Organize Your Personal Library on Linux with Alexandria
So What is Alexandria? (5 out of 5)
Alexandria is a Linux application that helps you track your book collection and sort it into a user-friendly format. The program allows you to sort your items into different libraries, such as books at your home, books at your office, and so on. It will even allow you to use an HTML file so that you can share your book collection with friends all over the world on the Internet.
So, let’s get down to the program itself and how easy it is to use. For a first time user, here is what I found:
Interface – Overall, the main interface for the program is pretty classic and streamlined. It is separated into two different columns, the one of the left being the different libraries that you have set up, and the one on the right being the books that are in that library. You can see with a quick glance which books are where, what you own, and find what you are looking for right away. The interface is really easy for anyone to use, even those that may not be as familiar with computers as others. So, this really gives it a high mark in my review book.
Add an Item – I created a fake library with books that I had here at home and some that I would like to have. You simply click on the “Add Book” icon, enter in the ISBN of the book (this is found on the back cover of the book by the bar code or on the inside page where the copyright date is), and the program will search several different sites until it has the book’s information. It will automatically upload the cover, the publisher information, the author information, and several other items to the program for you to easily view. While I had all the ISBN’s that I wanted for my libraries, you can manually enter book information on the title that you have, as some older versions of books may not have ISBN’s. I actually found it extremely easy to enter the ISBN and have the program do everything else. It only took me a minute or two to enter each book entry, and boom – I had all the information right there. So, this gets yet another high mark in my book.
Item Management – This part was also really easy. You can actually manage your books by rating them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. Once you rate the books, you can sort them according to that if you want to. There is also a note section on each book entry so that you can leave yourself a reminder for anything that might have to do with that book, such as if you need to get a new copy, if you are halfway through it, and so on.
Search – Just like other book software, Alexandria allows you to search your collection for a specific book or subject. You can search by author, title, publisher, topic, and several other features as well. For those who just have a small book collection, this may not be a big deal – but for those who have monster collections and who might forget what they have, this is awesome. You can easily find anything you need at a moment’s notice.
Showing Off Your Collection – One of the coolest abilities of Alexandria is that you can actually export your collection in different ways so that you can show it off. For avid readers, educators, and others who have larger collections that are available to their friends, this is a great way for people to search what you have and to trade books with you. (It’s also a great way to brag about your collection!)
Overall, with all of the features and how easy Alexandria is to use, I give it a solid 5 out of 5. I think that anyone could use this program with ease, and I would recommend it to anyone that loves to keep their book collection organized.
For more information about Alexandria and for download information, you can visit their website at https://www.techthrob.com/tech/.
