Skip to main content
← All Guides
Storage · Redstone · 1.21

How to Make a Chiseled Bookshelf

A chiseled bookshelf actually holds your books, six to a shelf, and reports which slot you touched to redstone. That makes it a tidy library and the key to hidden bookshelf doors. Tap a slot below.

Right-click a slot to add or take a book. A comparator outputs the last slot you touched.

The recipe

Planks on the top and bottom rows, wooden slabs through the middle.

→
Chiseled Bookshelf

Any wood works, as long as the planks and slabs match. Need books to fill it? See how to make a book.

How the slots work

It has six slots. Aim at one and right-click to slide a book in, or to pull the book in that slot back out. It accepts any of these:

Book
Book & Quill
Written Book
Enchanted Book

The redstone trick

Put a comparator against the bookshelf and it outputs a signal equal to the last slot you used, one through six. Builders use that to open hidden bookshelf doors when a specific book is pulled, or to sort and track books.

Chiseled vs normal bookshelf

Normal bookshelf

Pure decoration, and it powers up a nearby enchanting table. You cannot put anything in it or take it back out as books.

Chiseled bookshelf

Stores up to six books you can add and remove per slot, and outputs a redstone signal. It does not boost enchanting tables.

Quick answers

How do you make a chiseled bookshelf?
Put three planks across the top row, three wooden slabs across the middle, and three planks across the bottom: six planks and three slabs of any one wood.
What books can it hold?
Up to six of any book item: plain books, books and quills, written books and enchanted books, one per slot.
How does the redstone signal work?
A comparator next to the bookshelf outputs a number equal to the last slot you put a book in or took one out of, from one to six. That is what drives hidden bookshelf doors.
Does it boost enchanting like a normal bookshelf?
No. Only normal bookshelves power up an enchanting table. The chiseled one is for storage, redstone and decoration.
How many books fit?
Six, one in each visible slot. Aim at the slot you want and right-click to add or remove just that book.
Can I read the books from it?
Yes. Take a written book or enchanted book back out of its slot and use it as normal; the shelf just holds them.
Fill it →
Make a book
Craft the books that go on the shelf.
Database →
Bookshelf & comparator
Look up the chiseled bookshelf, books and redstone parts.