Where did I stick that? (Republish) ~ teknologi

Posted on Wed - March 24, 2010

Where did I stick that? (Republish)

Organizing my books

Originally published here at Technopagan Yearnings because of MobileMe publishing problems. Reformatted for this site.

Okay, I don't usually do product recommendations unless it's a book or a film. Even there I think that the odds are that some people will borrow before buying. But the more I use Readerware, the better I like it.

There are some interface issues because it is not a native Macintosh program. But for what it does, this is the best I have seen. Look, I have way too many books, and I am still organizing them so I am not tripping over them. I could run a fair sized library with Readerware. Considering how many books I loan out sometimes, I may be doing exactly that.

A couple of days ago I found out you could print your own card catalog with this program. Then I found out you could do spine labels with Dewey decimal numbers. About the only thing it doesn't do is assign the Dewey Decimal numbers. It even tracks loans.

I am seriously considering moving my Amazon Wishlists to the Shopping cart function.

I have the books, music, video versions of the program.

Readerware (or something very much like it) is the key to my library. Or it will be when I am finished. I took inspiration from the New York City Public Reference library.

Everything is packed in plastic crates. With some exceptions, the stuff goes in as it arrives without reference to subject matter. Readerware tracks everything and tells me which crate it is in. The crates are in my library, mostly. Sometimes it's a good thing I live alone

Crate "One" is gray and holds my original music CDs. That is one exception. Crate "Seven" holds my rarer and more expensive books. Crates "Sixty-Nine" and "Ninety-Six" hold my sexual technique books and my porn videos. And yes, I have a couple of hundred crates, just not all fully organized yet. And books that don't have crates yet.

After I make sure each book, tape, or DVD is entered. I put a small number label inside the front cover that corresponds to the crate. So "5" goes in Crate "Five" and so on. Before I lend anything out, I print a custom label with my address, the title, and it's usual location in my library.

I use the location field for temporary places too. like "Desk" for stuff I am researching, or "rack" for my living room magazine rack, or "kitchen" for stuff to read while I am eating, or "nightstand" for the bedroom.

It's a little disconcerting. the first book in a series may be in Crate "Seventeen" and the rest in Crate "Twelve," but it works.

And since the folks who read this blog will probably appreciate the program better, this is where I'll post the entry.

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