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8 Home Library Apps To Keep Your Book Collection Organized

Erin Mayer

Staff Writer

Erin Mayer is a writer and editor specializing in personal essays and musings about face creams that probably won't cure her anxiety (but hey, it's worth a shot). Her work has appeared on Bustle, Literary Hub, Man Repeller, Business Insider, and more. She spends her free time drafting tweets she never finishes and reading in front of the television. Find her at erinmayer.com.

The great thing about books? You can never get enough of them. But if you find your book collection becoming unmanageable, there are plenty of home library apps to help you get it under control. Take stock of the tomes on your increasingly crowded shelves with these eight top-rated cataloging home library apps for iPhone and Android. Then you can carry your personal library right in your pocket for easy reference.

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1. Goodreads

Like many avid readers, I use Goodreads to keep track of my TBR and read negative reviews of books I love to make myself angry for fun. But there’s a lesser-known barcode scanner feature that lets you add books directly to lists without having to search for them. This is a great way to keep tabs on what you’ve already read vs. what you hope to read in the future. And, it’s free!

Available for iOS and Android.

2. Libib

Finally, an app for amateur librarians (we’re out there, I promise). Libib offers both paid and unpaid plans. The free option lets you scan and organize up to 5,000 books—plus movies, video games, and albums—while the pro plan has space for up to 100,000. Both versions of the app give users access to tons of additional features.

Available for iOS or Android.

3. Delicious Library 3

Statistics nerds will fall for this app’s chart feature. It breaks down everything from the retail value of your book collection to the amount of pages currently on your shelves. Delicious Library also makes recommendations based on how you rate books you’ve read, so you always have inspo for your TBR.

Available for iOS and Android.

4. Reco

While not a cataloguing app in the traditional sense, Reco lets you keep track of recommendations from friends, and dole them out too. Think of it as your cheat sheet for when you can’t remember what books you wanted to read while you’re browsing at Barnes and Noble.

Available for iOS.

5. Library Thing

Library Thing is similar to Goodreads, but with a stronger focus on the cataloging aspect. Part social media platform, part library-style catalog, the app sources book info from more than 4,967 libraries worldwide (plus Amazon). There’s even a feature that tracks titles you’ve lent out to friends. If you’re generous enough to let any of your books out of sight, that is.

Available for iOS and Android.

6. Book Catalogue

This app takes more of a bare-bones approach. It allows users to input titles manually or search by IBSN or barcode and sort using a variety of metrics including author name. It’s free and has a 4.4 rating on the Google Play store.

Available for Android.

7. Gerty

Gerty is for readers who really miss taking literature classes in college. While primarily an ereader, it allows you to organize both physical books and ebooks on shelves. Note-taking and journaling features let you annotate your reading experience in myriad fun, interactive ways.

Available for iOS. 

8. Book Crawler

This is another stellar cataloguing app that helps you compile an easily searchable list of books you own, It connects with Goodreads so you can check out reviews of titles you haven’t read yet or see how your opinions on books differ from that of your friends.

Available for iOS.


What are your favorite home library apps?