the product page from say Amazon to iTunes?

Yes you can change the price you see on the product page itself (click 'change store' under the price) or under your profile page. We're adding support for new merchants all the time.

Can you add support for my favorite online shop X?

Maybe - we try to judge demand and only add support for the most popular stores. If you've a particular request then please contact us.

I was adding an item and it doesn't look the same as the one I own. Does it matter?

No - we combine different versions of items into one family and count them as one. The search will still show all versions but if it's not there it probably just means it has fallen out of print or is a rare item.

A cover for item X looks really rubbish. What's wrong?

We get the product images from Amazon and occasionally the image doesn't match our assumptions of what it will be. The most common cases for this is box sets where the photo is taken at an angle. We do correct the most popular items that we notice but we can't spot them all. Please inform us if you spot one.

Why don't the spines match the ones on the book/album/movie I own?

Although we get the product front cover from Amazon we can't get the spine. As such we have to make a few assumptions about how the spine will look. It's not perfect but it does look right most the time and it does make the text readable nearly all the time. If you spot one that looks particularly bad contact us and we'll sort it out.

I'm a publisher and I'd like our proper spines on your site. Can you help?

Please contact us to discuss.

I've noticed some data inconsistency in one of your items. What shall I do?

We get the product data (author, dimensions, etc) from Amazon. As this data has to be all entered at hand by somebody at some point in the chain the occasional error is likely. Contact us if you notice anything and we'll sort it out

What's the point of the country setting under my profile?

This setting is used to determine which results to return in search and which online stores to make your default when you first register. You can change any of these settings under your profile.

What are the Twitter and Facebook status updates and what is account linking?

Each time you perform activity on the site (for example adding a book to your shelf, removing an album) an update is added to your (and your followers) news feed. It is also possible to have these updates appear on your Facebook and Twitter profile. To get started setup Facebook integration and/or setup Twitter integration

What will these updates look like?

The setup pages (Facebook, Twitter) have examples of what the status updates look like.

I don't want my updates on other networks but I'd like to follow you on Twitter/Facebook/Your Blog, where can I find you?

You can follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or read our blog

How do I contact you?

Use our contact page