Home Library Design

I used to have a huge library wall system that was 8 feet long and spanned an entire wall in my home.  I had eight bookcases filled with fiction, cooking and baking, poetry, interior design, art, writing and reference books.  I downsized the library five years ago from 2,300 books to 150 during a move to a smaller home.  I have since purchased more books but am concentrating on acquiring art books only.  Yes, I repurchased some of those lost books on Ebay.  

I miss that library and am keen on creating another one when I move into a larger space than I currently have. One of the new (to me) types of art books that I am interested in concern medieval manuscripts. Of course, I would love to have a few facsimile editions of illuminated manuscripts but they are expensive.  I am still interested in learning more about them and have several books on my amazon wishlist that will help me learn more about medieval manuscripts.  A recent Coursera course on the medieval manuscripts of Western Europe has fueled this interest.

The design that I prefer for my library is to have all of the bookcases next to each other in one long row.  This is not always possible depending on your home layout but I have been lucky so far in the homes that I have lived in. This design creates a stunning look.  

What does your home library look like? Do you place all of the bookcases next to each other or split them up throughout your home?  What is your ideal library?  Let me know in the comments.