In a Sea of Books

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink” could be “Volumes, volumes everywhere, but not a book to read.”
3500 books to be cataloged in a project in the library in our retirement complex, but no time to read them. That is the predicament for me. Some very tantalizing titles have passed thru my hands, too.
I suppose it is natural that retired librarians would be recruited to serve on a library committee. Not strange that the person overseeing the library and wanting to step down would suggest those two people as replacements. So now my husband and I find ourselves with a library collection in need of some TLC and a means to identify the contents.
Some internet research to find a computerized cataloging program led to something more than a catalog: Library Thing. This web-based program not only helps us create a searchable data base, it has author information, reviews, and an interactive community for discussing books. Our library users live in apartments in the complex where the library is housed, but also a few blocks away in condos. Many of the condo dwellers  have computers and thus can peruse the collection without making a special trek over to the main campus.
After cataloging for 20 years in academic libraries, I admit this is not perfect, but it serves us well. I miss most a controlled vocabulary with cross references, but the majority of the cataloging records we utilize have Library of Congress Subject Headings so there is some consistency. Key word searching and the option to add subject words in a searchable comments section also help users find items.
For arthritic knees and bad backs, the option to sit at a keyboard to search in shelf order is a big help. Let the fingers do the “stooping”. Lists of hard-to-read print can be changed to colorful book cover browsing. Since the focus is on tracking and searching book collections, there is no circulation module, but the alert system for duplicate titles has already helped us weed out over a hundred books cataloged in different spots.  Shelf space is at a premium so aid in identifying duplicates is valuable. Cost for using Library Thing: $25 life-time membership fee.
What programs have you used to organize and make your book data searchable? Give Library Thing a try. It can serve as a reading list tracker besides the cataloging functions.
Too bad we don’t have space to set up a book domino trail like this  with the withdrawn books. But then, I never would get any cataloging done if I was making elaborate patterns of books.