Need book organization ideas

[abenike722]

I have been doing daycare in my home for about 1 1/2 years and I have acquired many many books. I honestly don't even know how many I have. I would like to start some sort of catalog system that I can use to easily locate books I need or want instead of having to thumb through all of them.

I thought about using an alphabetical title list, but realized that wouldn't work if I was looking for a book about something specific not listed in the title. I can't think of a way (or a program) to use to cross reference the books.

Ideally I would like to be able to find a book by either title, character or story content. And ideas anyone has would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

[mac60]

Are you looking to do this for your use, or for the childrens? I couldn't imagine doing this for the children, as the books would always be a mess.

[abenike722]

Yes this would be for my use only. I rotate the books for the children every couple months so they have new books to look at all the time. This is another reason the organization is needed; I need to where each book is so I can actually locate it when I need it for circle time.

[Unregistered]

Does your local library have a website with an online catalog? Try looking at how they classify your books on there.

[GretasLittleFriends]

Have you tried calling a librarian and asking for advice? Explain what you're trying to do, I think they'd be a great resource for you.

[AmandasFCC]

What I would do is find some little storage bins and label them accordingly. Like, if you want to alphabetize them, label like A-E ... or if you want them organized by season, label them Winter, Spring ... Then keep a catalogue for yourself as to which books are in which bin, and keep them in your office or something like that, away from the kids but easily accessible to you.

[abenike722]

I had thought of contacting the library, however they use a decimal computer catalog system to organize their books and I don't have access to that.

I like the bin idea too and had thought of that, but wasn't sure how easily they would cross reference. Say I wanted a book with a cow as the main character, that book could be in any bin, and I might not find it based on how they are sorted. I'm not sure if that makes sense or if I am getting across what I'm trying to say.

Maybe there just isn't an easy way to organize them. Wouldn't it be great to be able to implement the same system the public libraries use?!

[mac60]

Maybe sort them out according to whatever. Have several bins to put them in. Attach a note card to each bin with title of book on it. You could then look at the note card to see which book you needed. You could do it alphabetically, by seaons, by theme, by age, that is that part to figure out first I would think. Let us know what you end up doing.

[AmandasFCC]

Another very time consuming option would be to make a catalogue on a program like Excel for all your books. Then put keywords for each of the books, so then you would just hit CTRL-F, type in a keyword that want, and you'd get a list of books with that keyword. Then indicate which bin or area or whatever the book would be in on your list beside the book, and it should be easy to find.