diff --git a/fedireads/activitypub/__init__.py b/fedireads/activitypub/__init__.py
index b75eca7ee..33aefac32 100644
--- a/fedireads/activitypub/__init__.py
+++ b/fedireads/activitypub/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ''' bring activitypub functions into the namespace '''
 from .actor import get_actor
-from .book import get_book, get_author
+from .book import get_book, get_author, get_shelf
 from .create import get_create, get_update
 from .follow import get_following, get_followers
 from .follow import get_follow_request, get_unfollow, get_accept, get_reject
diff --git a/fedireads/activitypub/book.py b/fedireads/activitypub/book.py
index 04e8d1931..e3c0e6bfc 100644
--- a/fedireads/activitypub/book.py
+++ b/fedireads/activitypub/book.py
@@ -86,3 +86,42 @@ def get_author(author):
         if hasattr(author, field):
             activity[field] = author.__getattribute__(field)
     return activity
+
+
+def get_shelf(shelf, page=None):
+    ''' serialize shelf object '''
+    id_slug = shelf.absolute_id
+    if page:
+        return get_shelf_page(shelf, page)
+    count = shelf.books.count()
+    return {
+        '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
+        'id': id_slug,
+        'type': 'OrderedCollection',
+        'totalItems': count,
+        'first': '%s?page=1' % id_slug,
+    }
+
+
+def get_shelf_page(shelf, page):
+    ''' list of books on a shelf '''
+    page = int(page)
+    page_length = 10
+    start = (page - 1) * page_length
+    end = start + page_length
+    shelf_page = shelf.books.all()[start:end]
+    id_slug = shelf.absolute_id
+    data = {
+        '@context': 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
+        'id': '%s?page=%d' % (id_slug, page),
+        'type': 'OrderedCollectionPage',
+        'totalItems': shelf.books.count(),
+        'partOf': id_slug,
+        'orderedItems': [get_book(b) for b in shelf_page],
+    }
+    if end <= shelf.books.count():
+        # there are still more pages
+        data['next'] = '%s?page=%d' % (id_slug, page + 1)
+    if start > 0:
+        data['prev'] = '%s?page=%d' % (id_slug, page - 1)
+    return data
diff --git a/fedireads/models/book.py b/fedireads/models/book.py
index a3510397a..24ef34082 100644
--- a/fedireads/models/book.py
+++ b/fedireads/models/book.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from django.utils import timezone
 from django.db import models
 from model_utils.managers import InheritanceManager
 
+from fedireads import activitypub
 from fedireads.settings import DOMAIN
 from fedireads.utils.fields import JSONField, ArrayField
 from fedireads.utils.models import FedireadsModel
@@ -110,6 +111,10 @@ class Book(FedireadsModel):
             self.title,
         )
 
+    @property
+    def activitypub_serialize(self):
+        return activitypub.get_book(self)
+
 
 class Work(Book):
     ''' a work (an abstract concept of a book that manifests in an edition) '''
@@ -165,3 +170,7 @@ class Author(FedireadsModel):
         models.CharField(max_length=255), blank=True, default=list
     )
     bio = models.TextField(null=True, blank=True)
+
+    @property
+    def activitypub_serialize(self):
+        return activitypub.get_author(self)
diff --git a/fedireads/models/shelf.py b/fedireads/models/shelf.py
index 32ea7273e..993c7b7a2 100644
--- a/fedireads/models/shelf.py
+++ b/fedireads/models/shelf.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ''' puttin' books on shelves '''
 from django.db import models
 
+from fedireads import activitypub
 from fedireads.utils.models import FedireadsModel
 
 
@@ -23,6 +24,10 @@ class Shelf(FedireadsModel):
         model_name = type(self).__name__.lower()
         return '%s/%s/%s' % (base_path, model_name, self.identifier)
 
+    @property
+    def activitypub_serialize(self):
+        return activitypub.get_shelf(self)
+
     class Meta:
         unique_together = ('user', 'identifier')
 
diff --git a/fedireads/urls.py b/fedireads/urls.py
index 1fe18507b..67109fe64 100644
--- a/fedireads/urls.py
+++ b/fedireads/urls.py
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ urlpatterns = [
 
     re_path(r'^author/(?P<author_id>[\w\-]+)(.json)?/?$', views.author_page),
     re_path(r'^tag/(?P<tag_id>.+)/?$', views.tag_page),
-    re_path(r'^shelf/%s/(?P<shelf_identifier>[\w-]+)(.json)?/?$' % username_regex, views.shelf_page),
-    re_path(r'^shelf/%s/(?P<shelf_identifier>[\w-]+)(.json)?/?$' % localname_regex, views.shelf_page),
+    re_path(r'^%s/shelf/(?P<shelf_identifier>[\w-]+)(.json)?/?$' % user_path, views.shelf_page),
+    re_path(r'^%s/shelf/(?P<shelf_identifier>[\w-]+)(.json)?/?$' % local_user_path, views.shelf_page),
 
     re_path(r'^search/?$', views.search),
 
diff --git a/fedireads/views.py b/fedireads/views.py
index a1201297d..6cb1dbe4a 100644
--- a/fedireads/views.py
+++ b/fedireads/views.py
@@ -539,7 +539,8 @@ def shelf_page(request, username, shelf_identifier):
     shelf = models.Shelf.objects.get(user=user, identifier=shelf_identifier)
 
     if is_api_request(request):
-        return activitypub.get_shelf(shelf)
+        page = request.GET.get('page')
+        return JsonResponse(activitypub.get_shelf(shelf, page=page))
 
     data = {
         'shelf': shelf,