PurposeThis study aimed to understand better the user gaze behavior on bookshelves using eye-tracking technology.Design/methodology/approachAn eye-tracking experiment in a public library with 11 participants was performed. The impact of vertical shelf location of books on the number of times the books are looked at, the impact of horizontal location and the relationship between user behavior and location impact were examined by the findings.FindingsThe results showed that the vertical location of books has a significant impact on the number of times the books are looked at. More than 80% of the time spent looking at bookshelves was spent on books on the top to fourth rows. It was also revealed that the horizontal location of books has a little impact. Books located on the left side of shelves will be looked at significantly more often than those on the right side. No significant relationships between type of user behaviors and location impact were observed.Originality/valueThe study explored the impact of the vertical location of books on time spent looking at bookshelves using eye-tracking methodology. Few published studies do such experiments to address user gaze behavior on bookshelves. The study explored that the vertical location of books has a great impact, and horizontal location has a little impact on user gaze behavior.