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JennGM
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I can't believe I haven't asked this yet! Now that I have amassed a small library, I find that if I don't have a list of what I need and already have, I tend to buy duplicates.
I do have spreadsheets and tables of some of my books, but carrying the papers...well, it's getting to be more like a notebook than just small sheets of paper.
In my ideal world I'd love to scan the ISBN and/or barcode or the older number and have it "check" my lists.
But ISBNs aren't usually scan-able.
But surely there is some tool that can make it easy to transition to keeping it all handy on the phone?
I'd love to brainstorm about this, and please share anything that works for you -- even if it is a well-organized document. I can bind one and carry it with me.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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AmandaV
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I don't have much time, but I've been thinking about the same thing! This weekend I picked up some great deals at a book sale,a nd then some even better deals at our neighborhood garage sales. I'm just starting to feel like I have a large number of books for homeschooling. I'm not sure i need to take it on the road as much, but I do need to know that "oh yeah, I have something perfect for that subject/grade level" before I buy something else or look for suggestions. My first thought was library thing. My husband said, "why"? :) I also was reminded of Jen's post on A considered booklist from last summer. So I need to reread that and maybe do something similar. Jenn, I know you have a ton of older oop books you need to keep a list of, way more than me. :)
Oh, when I was looking I saw links to red laser, an app where you can scan up to 20 upc labels to copy into library thing. But no good ideas for the older books other than typing them in...
Hope that helps... :)
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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CrunchyMom
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Have you considered using something online like library thing or Delicious? Since you likely already keep wishlists and such on Amazon, you might try delicious since it uses the Amazon database.
This, too, would mean you could use a barcode scanner or web camera to more quickly add your modern library. I think you can buy a barcode scanner for your iPhone, and I just saw this article, which uses an app that turns your iPhone camera into a scanner so you can add to Delicious without having to take your stack of books physically to your computer.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Wait, nevermind. I think I remember now why I was bummed about Delicious--I think you need a Mac, and while it will export to your iPhone, I'm not sure if and iPhone alone will allow you to utilize it. Drat. You can look into it, maybe people have found work arounds!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 8:53am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Wait, nevermind. I think I remember now why I was bummed about Delicious--I think you need a Mac, and while it will export to your iPhone, I'm not sure if and iPhone alone will allow you to utilize it. Drat. You can look into it, maybe people have found work arounds! |
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Yes, I just read that. I'm a PC user, so it doesn't help.
I really don't want nor need the "social" aspect of a book collection. I just want to catalogue my books. I don't need to share it, nor do I need to get suggestions. iBookshelf is one option, but too much of the "social" stuff. Not interested.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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CrunchyMom
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Is there no way to turn off the social aspect? I can see the advantage in using an online program and simply ignoring the social stuff because your library would be backed up in the event that you had a computer problem. For instance, I don't often share my photos online, but I still like the peace of mind that having photos on Shutterfly brings, yk?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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I don't know, Lindsay. There are some programs that get tiresome. I don't want to enter what shelf, whether I'm reading it or have a review or stars. I just want the facts about the book.
And my organization isn't going to be the same as the standard. Like the history books I want a series and publisher. Then organize by century, country, and "era" for reading. The latter categories can be added later, but I want all that.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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i guess what I'm saying is that I'd rather see a list than a pretty format that takes up too much screen?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mackfam
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I keep track in two ways - one to keep track of my library, another I find useful and intuitive for me while I'm out shopping and looking. I'll tell you how I manage both and what I use.
BOOKLIST MANAGEMENT (so this is for books in my personal collection)
I use Book Crawler. (There is a lite/free version so you could try before you buy it.) It does have a social/sharing aspect, which I'm not interested in so I just don't use it. It's great for cataloguing a collection of books, and organizing the collection. I use it on my iphone and my ipad, and really love the ipad interface. It has a built in scanner so you can scan books using your phone/ipad *IF* the book has a barcode (you just use the built in camera and the app helps you center and scan the barcode). I have a lot of older books that don't have barcodes, so they have to be entered manually, which isn't too big of a deal. You can transfer any books you have added to Goodreads directly into Book Crawler. I also really like that I can catalog my ebooks through Google Reader because that's my one complaint about ebooks - I'm so visual, it's out of sight, out of mind. I can't see their spines on my shelf, so sometimes I forget they exist on the ipad or kindle.  Things I love about this app:I like that I can catalog everything in one place
Scanning books is wonderful and records a wealth of information instantly!
Really appreciate the level of details like the format (ebook, audiobook, hardcover, or I can customize to distinguish between a book I have in ibooks on the ipad, or a book on the kindle, etc.)
Another detail I like being able to add is the original copyright date AND the edition copyright I have -- this is really important to me since I have a lot of oop books, older edition books. I like being able to record that I have a 1957 edition of a book that was originalyl copyrighted in 1901. Not everyone needs/wants/cares about (  ) that kind of detail though.
Love that it is cross-platform instant sharing - meaning what I enter on my ipad is automatically reflected on my iphone.
I can make a note right in the app if I loan the book out.
I like the sorting feature for quickly finding which books I have - I can sort by so many options: author, copyright, genre, collection, format, what I have flagged as out on loan, etc....)
I can email my book, database, or collection info to myself (or others) I've really only just started using this app, but I like it a lot. I'm still learning my way around it. It would be laborious to add everything in through the phone unless you have a lot of barcodes you could just scan. The manual typing on the iphone would become tedious, I think. But it's an app that shares info between platforms (ipad and iphone), and I really like that. Adding selections manually with the ipad is nice.
CHECKING BOOK NEEDS WHILE SHOPPING (so these are for books I don't own yet, but would like to)
I use my Amazon app frequently while I'm out shopping: While shopping, and if I find a book I want to remember:
I can scan directly with my Amazon app, and that means that if I find a book while I'm out, and I don't want to purchase it right away, I can scan it and add it to my Amazon wishlists right from my phone.
While shopping, if I find a book and I want to check to see if it is one I wanted to use soon:
I use Amazon to keep up with almost ALL the books I'm looking for. I have no fewer than 40 wishlists, all named and subdivided by subject and age.  I also have booklists titled:Favorite authors
Favorite out of print books
Need to purchase for next term I can access all my wishlists from my Amazon app on my phone, so if I find a book and I wonder if it was something I was looking for, I can check there. An additional benefit is that when I check, I can see at a glance if I could find the book less expensively through Amazon if buying used. Happy book cataloging, Jenn! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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Mackfam
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JennGM wrote:
I don't want to enter what shelf, whether I'm reading it or have a review or stars. I just want the facts about the book.
And my organization isn't going to be the same as the standard. Like the history books I want a series and publisher. Then organize by century, country, and "era" for reading. The latter categories can be added later, but I want all that. |
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Just wanted to mention, since I was cross-posting with you, that Book Crawler has series and publisher as part of their details about a book, and I like that I have two custom detail options that I can add in details like historical setting and century.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 10:31am | IP Logged
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That looks terrific, Jen!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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AmandaV
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Does book crawler have a web aspect so you can use on your mac/pc as well, or only on the ipad/iphone? I have both but prefer to enter more info on desktop due to the keyboard, etc.
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Amanda
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jawgee
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AmandaV wrote:
| Does book crawler have a web aspect so you can use on your mac/pc as well, or only on the ipad/iphone? I have both but prefer to enter more info on desktop due to the keyboard, etc. |
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\
Just what I was wondering. Still searching...
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Monica
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Mackfam
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AmandaV wrote:
| Does book crawler have a web aspect so you can use on your mac/pc as well, or only on the ipad/iphone? I have both but prefer to enter more info on desktop due to the keyboard, etc. |
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No. This app works best between two platforms: ipad and iphone. The best summary and most details are found on the developer's website. I noticed when I researched initially that many customers asked for a platform that worked between PC/mac and the app, and the customer service and dev work on this app gets phenomenal reviews, so I wonder if that won't be a feature one day.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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JennGM
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Mackfam wrote:
AmandaV wrote:
| Does book crawler have a web aspect so you can use on your mac/pc as well, or only on the ipad/iphone? I have both but prefer to enter more info on desktop due to the keyboard, etc. |
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No. This app works best between two platforms: ipad and iphone. The best summary and most details are found on the developer's website. I noticed when I researched initially that many customers asked for a platform that worked between PC/mac and the app, and the customer service and dev work on this app gets phenomenal reviews, so I wonder if that won't be a feature one day. |
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Well, that is a huge negative. I do want them to be interactive. I don't have an iPad (yet) and so this would be tedious all on an iphone.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 11:07am | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
AmandaV wrote:
| Does book crawler have a web aspect so you can use on your mac/pc as well, or only on the ipad/iphone? I have both but prefer to enter more info on desktop due to the keyboard, etc. |
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No. This app works best between two platforms: ipad and iphone. The best summary and most details are found on the developer's website. I noticed when I researched initially that many customers asked for a platform that worked between PC/mac and the app, and the customer service and dev work on this app gets phenomenal reviews, so I wonder if that won't be a feature one day. |
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Well, that is a huge negative. I do want them to be interactive. I don't have an iPad (yet) and so this would be tedious all on an iphone. |
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Yes. It would be very tedious on just the iphone.
I was just reading on the Book Crawler forums, and the developer is currently working on a mac desktop version.  The version is nearing completion so this should be ready soon! Wahoo!!!! I haven't found anything about PC desktop version though.
I did find this interesting: you can import an Excel file into Book Crawler. So if you have catalogued some books using Excel, you might try importing using a CSV file. Detailed how-to instructions here.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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AmandaV
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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So, Jen, have you tried Delicious at all or if not, why not? It looks perfect for a mac user and can be used for all household items. But its not free..
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Amanda
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Mackfam
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AmandaV wrote:
| So, Jen, have you tried Delicious at all or if not, why not? It looks perfect for a mac user and can be used for all household items. But its not free.. |
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I'm not familiar with it, Amanda? What does it do? Can you link me? Confession: I'm brutal about weeding out or eschewing tools that are not intuitive and useful (to me). This doesn't mean that Delicious isn't a useful tool, but it could mean that I gave it a quick glance at some point, found it wanting in terms of how I naturally/intuitively organize information, and just moved on. If it's popular, it must work well for some folks though! Is this another social sharing platform? Another confession: I have a very limited attention span with those unless I see the usefulness very quickly, and it's visually organized in a pleasing way. Isn't that funny? I'm all about the packaging!
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Jen Mackintosh
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CrunchyMom
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I linked it above, Jen. It DOES look visually appealing, imo, like iBooks. And it isn't limited to books. It can organize other media collections and household inventory all through ISBN codes.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Have you considered using something online like library thing or Delicious? |
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Aha!!! I got confused - I had in my head that you meant this De.li.cious, and I couldn't imagine how you would catalog books with it. NOW I understand!
Yes - I have looked at that! It IS a very neat program - I downloaded a free trial which they had available at one time (this was several months ago). I waffled on it, and then found Book Crawler which I could get for a couple of bucks as opposed to $35. So, I went with Book Crawler, and having seen the two and worked with them both, I prefer the interface and detailed use-ability of Book Crawler.
I do remember being frustrated because many of my books (older, or oop) didn't have book covers to display. The software said that I could take a picture or search for the cover, and neither of those features ever worked for me. That was sort of a big deal for me - I'm super visual, and I wanted to see *MY* covers. That issue may have been isolated to just me, and/or it may have been addressed and fixed by now, too.
A benefit of Delicious was that you could enter your library from your mac desktop (this program is not PC compatible, so wouldn't work for anyone wanting to go from PC to iphone). I do remember thinking that was nice - being able to enter info on my laptop and have it on my phone, but I thought the camera on my laptop was clunky for snapping pics of barcodes, whereas the camera on the phone or ipad seems easier to use. I was constantly wiggling and adjusting my laptop lid to get the angle right on the camera.
Another benefit that I really liked was being able to catalog other media, but I really kept gravitating to just cataloging my books. It's my home library that I really want to get cataloged! And once I realized that Book Crawler will let me catalog many forms like audiobooks, etc., as well as customizable forms, I was very happy! I am anxious to catalog my many historical Radio Shows to be able to sort and reference them when looking up a particular period of history.
I'm glad I clicked through your link, Lindsay!
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Book Lists on iPhone
