Is it a bad idea to install a book shelf system on drywall?

Question

I've got a shelf system that I would like to install on a wall in my living room that's made out of drywall, and was wondering whether the wall would be able to hold the shelves and contents. The shelves themselves come to around 33kg.

Would the drywall be able to hold up the shelves and contents by itself? Or if not, would it work if one of the shelf rails was attached to a wooden stud? And would it matter if it was a side bracket or would it need to be the central bracket or multiple brackets?

This is the shelf set that I've got:

Answer 1

When attaching anything other than lightweight items to the wall, you want to ensure that you have attached it to the underlying wall studs.

In the case of shelves, except for perhaps very light ornamental shelves, you want to attach the tracks (i.e. the vertical black pieces in your photo) to the studs with screws that are long enough to penetrate the wood enough and strong enough to hold the intended weight.

From looking at the photo it does appear that the 3 tracks are spaced at about the typical width for wall stud spacing.

The best way to find studs is with a commercially made stud finder tool. These are relatively inexpensive today. You will also want to ensure that you don't hit and hidden plumbing or electrical wires in the wall, so take a survey of the things on the other side, above and below the wall to try to avoid any damage.