- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
There is a possibility that I will get involved in setting up a database of some reference books. Possiby up to about 1000 approximately.
Could I use a hand held scanner to scan the title, and author of the book?
This would avoid laborously moving heavy books to a desk, typing in the details, then putting the books back in their correct place on the shelves.
They are mostly art and craft reference books, so some of them will be quite large. A quick look on Amazon reveals hand held scanners at about £40, though some are ten times that amount.
If I used a hand held scanner, how easy is it to then enter the details into a database. Would the scanner just produce a list of titles and authors? It would be useful to include the publisher and ISBN if possible.
As you can see from my question, I have no experience of small scanners, but I do have skills to build and use a fairly simple database. Ie the books details, age group it is suitable for, etc. If someone has borrowed a book for a short while, we could record the date it is due back and set up parameters to flag up overdue books.
Alternatively, how feasible is it to use the bar code printed on the book? Is this bar code system universal or would I need to programme a bar code reader? The advantage of using a bar code would be that some books are on loan, and would be returned and replaced by "new" titles.
I would be very grateful for some easy to understand assistance with this.
I can use a computer, and would get assistance setting up a database if necessary. What I would like to avoid is up to one thousand books, twice. Also while the catalogueing is in progress, it would be too easy to lose track of which book has been catalogued.
I have thought about asking about this in the local Library, but I get the distinct impression that they are very short-staffed and might not be able to help.
Could I use a hand held scanner to scan the title, and author of the book?
This would avoid laborously moving heavy books to a desk, typing in the details, then putting the books back in their correct place on the shelves.
They are mostly art and craft reference books, so some of them will be quite large. A quick look on Amazon reveals hand held scanners at about £40, though some are ten times that amount.
If I used a hand held scanner, how easy is it to then enter the details into a database. Would the scanner just produce a list of titles and authors? It would be useful to include the publisher and ISBN if possible.
As you can see from my question, I have no experience of small scanners, but I do have skills to build and use a fairly simple database. Ie the books details, age group it is suitable for, etc. If someone has borrowed a book for a short while, we could record the date it is due back and set up parameters to flag up overdue books.
Alternatively, how feasible is it to use the bar code printed on the book? Is this bar code system universal or would I need to programme a bar code reader? The advantage of using a bar code would be that some books are on loan, and would be returned and replaced by "new" titles.
I would be very grateful for some easy to understand assistance with this.
I can use a computer, and would get assistance setting up a database if necessary. What I would like to avoid is up to one thousand books, twice. Also while the catalogueing is in progress, it would be too easy to lose track of which book has been catalogued.
I have thought about asking about this in the local Library, but I get the distinct impression that they are very short-staffed and might not be able to help.