Delicious Library

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In the format field, can you put in multiple formats?

No, Jon, you can't because the program catalogs and gets its information based on ISBN or LCCN (Library of Congress Cataloging Number) and each format has a different ISBN.

I think there is a trial program available at http://www.readerware.com. The program is for both Windows and Mac.

[JSWolf]

But the problem with Readerware is that it is expensive for something I can eventually cobble together using Access.

[JSWolf]

I'll have to give the trial a test run and see how well it works. But if I give the ISBN number of the ebook, will it go and get the info for it?

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'll have to give the trial a test run and see how well it works. But if I give the ISBN number of the ebook, will it go and get the info for it?

Yes, that's the main thing it offers over something you'd cobble together yourself. It can get info from several online bookstores, LibraryThing, the Library of Congress, etc., all based on the ISBN. But it doesn't tie together different editions of the same text very well, e.g. paperback, hardcover, different ebook formats, etc., partially because often these different editions have different ISBNs. The author hasn't had a lot of request for this functionality so far, but I did inquire about it a while back, and if several people write to him about it, he might implement it.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In the format field, can you put in multiple formats?

Sorry, Jon , I gave you a wrong answer as it turns out. In conversation with the creator of Readerware, I mentioned your question and here is his response:
__________

Normally you select a format from the drop down list in the detail view.

But you can also just type in a format. When you click on the Update button to update the record, Readerware adds the new format to the list and sets it as the active selection for that book. Suppose you looking at a hardcover, Hardcover is displayed in the format field. You also have the eBook. So you could just add & eBook to the existing format displayed and click on Update. Now display the format drop down list, the new value is in there.

Now that it is in the list you can select it in other records.

You can use the replace wizard to make changes to multiple records. So if you had a lot of records that you want to set the new format on, select Edit->Replace. See http://www.readerware.com/help/rwGlo...ngeWizard.html

You can also maintain the list columns using the popup menu, see http://www.readerware.com/help/rwDBMaint.html
_______________

I would add that the creator of Readerware is very responsive to questions and to resolving problems.
I hope that helps you, Jon.

[nekokami]

As a follow-up to my earlier post about the lack of a way to tie together different versions of the same text in ReaderWare, part of the problem is a lack of an official unique identifier for the content, as opposed to the format. I.e., if a book is published as a hardcover, trade paperback, mass-market paperback, and ebook, they will probably each have their own ISBN. I suspect that if a book is published as Mobipocket and also as eBookwise, they will also have distinct ISBNs. I think the Library of Congress numbers are also different, but I'm less sure about this (maybe one of our librarian members will know).

Perhaps along with arguing for a single standard ebook format, e.g. ePub, we also need to be arguing for a single way of uniquely referencing the content of a text across multiple formats. A standard way of referencing different editions or translations of the same work could also be quite useful, I think.

[astrodad]

I have been using Delicious Library to track my paper books and movies for a year now. It's wonderful. I wish they would add support for cataloging ebooks. I know I can create a specific shelf for them but it won't manage the actual files for me.