Collectorz

Do you have a lot of books?  I do.  Stephen and I are both avid readers and we also love to have books on everything from crafting to fiction to how-to books to homeschooling.  We have 3 bookshelves that are filled to the brim with books.  Well, actually the shelves are not filled because a lot of our books have been in storage due to the shortage of storage in our 'new' home (we've lived here for 2 years, but storage space is one of those missing pieces.)

Lately, I've been wanting to get the books out of storage because I keep thinking about something and saying, "I'm pretty sure we have that book." or "Oh, yeah I read that in .... book.  I can get it for you." and then remembering that the book is not really 'here' on location.  But wouldn't it be great if you had a way to know exactly what books you had?  Well, there is!

The Product:

Collectorz is software that helps you catalog your own personal collection into a database.  Not only does it have a Book Collector version, but they also have similar software for music, comics, movies, mp3, and photos.  Now that is totally awesome!  And what's even better is that I was given the Book Collector version as a review product.

At first I was a little apprehensive due to the possibility of compatibility issues, but thanks to my techie husband those issues were short-lived (but I will get to that in a little bit.)  The software is for PC's, MAC OS X, IPhone, IPad and is even available on your mobile devise.

So what does the software do?  Well it automatically enters your book data (Cover, title, genre, author) for you.  All you have to do is simply enter the book by manually typing in the ISBN number or the title of the book, or you can scan the ISBN using one of the compatible scanners.

You can keep track of all the books you actually own as well as make a wish list for books you would like to purchase.  You can sort by genre, author, and title.  It even lets you know if you've already entered a book (that helps us know about duplicates that we then could bless others with.)  The Book Collector also keeps a list of the number of books you have and you can set up catalogs for each person or child in the family.  It is very easy to use.

My Experience:

As I had said earlier I was a bit apprehensive with being able to use this product due to my system being a Linux based computer which is not stated on their site as being compatible.  But thankfully, my husband was able to get the program to work using WINE.  I have Ubuntu 10.04 and WINE is Windows Emulation Program.  And because I set up the program while my husband was here helping me it worked.  I was very happy!  So if you have Ubuntu, you could probably also be able to use this wonderful software. (I am not suggesting that all Linux machines would be able to use the program, but mine did.)  You can check out a free trial period for 30 days and see if it will work for your system for yourself.

Now back to the actual program.  I found it very easy.  In about 3 or so hours I had my two girls bring down every book they had on their own shelves and I entered all of them (with a few exceptions) by manually typing in the ISBN numbers.  In that time I was able to enter well over 100 books!  And that's just the girls books.

Here's a picture of what it could look like when you enter your books.  The books are listed at the right and then the covers to the left.  You then can click on a book and get a brief synopsis of it.  They even have a loan feature that I only just found out about.  That would be quite helpful when I loan books to my friends and family.



My Thoughts:
There are two versions -- the standard ($29.95) and the pro ($49.95) so you will want to see which one best fits your needs.  As I said you can also try out the free trial (it's in the top right-hand corner of this page.)  I think if you have a lot of books and would like to keep track of them then this might be the program for you.

So go now and check them out.  You can read what others have thought about the program here.


*** I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of money for any of  my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences with the products and services that I receive.***