Years ago I invested a few $ and MUCH TIME to index all of my print library titles (about 1,000) into a DOS database program. The database became obsolete, of course. For years I have hesitated creating another electronic index of all my print books for fear that the programs on the market will also go the way of the DOS dodo. Options today include a spreadsheet, cheap Home Library software, or expensive, professional-level library cataloging solutions. And then there is Logos!
I have invested much money in my years of ministry in print books (as all pastors have). Now, I have even more money invested in their electronic equivalents. More than 2,500 print books, however, still sit on my shelves awaiting their digital rebirths. And despite Logos' feverish efforts, decades will go by before they are all offered in the Logos format. This brings me back to the librarian's dilemma of continual cataloging. These books have already been cataloged in the Library of Congress, and most have ISBNs.
Why not build an Addin for Logos to allow us to index all of our print titles, right alongside our electronic titles, by using this available book information (just as the current library systems do). Logos could incorporate this stepping-stone solution to get us through the long decades of book conversions. Thus, we would have the ability to find a book, or information about a book, that we have in our libraries (whether it is on our computer, on our shelf, or possibly even in the cloud). What a valuable aid this would be to organizing my library of 6,000+ resources, and growing. Once the resource was purchased digitally, then I could choose to sell off the print copy, or keep it, and have that reflected in the catalog. Thus, a search for a book reveals that I have it electronically, on shelf X of my print library (or on loan to a friend), or both. By having the ability to access this from my phone, I could stop buying duplicate books when at the bookstore.
Books are here to stay. My Logos is here to stay. I would happily invest the cost and time to add my print books to a "Card Catalog" feature on L4. What a tremendous help this could be!
