I don't have an answer for you, but since I am a reading fanatic I thought you might enjoy these pictures that are part of my house planning.

Here is a link that might be useful: bookcases

Unless they are built in, as in permanently attached the building code has nothing to say.

It barely has anything to say even if they are built in since single family housing has few rules about hallway or room sizes.

My personal opinion is there should be no furniture in a typically narrow hallway, especially if it leads to one of more bedrooms. In an emergency, that furniture becomes a potential impediment to escape. Think of trying to find your way out in a smoky fire in the dark. The last thing you need to do is smack into a bookcase, possibly injuring yourself.

Built in bookcases set into the wall of a hallway would be fine.

Thank you for responding.
Finallyhome, is that a Pod home? WOW, gorgeous!!
That looks is sort of what I would love, but only one side of the hallway as the other side will have a 1/2 wall into the living room.
Thanks again!

"My personal opinion is there should be no furniture in a typically narrow hallway, especially if it leads to one of more bedrooms. In an emergency, that furniture becomes a potential impediment to escape. Think of trying to find your way out in a smoky fire in the dark. The last thing you need to do is smack into a bookcase, possibly injuring yourself."

And make sure there is no furniture away from the walls in the room that hall empties into.

You might trip over the lazy boy.

Speed of escape is not usually what gets folks in a fire.
The lack of smoke detectors means they never even get out of bed.

Call the fire department and ask them. They will say the same thing I said. A lot of people die needlessly in fires simply because egress is blocked or impeded. People in burning buildings often have only seconds to get out and are frequently disoriented. Anything that may rob a person of any of those precious seconds should be considered very carefully.

Hallways are for moving from place to place in the home. Unless they are very wide, they should not contain furniture.

Kitchen and bath walkways are to be 42 inches minimum according to NKBA. I think hallways should be at least the same. If there is no natural night, for aesthetic/psych reasons alone, I would be sure there was at least 48 inches of clear space.

Both creek side and brickeye are right. I work with first responders and CERT, these concerns are certainly valid and real. One doesn't cancel the other out at all. Wouldn't it just you know what to actually wake up and not be able to get out? Leave four feet clear for crawlers, multiple escapees, and those who roll (and you never know when you might have someone with those needs in the house).

"Kitchen and bath walkways are to be 42 inches minimum according to NKBA."

Except they have no authority to specify anything.

'Should be' is not he same "are to be."

The OP asked for regulations/suggestions. The NKBA guidelines fall within that spread.

I've done my own tolerance for narrow hallways test. I find anything less than 42 inches uncomfortable. Our new house will have 48" halls/passage space.

Many older houses have 36 inch hallways, especially in the non-public areas.

Be sure to consider the weight of books when doing the support framing for this area. I would personally want at least 42" clear after the bookcases are in place.

brickeyee, I'm not sure why you seem to be leaning toward being argumentative with others rather than being helpful with suggestions to the op in your posts. No one has portrayed their answers as carrying any more weight than they actually do. Since you seem to be leading up to it, however, I'll go ahead and make the point for you now rather than later:

Many things CAN be done, but that does not mean that doing them is either smart or wise.

Perhaps, I don't know because I don't know current codes generally or for every municipality specifically--which the op will really need to check regardless of what any of us here says, one CAN have a three-foot hallway, but as someone who has a hall that size in our existing, yes, pretty old, house, I can tell you it is neither smart nor wise and does pose a hazard. Also, generally, the longer the hallway, the wider it should be for aesthetics and psychological comfort.

Further, I double-checked the nkba guidelines, and they actually say 36 inches for single walkways and 42 inches for intersecting walkways as well as for work areas (48 inches for two-cook kitchens).

Kitchens walkways are not hallways; I quoted them not as any kind of legal authority but because their guidelines are based on sound safety and design principles and research findings and a kitchen walkway is somewhat analogous to a hallway. Since the hallway is usually longer and has more function as an egress, I would think it should be at least as wide as and probably wider than a walkway within a room.

If I were the op, I would try to steal six inches on each side for a total of five feet. If the bookcases are tall, the extra width will help soften the effect of being boxed in. It would also provide a little room, perhaps, at a far end (past all doors if there is such a spot) for a very small armchair or browsing stool and/or side table to really finish off the feeling of a "library."

Good luck to the op. I hope you are able to achieve your vision with safety, comfort, and style.

Thank you all for making your points and sharing them.

I am still in planning mode and DH is not in favor of even having the bookcases...but that never stops a wife from asking for things, right ;-)

I was surfing the web and found a solution that may or may not be ideal. It is a mounted (off the floor) to look as if it were floating cabinet that is only counter height. This would give the illusion of spaciousness, give me some extra storage, offer me a counter of sorts to display pottery, and still leave me wall space for pix and art.
I may insist that DH steal some space from the bedroom to ensure that the minimum is 36" for the hallway (this is a hallway that is at the front door and will not be used often).
Again, thank you kindly for all your thoughts and opinions.

"Kitchen and bath walkways are to be 42 inches minimum according to NKBA. "

Sounds pretty emphatic from a group with no authority.

It does not say 'suggested,' it says "are to be."

Sounds like an 'appeal to non existent authority,' a commonly used excuse when there is no hard or factual answer to an issue.

And gosh, 36 inch turns out to be acceptable to even the much vaunted NKBA.

I grew up in a house with 36" wide hallways, and they were just fine--I didn't even think about it until we were planning our house. My Mom had furniture in that hallway so it was probably only 24" in one spot--I recommend against that, but it was OK at her house because the hallway had a door before that furniture so if there was a fire you wouldn't need to go by it. I agree with those who suggested built in bookshelves, because if you have stand alones you add an inch to how much they stick out because of the baseboards. The passage ways around the kitchen island at our old house were only 36" and we didn't know that was supposed to be a problem until we started planning the kitchen for our new house.