MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Managing physical books with an electronic format as well? Merge?

lairdb · 05-15-2023, 01:31 PM

Looking for some group input on cataloging practice -- sortof an edition vs. work taxonomy problem.

Some years ago I merged up my physical catalog (3555 books) into my Calibre catalog. I wanted to ensure the actual paper ISBN remained uncorrupted, so I added a "paperisbn" column.

(Also, though not perfectly maintained, I also have a "PBook" tag, and for many, a shelving location tag. #paperisbn:true is the absolute source of truth, though.)

Today, if I have a digital copy as well (about 1500 of those), I've got it in a separate row -- but then attributes that are more about the work vs. the instance. e.g. read flag, rating, etc., are harder to maintain, sort, etc.

Wondering if any of you have experience with merging or not-merging this sort of catalog entry, or thoughts on what I might gain or lose. Thanks.

05-15-2023, 01:31 PM	#1
lairdb dog ear Posts: 53 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: lots	Managing physical books with an electronic format as well? Merge? Looking for some group input on cataloging practice -- sortof an edition vs. work taxonomy problem. Some years ago I merged up my physical catalog (3555 books) into my Calibre catalog. I wanted to ensure the actual paper ISBN remained uncorrupted, so I added a "paperisbn" column. (Also, though not perfectly maintained, I also have a "PBook" tag, and for many, a shelving location tag. #paperisbn:true is the absolute source of truth, though.) Today, if I have a digital copy as well (about 1500 of those), I've got it in a separate row -- but then attributes that are more about the work vs. the instance. e.g. read flag, rating, etc., are harder to maintain, sort, etc. Wondering if any of you have experience with merging or not-merging this sort of catalog entry, or thoughts on what I might gain or lose. Thanks.