If you're like many homeschoolers, you have an almost ridiculous amount of books. Yes, there is the library but there's just something awesome about being able to reread a book 50 times in 10 years without having to go borrow it from the library again.
Once you've got this huuuuuge collection though, how are you supposed to keep yourself from repurchasing the same book again because you don't think you own it?
Enter
Collectorz and their
Book Database Software. With this product, you are able to enter in a minimal amount of information from your book (ISBN is a good thing to use) and the rest of the information will be there, without you having to go across and type every single little detail yourself.
- ISBN, Author and Title
- Publisher data and Publication Date
- Format, Genres, Subjects, Nr of Pages & LoC Classification
- Cover Images
- Plot summaries and a lot more
And if you don't feel like typing in every single ISBN? They also offer nifty little
scanners that you can use to scan the correct barcode on the book and it will pull the information for you.
Keep in mind, not EVERY book is in their system, so there are some ISBN's that will not bring up anything. I ran into this problem, and all I did was add the additional information myself. A bit frustrating for me, since the first few books I tried entering were in this category, but I think in the grand scheme of things, MOST of them are in there.
And what makes this program even more useful, because I know a LOT of people who have a TON of e-books, is that you can actually use the program to keep track of e-books and audio books as well! You scan your computer for them, and it adds them to your batch so you can make sure the information is correct before adding it to your database.
This program is available for multiple platforms, and also there are additional programs to help you keep track of what you own for OTHER types of media as well.
Movies,
comics,
games,
music,
MP3s,
photos... If you like to have everything cataloged, and want to make the process easier, then this product is definitely geared toward you.
This database, if you keep a hardcopy printed off somewhere safe, and/or a digital copy uploaded somewhere away from your computer (such as an online storage site), there is a chance that this could even be used in the case of insurance issues to get collections replaced.
The
Book Database Program, which is what I received, is available in two editions, the Standard for $29.99 and the Pro for $49.99, although you can sign up for a free trial (I am not sure if this is equivalent to Pro or Standard though, sorry). The Pro has a LOT of features that the Standard does not, such as a couple different Export options, the ability to use it along with the CLZ Mobile Apps (available for $9.99), and a number of customization methods for how you see your collection listed. The
optional scanners start at $19.99, although the better ones are, of course, the more expensive ones (the top one actually has built in memory as well) While these scanners are not necessary to use the program (I don't have one) they do make life a bit easier because you don't have to wear out the number keys on your keyboard, and if you have thousands of books to enter, it would certainly streamline the process.
All in all, while I recognize that this is an AWESOME program for people who have huge collections and need to keep track of them, without a scanner to help me and a large amount of time to sit and type in ISBNs, this program just isn't feasible for me to use to its max potential
at this time. Someday I hope to have some of that "free time" I hear other people talk about ;)
Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion on the product. I received no other compensation for this review.
