Catalog Books
Online
A number of services exist in cyberspace to help the book lovers of the world catalog their collections. Many of these services are wholly web-based. The best part is many of them are completely free. Cataloging books online is a great way to organize your titles, keep track of your reading statistics and even make friends in the process.
Instructions
1. Decide if you want to pay. Some online book cataloging sites, such as LibraryThing, require you to pay for a year's service. Other sites like Shelfari are very similar and free.
2. Familiarize yourself with the ISBN number. Online cataloging sites like Shelfari and LibraryThing allow you to input the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) as a quick alternative to searching for titles or authors. One of the benefits of inputting cataloged books via ISBN is the ability to immediately catalog a matching edition to the one you're trying to input. The ISBN is available on a book's copyright page or the back cover.
3. Invest in a bar code reader. Some online cataloging services are compatible with bar code readers, making the input of books extremely fast. By scanning the bar code, the site can automatically import pertinent information and pull up a matching edition of the book you want to catalog.
4. Consider using tags. Most online cataloging sites allow you to input specific tags for the books they catalog. For instance, a classic novel like "The Old Man and the Sea" could be tagged with identifying words like "classic," "Hemingway," "fiction" and "favorite." Tags allow users to quickly and efficiently find a book in their catalog or pull up similar titles with one click.
5. Rate your books. By rating books, many online book catalogs allow you another avenue through which to sort their books. Shelfari and LibraryThing allow you to view lists of their books with different ratings, usually on a five star scale.
6. Enjoy the extras. One of the best parts about an online book catalog is the ability to participate in an online book community. Sites like LibraryThing and Shelfari allow you to create and join specific discussion groups, leave comments for other users and build "friends" lists.
