First of all this is very sturdy and nice bookshelf for the price. It was not hard to put together, as the instructions were pretty clear. There were no instructions about what to do with the glue, but its not my first rodeo and I knew they went on the wooden dowels.
The reason for the 3/5 stars is the height of the smaller shelves. They are really small, and I had hoped to fill this up with books, but they will not stand up on those smaller shelves. I wish I had paid more attention to the sizes. So, it has become more of a knick knack holder than a true bookshelf.