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OT (sorta) organizing non-fiction books

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Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
Does anyone use an organized system for keeping dead-tree (or maybe
cataloging e-books and audio books too) straight?

Maybe the sort of system that would be used in a small corporate
library?

There seems to be stuff out there, but I don't want to combine this
with social networking crap, I just want a private index of books,
labels for the inside and spine, and maybe keep track of books that
I've lent (I lent one about 35 years ago on ion propulsion systems to
a fellow who actually became a rocket scientist.. he's never returned
it, kind of a standing joke).

Best regards,


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Spehro said:
Does anyone use an organized system for keeping dead-tree (or maybe
cataloging e-books and audio books too) straight?

Maybe the sort of system that would be used in a small corporate
library?

There seems to be stuff out there, but I don't want to combine this
with social networking crap, I just want a private index of books,
labels for the inside and spine, and maybe keep track of books that
I've lent (I lent one about 35 years ago on ion propulsion systems to
a fellow who actually became a rocket scientist.. he's never returned
it, kind of a standing joke).

Not sure how far you want to drive this. I use a no-frills program that
comes with most PCs and if not is very cheap: MS-Works.

I even run my whole business recording through that. Never indexed my
books but I had to for SMT stuff because it's so small and often has no
part markings. For example, I have little sample boxes that offer lots
of little cavities to stuff 15-25 parts into. Very nice for traveling.
So in order to find that 0.047u SMT cap I click on a "Parts" tab on my
desktop, type 0.047 into the search, and it shows me the result as
"1C4". This means display box #1, row C, column 4.

With books I could imagine it'll be the same. If your house is like ours
then there are many book shelves. My wife is pretty good in organizing
by topics but sometimes it can be a bit ambiguous. So it won't help to
know that the book about the culinary tastes of switch mode converter
chips or whatever is asset # 7843, the system has to also show where it
lives.
 
D

Don Y

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Spehro,

Does anyone use an organized system for keeping dead-tree (or maybe
cataloging e-books and audio books too) straight?

*Physically*, I just keep them grouped by general subject (which
are then "placed" where the appropriate amount of *space* exists).
Then, within a subject, in an order appropriate for that subject
(<grin>).

E.g., my "programming languages" group is organized alphabetically
by the name of the programming language (not by title). This maps
into how I think about finding such a title ("Let's see... I'm
looking for a book on ML...").

The same sort of scheme applies to books that I have in electronic
form -- though the "groups" then become directories instead of
actual shelf space.

I don't have a "list" of titles -- though I can readily produce
such a list for the texts that I have in electronic form. But,
my "technical library" probably only has ~1,000 titles so its
relatively easy for me to remember what I have (though not
necessarily by *title*).
Maybe the sort of system that would be used in a small corporate
library?

The places I've worked that had formal engineering libraries
actually had real librarians (people educated in "Library Science")
There seems to be stuff out there, but I don't want to combine this
with social networking crap, I just want a private index of books,
labels for the inside and spine, and maybe keep track of books that
I've lent (I lent one about 35 years ago on ion propulsion systems to
a fellow who actually became a rocket scientist.. he's never returned
it, kind of a standing joke).

Simple solution: *never* lend out books! They get lost or
come back dog eared, marked up (!), etc.

Good Luck!
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim said:
I've contemplated simply going shelf-by-shelf and making a list of
books and their location, then sort by title in one list, sort by
author in another. Moving everything to match some magical
"organization" would be a nasty task :-(

I keep it simple. All engineering books are in a large shelf cabinet
next door. All databooks are in a shelf closet in the hallway. From both
I have picked a select few that live here at the office where the big
locked cabinet with the roughly 50 binders is. It's unlocked during work
hours so it's easy to grabe a book.

One thing I have learned from an article that a medical adviser wrote:
Don't make it too convenient, it can lead to unhealthy patterns. For
example, the selected office books are about three feet farther away
than I can reach so I must get out of the chair to grab one. Takes only
a couple of seconds but those are good seconds for the body.
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
Simple solution: *never* lend out books! They get lost or
come back dog eared, marked up (!), etc.

I don't consider it a problem- if I lend a book to someone and they
actually use it to accomplish something (or even to learn something),
that's a really good use of an asset that's worth a hundred dollars or
whatever, whether they return it or not (almost always, they do). If
they don't one out of five times (it's actually better than that),
then it's only costing $20 a shot <shrug>.

I'm a lot more careful with the out-of-print classics.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
C

Charlie E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Does anyone use an organized system for keeping dead-tree (or maybe
cataloging e-books and audio books too) straight?

Maybe the sort of system that would be used in a small corporate
library?

There seems to be stuff out there, but I don't want to combine this
with social networking crap, I just want a private index of books,
labels for the inside and spine, and maybe keep track of books that
I've lent (I lent one about 35 years ago on ion propulsion systems to
a fellow who actually became a rocket scientist.. he's never returned
it, kind of a standing joke).

Best regards,


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

I organize my books like I organize everything else in my office - It
is OVER THERE! :cool:

Actually, I have three big bookcases in my office, one smaller one,
and another bookcase in the boss's office.

Book case 1 has books I expect to need - top shelf Sci-Fi and other
relaxation books, next two electronics, physics and programming, then
math and psychology on the bottom two shelves.

Book Case 2 has project notebooks and company records on top, the rest
business, memorabilia, english, and religion books.

Book case 3 has four shelves of parts and evaluation boards, with the
bottom shelf for my collection of Analog magazine.

The small book case holds parts for current projects and my old Win98
computer and the Cannon BJC-5100 printer for printing color or B-size
prints.

My wife's book case is for other casual reading material, her audio
books, and her accounting texts.

Real problem is when I pull a book of the shelf, and put it on my
desk, where it promptly gets buried in other stuff... ;-)

Charlie
 
D

Don Y

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Spehro,

I don't consider it a problem- if I lend a book to someone and they
actually use it to accomplish something (or even to learn something),
that's a really good use of an asset that's worth a hundred dollars or
whatever, whether they return it or not (almost always, they do). If
they don't one out of five times (it's actually better than that),
then it's only costing $20 a shot<shrug>.

I've not been as fortunate. I've received books back with
their spines broken, pages ripped/dog-eared, marked up in
ink pen and/or highlighter, etc. So, I've learned just to
keep my library "off limits" (very few people are as
meticulous about this sort of "preservation" as I am).

If you want to borrow a book and I'm inclined to lend it
to you, I'll simply buy you a copy of the book (used)
and not worry about getting it back. I did just that last
week for a friend, here, looking to learn C. Now I don't
have to wonder when/if I will get those texts "back"; nor
the condition that they are likely to be in. Nor will
she have to feel pressured to return them before she might
otherwise want -- or me have to live *without* them for
the duration!

(I am amazed at how often I find myself digging back for some
obscure piece of information)

And, I've also earned some gravy points in the process.
Seems like a win, all 'round!
I'm a lot more careful with the out-of-print classics.

Agreed. I have some (fiction) titles that I am even afraid
to *open* as the bindings have failed (actually, in one case
it is not the bindings but the *paper* that has become brittle
and "snaps off" when subjected to any stress)
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
On Mon, 21 May 2012 12:25:11 -0700 (PDT), the renowned
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc.html , buy some little labels and stick =
'em on the spine. You can auto-classify by simply looking up your title on =
the main www.loc.gov website. Then all you need is a simple searchable list=
of your titles that cross-references the LCC code. This method seems to ha=
ve worked well for over 100 years for millions of users.

Why LCC rather than Dewey?



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
D

Don Y

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Frank,


No, ^^^^^ trust me, he's not fat! :>
My older brother Carlton has several thousand paperbacks (plus a
number of hardbacks) in his... er, "collection", and I've suggested
several times that he could use some sort of automated system to track
them. However, as I'm sure you've noticed, it's easier to suggest
something than to get it implemented (the barcode scanner I gave him
one year sits unused<sigh!>).

I'm aware of several book-tracking apps, including several (many?)
which take the ISBN and save your typing fingers by looking it up on
Amazon.com. Some software to look at:

The problem with automated approaches is that books (and other
publications) aren't uniform in their support for ISBN/ISSN's, etc.

If your brother is like me, his paperback collection probably
has lots of titles where the only "identifier" (besides the
actual title/author) predates ISBN -- things like "A5523"
or "51-126".

Other titles may have ISBN's -- but not a barcode. So, you resort
to typing things in by hand (trust me, this quickly leads to
"I think I'll do something else for a while" after which, you
never quite seem to make the time to *finish* the task!)

Still other titles might not be trackable in any sort of
"public" scheme. E.g., the first two titles off my
"regulatory" shelf:
_Configuration Management Handbook of Standards_
_Compliance & Validation_
Or, more "mainstream":
_Abacus Arithmetic_
_Versalog Slide Rule Instructions_
(of course, I use the term "mainstream" tongue-in-cheek! :> )

This is often the case for equipment and software "manuals".

And, "technical papers" leave you with nothing other than
title and name of author(s).

I designed a barcode based system for a non-profit some years
ago who's mission was to recycle textbooks (etc) to needy schools
"for the cost of postage". The goal was to be able to keep
better track of "inventory" -- so someone didn't have to
physically walk through the stacks searching for a particular
title to even *see* if a copy -- or multiple copies -- was
available. Ideally, this could all be published on an
interactive web site where "customers" could peruse the
collection and submit formal requests based on their findings
(freeing up volunteers who would otherwise have to "run their
queries ON FOOT").

I quickly found that not all had a "universal" identifier. Nor a
machine-readable barcode. (and there was something funny about
"school books" -- but I can't recall)

I augmented the design to include provisions to print, on demand,
"custom" barcodes (not ISBNs) that could be used to label
"identical titles". No ISBN? Fine, *create* a unique identifier
and paste N labels on those N copies. The system doesn't care
if the identifier is an ISBN or the UPC off a can of *soup*!
But, the actual title had to be manually entered, for these.

Those titles weren't possible for (remote) customers to browse
unless they happened to know what they were looking for. So,
I added the ability to capture an image of the book cover
(using a flatbed scanner on which you could simply lay the
book -- no need to "hold it open" to a particular page so
this was an easy task!). This would let customers browse
books by title and *cover* -- "Oh, yes! That's the 'Smith'
book. I used that in my last school district!"

All that design effort (predicated on "free/volunteer labor")
and the system was soon abandoned. If your collection is
*static* or VERY SLOWLY GROWING, its easy to keep up (even if
you get behind for several months). But, with the turnover
that they encountered, this got to be an ongoing "chore"
(deliberate choice of words). Eventually, they simply stopped
offering the service and would recycle the books "as paper
products" :<

Point being, make sure the scheme you come up with will
address your needs in a way that you will be willing to
maintain. Otherwise, it turns out to be little more than
a "curiosity".

(In my case, I learned a lot about organizing and *identifying*
data -- which I've carried forward into other *commercial*
designs, since then)
 
N

Nico Coesel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Not sure how far you want to drive this. I use a no-frills program that
comes with most PCs and if not is very cheap: MS-Works.

I even run my whole business recording through that. Never indexed my
books but I had to for SMT stuff because it's so small and often has no
part markings. For example, I have little sample boxes that offer lots
of little cavities to stuff 15-25 parts into. Very nice for traveling.
So in order to find that 0.047u SMT cap I click on a "Parts" tab on my
desktop, type 0.047 into the search, and it shows me the result as
"1C4". This means display box #1, row C, column 4.

I simply write the value on the lids. I have boxes like these for SMT
components:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/14-sec...urable-storage-toolboxes-color-assorted-44542

I have an Access database with the components I have in stock. Not
that I have production quantities but still a couple of hundred
different components. Its either that or buy everything new for a
prototype and throw away whatever is leftover.
know that the book about the culinary tastes of switch mode converter
chips or whatever is asset # 7843, the system has to also show where it
lives.

Its better to let the number show what kind of thing it is. My parts
database uses groups, subgroups and article number. Anything beginning
with 11 is inductive, 12 is resistive, 13 is capacitive, 14 are
semiconductors, etc.
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
Sphero,

My older brother Carlton has several thousand paperbacks (plus a
number of hardbacks) in his... er, "collection", and I've suggested
several times that he could use some sort of automated system to track
them. However, as I'm sure you've noticed, it's easier to suggest
something than to get it implemented (the barcode scanner I gave him
one year sits unused <sigh!>).

I'm aware of several book-tracking apps, including several (many?)
which take the ISBN and save your typing fingers by looking it up on
Amazon.com. Some software to look at:

Alexandria Book Collection Manager
http://alexandria.rubyforge.org/
http://www.linuxondesktop.in/2008/05/managing-book-collection-with.html

Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/scan-and-search-books/

Readerware
http://www.readerware.com/

Automation & Organizing Software Solutions for Small Libraries, and
Book Collectors
http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/4automate.html

I just noticed an Android app that scans ISBNs using the onboard
camera. If you have a large enough collection, it might even justify
the cost of an Android phone... naah, the tech-i-ness is the only
reason you really need. <grin>

Catalogue your Books with Book Catalogue (the Application)
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/catalogue-your-books-with-book-catalogue-the-application/25544

Hope something in this mess helps. <grin!>

Thanks, Frank.

Looking at all that will keep me busy for a while! I see there are
some Apple apps as well.

http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/book-cataloging-apps

Frank McKenney
--
The book has been man's greatest triumph, his most profound
success. Seated in my library I live in a Time Machine. In an
instant I can be transmitted to any era of history, any part of
the world, even to outer space. Often I am asked in what period
of history I would have preferred to live, and I wonder that they
do not see, for I have lived in them all. ...

Above all, and the most remarkable thing, I can do it all again,
at any moment. The books are there. I have only to reach up on
the shelves and take them down and live over again the moments I
have loved. Surely, we live today in the greatest moment of
history, for at no other time have books been so readily
available, in the book stores, in the public libraries, and in the
home.
-- Louis L'Amour / The Sackett Companion


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
D

Don Y

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Frank,

<[email protected]>

No, but my keyboard is dylsexic!<grin!>

A friend of mine would have claimed it to be a "font error" :>
Agreed. However, if one has (say) 2,000 volumes, and half of them
have legible ISBNs, then one's work load is considerably reduced.

Yup. Though you're then stuck with coming up with a scheme
to handle the remaining ones (i.e., my "print a unique barcode
label").
If one requires "instant" implementation (e.g. in weeks or a few
months), there are many difficulties. And trying to speed things up
by throwing more bodies and hardware at the problem is just as likely
to slow things down. And cost more money.<grin!>

Agreed. In my case, the hardware was free (donations) -- as was
my time. Though the implementation was anything *but*
"instant"!
I can see a lot of short-term inventory here.<grin!>

That was indicative of A Good Thing -- the books were finding
their way into "needing hands". At any given time, there were
about 80,000 pounds of these titles "available for shipment".
(Now said:
Agreed. A little thought on the front end can save a lot of effort
down the road.

I was recounting how you (I) start off *thinking* there is
a simple solution (as I did). Only to discover there are
lots of exceptions that don't quite fit that solution.
And, each revision of the solution just gets you closer
(with more work) yet never really gets you all the way.
Over time, all of the "exceptions" end up accumulating
(especially in the case of "rotating stock").

In my experience, as the labor for using the system increases,
the tendency to *avoid* using it does, also. That's why
my library is accessed by "physical browsing" instead of any
structured system. "Why isn't my copy of the Unicode Book
here? Oh, yeah, that's oversized so it will be down *there*
with all the oddball texts!" Not perfect but when space is
limited....

<shrug>

By far, I have more "titles" (though not *pages*) available
in electronic form than physical. This is good -- paper
can be back-breaking to move! So, you'd think this would
be easy to index and even *search*, interactively! "Where's
that paper that discusses S.M.A.R.T. performance statistics?"
Then you realize the number of such files that consist of
scanned images (not searchable text) and *that* idea quickly
hits a roadblock (I have no desire to OCR all of those just
to have searchable text available!)

Retirement will have some *significant* advantages!! :>
 
N

Nico Coesel

Jan 1, 1970
0
I use old prescription pill bottles... and a P-touch Labeler ;-)

I started out with my P-touch label printer as well but half way I
decided my handwriting was not bad enough to justify the extra effort
:)
 
I started out with my P-touch label printer as well but half way I
decided my handwriting was not bad enough to justify the extra effort
:)

I use the P-touch for the index tabs in my notebooks. My handwriting *is* bad
enough to justify continuing. ;-)
 
J

josephkk

Jan 1, 1970
0
Back when I could stay organized, I sorted my books the way libraries do:
by Library of Congress number for the non-fiction, and by author, series,
and title for the fiction.

Now I have children, and shelves in five different rooms, and the books
get regularly randomized.

Not too long ago my 19 year old son asked why the books are all just
shoved into shelves higgly-piggly. I thought "hmm, maybe it's time to
try again..."

You had an organization, "let" your son restore it just once. Dollars to
hexnuts, it will stay sorted better.

?-)
 
J

josephkk

Jan 1, 1970
0
After trying databases, I keep the DVD list in a simple text file.
Use grep on it for anything.
Same for some other vital data.
text files are cool, fast (about 10^10 faster than postgress).

For the size of data you have (rather small N) string searches at O(N) are
remarkably fast. Proper [relational] databases do not become efficient
until you need relations, or N becomes large enough that O(N) is a
performance problem.
 
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