Book Library software recommendtions?

Posted by: Ladmo

Book Library software recommendtions? - 28/08/2011 11:31

Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent cataloging program that allows scanning a book barcode/ISBN and then pulling details for the book? Kinda like DVD Profiler, but does not have to be very fancy or extensive. I offered to do a favor for a friend, and it rapidly became one of those out of control things....

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Since I am still oor, it would be better to have a freeware one, or at least one that is in the 10 20 USD range!
Posted by: Daria

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 28/08/2011 19:22

Delicious Library is what i use, but, well, you left out the relevant bit. I assume you want Windows, so, no help!
Posted by: Ladmo

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 28/08/2011 19:35

Yeah, sorry about that. I am runnng Windows 7 Ultimate
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 28/08/2011 19:40

Originally Posted By: Ladmo
Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent cataloging program that allows scanning a book barcode/ISBN and then pulling details for the book? Kinda like DVD Profiler, but does not have to be very fancy or extensive. I offered to do a favor for a friend, and it rapidly became one of those out of control things....

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Since I am still oor, it would be better to have a freeware one, or at least one that is in the 10 20 USD range!

Damnit! I can't for the life of me remember the software I've used for this in the past. It could do DVDs, CDs, and books, and you could scan them in with a Cuecat. Was that what you needed one for? If so, you might not need it. The software I was using could also use a webcam to capture the barcode. Damnit! Don't worry, this is bothering me too much. I'm going to have to find it now... smile
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 28/08/2011 19:42

AHA! That didn't take much time at all. I remembered that it was a huge ripoff of Delicious Library for Mac (hey, if they don't want to make a Windows version, someone else will fill the gap). So after a simple search on Alternativeto.net I remembered the software I used was Mediaman.

I'm not sure what the software is like now, but it worked pretty well three or four years ago when I last used it. I just got out of the habit of scanning the info in.

*edit*
I just tried the webcam barcode scanning in Mediaman, and it worked really well, so definitely give it a try. You might need a decent webcam to get the detail necessary for the capture, but it should make the process of entering all those books fly by much faster.

*edit*
Sorry, I just noticed that the purchase price is double the top range you specified. Fortunately there's a free trial, and that should show you how fast it is to import the information into the software. It's as fast as holding the item's barcode up to a webcam. If you set up the physical scanning station correctly, you could really sail through the process.
Posted by: gbeer

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 30/08/2011 03:37

Calibre is an e-book management program. Takes all your e-books, searches in them for the ISBN, and downloads the covers and metadata. Metadata can include flyleaf descriptions of the book, and additional reviews.

Can also translate between different e-book formats.

Provides a content server so you can download books via your favorite reader's web browser. Some with better success than others. Server is searchable for anything in the metadata.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 30/08/2011 12:26

Originally Posted By: gbeer
Calibre is an e-book management program. Takes all your e-books, searches in them for the ISBN, and downloads the covers and metadata. Metadata can include flyleaf descriptions of the book, and additional reviews.

Neat software! I'll have to remember that. However, I was a little confused at first too, but I think he's looking more for something like inventory software for hard copy books. I could be wrong (since there hasn't been any feedback), but that's the sense I got...
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 30/08/2011 14:08

Originally Posted By: gbeer
Can also translate between different e-book formats.
Not if the e-book has DRM. However, with appropriate plugins Calibre will remove the DRMs.

Note that these plugins are not trivial to install, they are not "official" Calibre plugins and will not be a "click the mouse and it's done" installation. They do work, however. I use them to download e-books from the library and convert them for my wife's Kindle.

tanstaafl.
Posted by: Ladmo

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 31/08/2011 23:27

Sorry for not getting back
Calibre is awesome...I have been using it for a few years now for ebook collection. I was really wanting to do a friend a favor and catalog their hard copy books for them, and thought I would do my wife's at the same time... I do have one CueCat that I borrowed and it worked great! However I really just want a simple program that will allow me to scan the barcode or ISBN and download the title. I'm not that concerned about the cover art...

Thanks.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Book Library software recommendtions? - 01/09/2011 00:27

Have you tried Mediaman? It seems to be just what you need, just possibly not at the price you might want.