Solving the Home Library Problem? 579
zgrossbart asks: "My wife and I have about 3,500 books. We can't find anything. All the books are in random order. We want to find a solution for organizing our books. We have a barcode scanner, but I'm not sure the best way to use it. I want a solution that is easy to maintain going forward and makes books easy to find. I also want the data in an open format. I'm think about using MySQL right now, but I'm open to other suggestions. What software do other people use to organize their home libraries?"
BookCrossing (Score:5, Interesting)
If you love something, set it free [bookcrossing.com]!
-- Pete.
Re:BookCrossing (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, I work at a Helpdesk, so me wanting to scream is nothing special, but still.
Anyway, the idea of keeping your books is that, if you desire something to read, you can reach into a shelf and there you will find treasure. As well as being able to look upon a story with either new insights into the story (multi-volume fantasy epics like Steven Erikson's, frex) or new insights into yourself.
Re:BookCrossing (Score:2)
Re:Throwing it ALL away... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah but it's Piers Anthony...what else are you going to do with it?
Re:BookCrossing (Score:5, Informative)
Re:BookCrossing (Score:5, Funny)
"If you love somebody, better set them on fire..."
Re:BookCrossing (Score:5, Funny)
Give a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a night. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life...
Re:BookCrossing (Score:5, Insightful)
Gak! (Score:4, Insightful)
Still, your personal system depends largely on how you usually remember your books. Do you usually say 'I had a green book about so high and maybe four or five hundred pages long'? If so, you might find it most intuitive to have your books physically ordered by appearance and use a database to browse by subject or author. Or do you usually do research on a particular subject? Then going by the Library of Congress system would probably be best. Or if you binge on particular authors, you might prefer categorizing authors by field and then arranging books by author.
Disclaimer: I am a librarian, and I work in a university library using LoC call numbers.
Re:Scan them all and use google desktop (Score:3, Informative)
Nope. Buying Dead-tree books is good for the environment. Just think of all the CO2 that tree soaked up from the atmosphere and has now sequestered (as cellulose) in that book.
Help reduce greenhouse gases, buy and keep dead-tree editions.
Government Solution! (Score:5, Funny)
It has come to our attention that you have a surplus of books stored at your residence.
We have already dispatched firemen to alleviate you of this horrible affliction--fire trucks will be there within the hour. For you see, special-interest groups and other "minorities" objected to books that offended them. As a result, books all began to look the same, as writers tried to avoid offending anybody. This isn't enough, however, and society as a whole decided to simply burn books rather than permit conflicting opinions.
There are other unpleasantries that books cause but there is no need for me to go that far into detail.
As you can see, your search for a digital Dewey decimal system is unneeded. And it is quite peculiar that anyone should have as many books as you do. Do not worry, though, we are a free public service!
Thank you again in your cooperation and trust that our services will be a valuable solution to your growing literary problem.
Sincerely,
Karl Rove [wikipedia.org] Senior Advisor & Chief Political Advisor The Bush Administration
Re:Government Solution! (Score:3, Interesting)
This is
What do you expect? Political discourse at a level greater than (and I quote) "Neener neener neener"?
Besides, this isn't a partisan thing. Both major parties are equally bad about it, it's just that the one in power gets all the attention. The problem is that it seems 95% of people seem to be able to believe one party could be sinister and evil, but their party of choice is completely blameless and altruisti
Fire At Presidential Library (Score:5, Funny)
A presidential spokesman said the president was devastated, as he had not finished coloring the second one.
Closed Source but reliable (Score:4, Informative)
I'm sure you can write your own, but AV Cataloger hits all the sites to gain information -- even Amazon for books. It also helps to keep track of what you loan to people (my mother is the worst thief my latest report shows!).
I know
Re:Closed Source but reliable (Score:2)
For only 3500 books though, digitalising it is probably a complete waste of time. And even if you do, you will still have to put them in some sort of order on the shelf.
Just label the shelves and shuffle the books around so you end up with category and then author name.
If you want to play with tech, try taking a hi-res photo of the bookshelf and using OCR on it.
Re:Closed Source but reliable (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.delicious-monster.com/ [delicious-monster.com]
It does everything for you. It works with either a scanner or you cna manually enter numbers.
The big solution though is physical sorting of the books. You have to keep them in place and return them to that place, being as anal as your old high school librarian about where the books/dvd's/etc are returned to.
Re:Closed Source but reliable (Score:4, Funny)
I think I see a problem with your solution...
[badum-ching]
Re:Closed Source but reliable (Score:5, Funny)
Which end of Maine? Molasses probably isn't much slower in southern Maine than in Massachusetts, where molasses in January has been clocked at 35 MPH [wikipedia.org].
Um... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Um... (Score:5, Funny)
You may remember several famous wife's.....like Princese Leia and Marge Simpson.
I'm thinking this post will hurt my karma.....
The Dewey Decimal System (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:5, Insightful)
Who needs scanners and bar codes? Libraries have kept much bigger book collections organized for centuries with less tech than that.
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem with using the Dewey Decimal system in a residence is that home users may not have room to line up books by author. Books come in multiple sizes, but an individual shelf only holds one [maximum] size of book - and is inefficient with anything smaller. Thus, most home book collections are organized by available space.
People without more shelf space than they can use are much better off just labeling everything where it sits, and returning books to the hole from which they came. The book information can go into a database, and you can search/browse them that way. Some clever software even steals book covers from amazon so you don't have to do it manually.
My final suggestion is to put a barcode on each shelf. You could put one on the bookshelf too, but that's redundant. Scan the shelf, then scan all the books on the shelf. You can accomplish all this with a very simple untethered barcode reader (read: inexpensive.) When you bring the reader back and dump the data, all you have to do is maintain a teensy bit of state (remember the bookshelf info from the scan) and then just stick records in the db as you go. Each book will be recorded as being in the last location scanned. When you get a new location, overwrite the old variables, and keep going. When you get to the end of the data, you go home a winner. Snarf the data out of amazon or similar using one of the many APIs available (up to and including the official one) and you're done.
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:3, Informative)
So, did you purchase your Dewey Decimal licence, or do we have to send the Library Police after you?
Hint: the Dewey Decimal System is not free to use...
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:3, Informative)
Are you maybe thinking of the Library Hotel [wikipedia.org] which got into trouble with OCLC [oclc.org], who owns the trademark / copyright to the Dewey Decimal System?
As far as I can tell the only cost you might run into in trying to categorize with the Dewey Decimal system is if you want to purchase one of OCLC's classification indexes.
But maybe you're thinking of a different instance in which OCLC required payment for use of the classification system for a small private collection. If that's the case, I'd be genuinely intereste
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:2)
Heck, that's only if they're non-fiction. For all the fiction ones, you just alphabetize them.
And besides that, barcoding and sticking them in a database won't help you anyway, if what you want to do is find where they are in your house!
Dewey is for general libraries (Score:5, Insightful)
As generalized libraries go, if there's a chance of moving it to a database, I personally prefer UDC [wikipedia.org], due to the way in which is handles sub-topics. (if you had something on the History of British Railroads -- where does it get filed in Dewey? History, European Countries, or Transportation Infrastructure? UDC maintains each of the facets, without needing 3 books of indexing instructions)
Conan the Librarian (Score:2)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098546/ [imdb.com]
Re:The Dewey Decimal System (Score:3, Insightful)
The Dewey Decimal system works well for "I have a general idea of the subject I want, so let me browse around and find a book that looks interesting", but if you're going to do all your searching at a computer instead of "in the stacks", and storage efficiency is a concern, the Library of Congress system may be a better choice.
Delicious Library (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Delicious Library (Score:3, Informative)
Although, I'm unsure how well it would work with generating locations for the books - would you have to decide where to put things on your shelves or would it classify it according to the dewey decimal system and then you'd know where to put it on your shelves.
Works ok for my DVDs because we can just store them alphabetically.
( opening up Delicious library to have a look...)
Re:Delicious Library (Score:4, Informative)
As for locations, I just made shelves in DL that represent my different bookcases in different rooms in my house, and dragged the appropriate books into each. I'm eagerly awaiting a version of DL that supports 'smart shelves' so I can just use the location info in each book's entry and have those shelves dynamically update.
~Philly
Re:Delicious Library (Score:2)
Win and Mac, and works via Bluetooth (or usb, iirc)
Warning: Addictive (Score:3, Informative)
When I bought Delicious Library, I wound up spending all night scanning in all my books.
Note: some items trigger easter eggs when you add them to your library.
Three answers (Score:2, Insightful)
i) LoC classification.
ii) Dewey-decimal.
iii) Alphabetised by author.
I'd recommend (i).
Given the small number of fields (Author, Title, Year, Publisher, LoC shelfmark), you can store the information in a flat text file.
Re:Three answers (Score:5, Insightful)
There are libraries in the world with hundreds of thousands of books, and you can walk right in and find a book you want. The technical aspects of this are just pure unnecessary geekery.
Re:Three answers (Score:2)
It seems to work quite well.
I use the same method for my CD collection. Three groups (Rock, Rock Collections, and Classical), each sorted by performer or composer.
Re:Three answers (Score:3, Informative)
WARNING: if you move, personally pack the library, or you will spend far more weekends than you would like alphabetizing books (and buying bookcases).
Unmentioned Important Tips (Score:3, Funny)
Do these people know how to use a computer???
Directions for How to Use a Bar Code Scanner:
Tips/Warnings
Re:Three answers (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Three answers (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Three answers (Score:3, Interesting)
Dispense with this tedious alphabetizing stuff, which will force you to open up space between existing books whenever you muy something new. Just set up some broad categories -- say, one bookcase or shelf per category -- and then add your books to the end of the shelf, as you acquire them. T
Start with Fiction Vs. Non (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Start with Fiction Vs. Non (Score:2)
You don't. It's really hard. If you know the author and which section it's in it can be done, but I find that finding a book by title, in a large bookstore (Chapters (i'm in canada)) can be quite difficult. Maybe they should have a computer system that tells you where the book is in their store instead of just being hooked up to their website.
Re:Start with Fiction Vs. Non (Score:2)
Ummm. I guess some of us are more capable of sorting through the alphabet or finding the right category than others...
Re:Start with Fiction Vs. Non (Score:2)
easy (Score:2)
Should cover every thing you need.
Be sure to print a number under the barcode so you can visually see a book that is out of place. Color coding labels by major subject doesn't hurt either.
-nB
Category - series - author (Score:2)
My wife has several shelves of her books with different categories in different locations. She also has one shelf dedicated to Anne McCaffrey and one for Mercedes Lackey. I've got all my geek books on one shelf, and my general "to read" pile on another. It works fairly well
That's exactly what I'm doing! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:That's exactly what I'm doing! (Score:5, Funny)
The word "sourceforge" in the second sentence makes the third superfluous.
Re:That's exactly what I'm doing! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:That's exactly what I'm doing! (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:That's exactly what I'm doing! (Score:2)
bibliophile (Score:5, Informative)
(FWIW: I'm involved with refbase [sourceforge.net])
easy (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:easy (Score:2)
Or, just use Google first: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en& q=book+isbn+barcode+scanner [google.com]
Which yields:
http://idautomation.com/isbn/ [idautomation.com]
http://www.eblong.com/zarf/bookscan/ [eblong.com]
and
http://isbntools.com/ [isbntools.com]
The last one seems pretty complete.
I believe http://ask.slashdot.org/ [slashdot.org] should just redirect to http://www.google.com/ [google.com]
oss4lib (Score:5, Informative)
Finding books.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Have a catalogue on your computer isn't going to tidy up and organise your bookshelf. SQL queries don't work on shelves. Unfortunately.
Re:Finding books.. (Score:2)
Cheers.
Re:Finding books.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Taking and inventory of what you've got, and recording that data would only mask the symptoms of the underlying problem. The real solution is to organize the books, and eliminate the chaotic random scheme you have now.
With your current setup, your inventory program would be completely dependant on being updated whenever a book is placed on a shelf, which takes discipline for the life of the application.
Taking the time now to organize the shelves will greatly reduce the amount of work down the road, as long as you put your books back where you found them.
Re:Finding books.. (Score:4, Funny)
There is no problem I can't solve by spending enough of your money.
Why software? (Score:5, Insightful)
Having to update software everytime you move a book or add a book is just one additional step that doesn't seem to add any value.
When I was 12 I put all my books into PFS:File on an Apple
Re:Why software? - insurance (Score:4, Interesting)
Really the best way is by author and then google the title or author when doing a search on a subject in a book he thinks he might have on his shelves. Then just find it by the author.
Re:Why software? (Score:2)
Also, if you make it accessible over the web, you can tell people "I want any book by this author that I don't already have," and they'll be able to look up what you have.
Re:Why software? (Score:2)
Have kids and you won't care anymore about trivia (Score:5, Funny)
Have a couple of kids and you'll find that trivial stuff like this will be the least of your concerns - most of your possessions will be in random places.
"We want to find a solution for organizing our books. I also want the data in an open format. "
Dewey decimal system? Maybe one of you should pick up a degree in library science.
"We have a barcode scanner, but I'm not sure the best way to use it.
Aim the red light (the "la-ser") at the "zebra stripes" and wait until you hear a beep.
"What software do other people use to organize their home libraries?"
Hell, I read books to get a break from computers. I think if I had that many books I'd donate most of them to the local library. I know I don't have time to reread 3,500 books - there's millions more out there I haven't read yet!
Anything else I can help you with today?
Just use the standard system: (Score:5, Funny)
Shelf 2: Thermodynamics Textbooks
With all that steam, you can also use that room as a sauna!
--
Nanoscale Woodworking [atributetonuts.com]
Use shelves. (Score:4, Interesting)
It's as easy as that. I have about that many, and I can always find things. My mother has about twice as many, and she can always find things. You don't need high-tech solutions, all you need is a certain level of self-discipline.
High-tech solutions are also very brittle. If you have to tell the system whenever you take a book off the shelf or put it back on, then you'll lose books, because at some point you will forget, and the system will have an incorrect view of where the book is. Alphabetical ordering doesn't suffer from this nearly as much.
Plus: alphabetical ordering lets you browse. I don't know about you, but I don't want to figure out what book I want to read next by looking at a database. I want to do it by looking at the shelves, and taking them down, flipping through, looking at the cover, putting them back, etc. That's what books are all about. This is your home, not a warehouse...
Re:Use shelves. (Score:3, Insightful)
This p
software? we dont need no steenkin software (Score:3, Insightful)
Fiction vs Nonfiction
Break fiction down into scifi, fantasy, historical, or whatever else applies
Break nonficiton into computers, biography, history, math, science, etc
Then alphabetize categories by author, and label your shelves.
Use some cardboard to make book-sized dividers and write A, B, C, D, etc on them
Readerware (Score:3, Informative)
Spent a couple of evenings scanning in my books, it then went and got all the details from Amazon etc and I ended up with a nice database of all the books.
It was a bit slack on some of the old and obscure stuff - but if it's in an online bookstore, it will usually pick it up.
I haven't tried it for CDs or DVDs - I use DVD Profiler [intervocative.com] for that.
HTH
T
Bits or bytes? (Score:4, Interesting)
To keep things sane, I added a colored sticker (yellow in my case) to the spine of each book, marked with the first letters of the author's first and last name. Actually I cheat a bit, there are a very small number of categories I use - cookbooks, references - where I put a category icon instead. I put the books on the shelves ordered by the marker. This is loose enough that I don't have to think too much when returning a book to the library, but tight enough I can easily find anything I want. Another side benefit is that when I visit old friends (or mothers
Run magazine (Score:2)
Failing that, if you've got the space, why not designate a room in your house the library and have nothing but books in it. You can sort books either using known systems, like Deweys, or simply by alphabetical order (yeah, I know, that sucks).
have you tried Library Thing? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
How can software help you find that book? (Score:2)
You can waste your time scanning in bar codes or typing in book and author names and such, the best way to organize large collections of books is just to take the time stack them alphabetically on shelves. If you find you don't remember what books you have, you have too many books, period. Give
Organization comes first. (Score:2)
1) No software currently on the market did exactly what I wanted, and I should write my own.
2) Having a master list doesn't help in the slightest unless you can organize things without a database.
I suggest the following order of work:
1) Work out a category list. Do you want sci-fi and fantasy together? Where are you going to store cookbooks? How about technical manuals, encyclopedias, biographies, or textbooks? You can't mak
Use librarything.com (Score:3, Insightful)
Make a free trial account, enter a few ISBNs, and once you're hooked shell out the few dollars for a full account and get rolling.
Tim that author is adding lots of data import filters and tagging options and other very geeky features, and an actual librarian has joined the project. (I know, I know: it's amazing seeing a non-commercial software service with a real-live subject matter expert! Just goes to show the author's not a real geek: he admitted that someone else's specialized knowledge might not be replaced by his own prejudices and SWAGs.)
Go, librarything, go!
Next steps... (Score:2)
One solution would be to put an RFID tag in each book, and then scan for them...
A more /.-friendly solution would be to interface your library software with your RoomBa, so you can sit at your computer, pick a book from your on-line catalog and then have one of your legion of house robots retrieve the
Catalogs are like Code Comments (Score:2)
So do what libraries do: adopt a standard system for sorting books onto shelves. You don't need the Dewey Decimal System. I'd say the best thing is KISS: all fiction goes alphabetical by author, then title. Non-fiction goes into groups that make sense for your collection, e.g. I
Systematically... (Score:2)
topic (programming languages, hardware, databases, discussion)
subtopic (C, java, perl)
whatever
Leave room in each section for additions. Keep sections well separated. Move whole sections at once if you run out of room. Put large books somewhere else with a similar sorting method -- I have a separate shelf with large volumes in the same basic order, but all on the one shelf. I al
Outsource to your local library (Score:3, Funny)
Then you can easily browse the shelves, use a computerized search search system, or even ask a live person for help. You'll even been able to find books you didn't even own before. All for free!
Delicious Library for OS X (Score:2)
I suggest shelves (Score:2)
There, that wasn't hard was it?
DLP or OpenDB (Score:2)
DPL (Distributed Library Project) http://www.thoughtcrime.org/software/dlp/ [thoughtcrime.org] or http://sourceforge.net/projects/dlp [sourceforge.net] - This is the software distribution page for the Distributed Library Project, a website which creates a distributed library of people's books, videos, and music. The project is an experiment in creating community and sharing information within a town or c
Overcomplicating the Solution (Score:2)
Software isn't the problem (Score:2)
I started out with Dewey, but found that in titles where I was overconcentrated (e.g. theology and especially New Testament) Dewey didn't offer enough granularity, plus you have to buy the books to really use it. Instead, I've gone to LC cataloging. This has several advantages:
Scan the shelves, too. (Score:2)
Whenever you or your wife decide to move books around, scan the book, scan the new location. If you put the book back on the same shelf, no problem, no scanning.
There've got to be some cheap or free inventory management systems available that include this capability, though I'm not familiar with any, since I don't do inventory controls with my library (which explains
FileMaker Pro (Score:2)
Existing tools. (Score:2)
Checkout:
Library Thing [librarything.com] - Catalog your books online
Listal [listal.com] - Social media cataloging
Both have tags, social aspects, cool entry, etc, etc.
For all you 'Just organize the shelves' folks... (Score:5, Insightful)
How will organizing the shelves help when you're in the middle of a bookstore and are wondering if you already own a certain book? I can't remember all several thousand books I own - having a digital reference on my PDA is invaluable.
DL. Any other library solution is 10 years behind. (Score:4, Informative)
Delicious Library. [delicious-monster.com] Period. No other Library programm or solution comes even close. It's the companies only product, sells for 40$ and it's a programm that justifies buying a Mac just for the purpose of running it. It's that good.
It has everything you could wish for and loads more. Among the most notable features are bot's that spider the web (amazon, etc.) for meta info on your books based on the barcode (including grabbing cover-pictures), option to use a webcam as barcode scanner and exports to data formats of your choice.
Really, looking any further is pointless. DL+Mac Mini+Barcode Reader or Webcam will take you farther than any other solution you could even dream of.
Why make this harder than it should be? (Score:5, Insightful)
Delicious Library (Score:4, Informative)
I use it, myself, and it's extremely useful.
UHF offers some advice (Score:5, Funny)
Library Patron: "Can you tell me where I could find a book on astronomy?"
Conan: "Don't you know
Announcer: "Conan the Librarian..."
Library Patron: "I'm sorry, these books are a little overdue..."
Conan: "RAR!"
**Conan cuts library patron in half with enormous 2-handed sword**
Announcer: "Conan the Librarian
Consider expansion (Score:3, Informative)
If you already have 3500 books, you're probably a collector, not a "tosser" at heart. You need to consider how your system will accommodate future expansion to possibly tens of thousands of books. In no particular order:
Here are a couple specific strategies that have helped me and my wife:
Re:Delicious Library (Score:2)
Organizing:
Delicious library allows you to sort by a lot of different pieces of information. One you have it sorted how you'd like, simply arrange the books on your shelf to mimic the virtual bookshelves in DL.
Open Format:
DL actually saves everything out as XML so you should have no problem pulling all of your info out of it should you decide to give it up. This also allows for people to
Re:Get off your behind... (Score:3, Funny)
I'd've stopped after "organize your books", but anyway ...
--
Slow down cowboy - it's been 12 days, 4 hours, 6 minutes and 4 seconds since your last post.