Book Collecting SoftwareIf you are an avid book collector or even someone who reads a lot and keeps their books; you probably have a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet that lists every book you own. Or maybe you have found some software to catalog your books. Several years ago, I went looking for software to catalog my books and I found this great company in the Netherlands that put out some amazing software. It keeps track of whether it is a first edition, numbered, condition of book, whether it is rare, etc. All of the things a book collector wants to keep track of. They have both a Windows and a Mac version of this software, and in late 2009 they came out with an ancillary online version. You can have your books in the desktop software only or in the online version or in both. It really is very good software - though I have to admit I much prefer the desktop software because I think it has far more options. And just as an FYI - they do more than books - they have cataloging software for comics, dvds and a number of other products. Check them out!
Book Collecting TermsThrough the years, I've collected a number of websites that have helped in learning the phraseology of collecting terms. Determining whether a book is a first edition is harder than it may seem because there really is no standard between publishers. The Internet has truly proven to be a useful tool as many people who are very knoweldgable in the subject have shared this information on websites such as these:
Amazing Book Shelves!This crassly named website is really very tame. It has pictures of some of the most amazing and brilliant bookshelves built. Some of the bookshelves have the books carefully placed and others have the books wildly filled and stuffed to abandon. The website may be crassly named, but it is aptly named. Porn for book lovers. Sigh. Swoon.
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My Online Book ListThis website catalogs all of the books I own including the book covers. It documents whether I've read the book, my rating, the publisher, plot and a number of other minor details. It is a great adjunct to the existing software that I already have on my PC at home - but now I can have my book list out on the web too!
My Favorite Used Book StoreI've been buying books from Christine Volk since the early 90's. Her book store is the one that helped me build my Joyce Carol Oates collection (so far 69 books!). Actually, most of the numbered and signed editions came from her place. She sought them out for me knowing I was such a huge fan.
Independent Online Booksellers AssociationThis website is a great source of reliable and trustworthy online booksellers. Christine Volk also happens to be the VIce-President of IOBA.
American Library AssociationThe ALA has a great web page on challenging banned books. This site tells how to report banned books, talks about banned book week and lists the challenged books.
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