BookCAT alternative

I love my CLZ book catalog. I had always wanted to catalog my books and back in the days of card catalogs when I was young, I made an index card file (which I still have). I had far fewer books then. Now I have about 3,000, with book cases in almost every room of our house, and it is hard to keep track of them all in my head. So, one of the practical reasons for having a catalog is to record the location of each book by room and bookcase and in some cases even by shelf. I just have to remember, if I move a book, to change the location in the location field of my catalog. I have been able to locate books with my catalog instead of wasting time searching from room to room.
I have the mobile version as well, for several reasons. Sometimes when I’m in a bookstore, I am not sure whether I already bought a certain book or not; I can tell it is a title I would have liked to own, but I can’t remember if I actually bought it. At least twice I bought a book I already had. Now I can check my mobile catalog. When I finish reading a book, it is quicker to enter that on the “read” field on my phone than to remember to record it next time I am on my catalog on the computer. I can also stand in front of a bookcase with my phone and check whether all the books are cataloged and whether the location is correct.
Beyond practical reasons, I just love having my books organized and cataloged for mental clarity and the pleasure of looking at the titles and covers on the screen. I had once thought of making my own database of my book collection, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as sophisticated as the CLZ one and wouldn’t have included photos of the book covers. Some of my large categories, such as art books, children's books, and Christmas books, have beautiful colorful covers which are a pleasure to look through on the CLZ catalog. I used the genre field to make up my own categories, many of which are not actually genres but the subjects that are important to me. I love that the CLZ software keeps track of the numbers in each category, so for example I know that at the moment I have 184 art and design books, 248 architecture and interiors, 169 autobiography/memoirs, 102 tea books, 213 on England, 206 on New England, 235 children’s books, and 175 Christmas. It’s just interesting to me to know this. It’s a picture of my interests.

So far I have cataloged 2300 of my books. I really enjoy working on the catalog, but it takes time and not all of my books are easily accessible. My method is to scan my new books right away with the app on my phone that CLZ provides, then add them into the collection when I have time to sit at the computer. Then I go to the backlog of older books as I have time and add them in. Some of the oldest ones pre-date the ISBN system and take longer to enter manually. I realize it will take a long time until I am completely caught up, but it’s a goal I’m working towards. I have barely begun to catalog the e-books on my Kindle as that is not as high a priority but will eventually include them as well.
I’ve loved books all my life and also enjoy organizing (probably should have been a librarian), so making a catalog with the CLZ software is a great fit for me.
In the years I’ve been involved with the CLZ catalog, the software has consistently and vastly improved. Many of my books are rather obscure, but more and more of them are recognized in the enormous CLZ database and come in with many of the fields populated and with the cover photo. Previously I had to take my own photos of some of the book covers and upload them, and those photos don’t come out perfectly, but now most of the books come in with the cover when I enter the ISBN or can be found on the “search the internet” feature. More and more information about the books is now included, so that my catalog is an amazing resource.
The CLZ company is extremely responsive when I have contacted them with a question. I don’t know how large or small the company is, but I get a personal response to my emails. I feel confident that they will help me with any catalog questions, and I have a very positive view of the company.

I recommend CLZ Books Web and Mobile to anyone who wants to make a beautiful and useful book catalog. You will be able to sit and scroll through your library and remember books you might not have focused on for some time. You will be able to enjoy looking at the covers of the precious books you have collected and be happy you have them. You will feel organized and be able to locate books in your home. You will have fun with your catalog if you’re anything like me! I even told our local branch librarian about CLZ for his own book collection.