Q: Translate barcodes to full product info. Where/what are products,
databases, or services (including online) that can take barcodes,
original or in ASCII digits form, and return product info, rather than
just barcode images? Background/explanation: I am inventorying home
items, especially hundreds of books, through a WASP barcode reader on
my PC. This creates a text file of EAN, UPC etc barcodes in lines of
13 or 18 ASCII digits. If I stick this in a safety deposit box at my
financial institution and then there's a fire which wipes out my home,
theoretically I have a way of listing what I had. This would also be
useful just to look through what I have. But first this list, in this
initial ASCII form, has to be translated from ASCII "barcodes" to
useful form. E.g. surely somewhere, somehow there is a way to
translate a given barcode into at least the publication info often
found on what may be the "frontspiece"; viz., the left-hand page with
title, ISBN/ISSN, author(s), keywords, LOC number, etc. That's
precisely why I'm doing this, as entering all this manually is too
much to do. Google searches such as "translating barcodes" or "barcode
to product" only turn up software, products, etc. that read a barcode
and make an image--of the barcode itself. Again, what is/are
product(s) and/or service(s) to go from barcode to product info?
Without such, the barcode itself is useless. (Doing this via ISBN
should be possible too, but that is almost another question. I expect
by answering barcode to product info one should get a start on ISBN to
book info, for those books that have no barcode but have ISBN. Again,
that is a separate question). Thanks in advance.

Hi merlin_ch_goo,

There are two programs that will make your project a whole lot easier
- the hardest task will be choosing which one to get. "Book Collector"
and "ReaderWare" (both cost about $40) will let you scan the barcode
and will automatically generate a database of your books. Not only
will they make an inventory of your books including title, author,
etc., they will even grab an image of the dustjacket if available. If
a book doesn't have a barcode, you will be able to enter the ISBN
number and get the same results.

ReaderWare 2.0 Overview:
"Readerware is the tool for book lovers, collectors, researchers,
anyone who has to catalog and maintain a library. Easy to use yet
powerful enough to manage the largest collections. Readerware is a
book lovers dream come true. It includes:
* Auto-Catalog - Readerware can search the internet and automatically
catalog the books you own. There is no simpler way of cataloging your
library. It eliminates the chore of manual data entry.
* Cover art support - Readerware can automatically extract cover art
from web sites and add the images to your database. You can also scan
in your own images.
* Bar code reader support - Literally catalog a book at the swipe of a
bar code wand."
"Download Readerware now for a free 30 day trial."
http://www.readerware.com/rwOvw.html

>>>>>>>>>>

Book Collector catalogs your books in a database:
* Catalog your book collection quickly and easily
"Just scan the barcode or type the title and Book Collector will
automatically add it to your book database."
http://www.collectorz.com/book/

>>>>>>>>>>

Additional Links:

Bookaholic Solutions: Organizing Your Addiction:
http://www.sfronline.com/articles/bookaholicsolutions.htm

The Book Scanning Project:
http://isbntools.com/

Bar codes in the Used-Book Business
http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/V12/IOBANL-BarCodes-8-03.php

BarCode 1
Universal Product Code (UPC)
and EAN Article Numbering Code (EAN) Page
http://www.adams1.com/pub/russadam/upccode.html

UPC Database Entry:
http://www.upcdatabase.com/

UPC Lookup:
http://www.schworak.com/upc/

Need the U.P.C. Database?
http://www.glondon.com/upcdatabase.html

Abebooks HomeBase: free book inventory software:
http://www.abebooks.com/docs/homebase/HB23Information.shtml

I hope you enjoy reading about the software - if you have any
questions, please post a clarification request before closing/rating
my answer and I'll be happy to respond.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: "bar codes" books

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 15 Jul 2004 08:43 PDT

Hi merlin_ch_goo,

Here are some more links of interest -

Book Library:
http://www.wensoftware.com/BookLibrary/

BookNet:
http://www.datavillage.com/booknet.htm

My Book Collection:
http://www.mybookcollection.com/

BookCAT:
http://www.fnprg.com/bookcat/

BookList:
http://www.clique.co.uk/booklist.htm

Bar code school:bar code scanners, printers, software:
http://www.aaa-technologies.com/bar_code_school.htm

Cheers - (let me know if you have any questions),
hummer

---

Request for Answer Clarification by merlin_ch_goo-ga on 15 Jul 2004 10:14 PDT

Not sure if this qualifies for "clarification": how do I know the two
main software packages you list, ReaderWare and Book Collector, don't
funnel info back to their organizations (person, books etc. scanned),
the way I understand CDDB does? Nobody has any business knowing what I
have, what keys I hit on the keyboard, etc.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 15 Jul 2004 11:52 PDT

Hi merlin_ch_goo,

Very good question!  Following is ReaderWare's Privacy Statement and
the point they make is a good one. Not only is it a good idea to check
privacy statements of the inventory software, but also of the site
where the data is coming from (Amazon, Library of Congress, Barnes &
Noble, for example). Using your barcode scanner, no matter how you do
it, involves hooking up to some kind of database. If you are really
worried, the best thing to do would be to download something like
Abebook's HomeBase and type in the information by hand - the ease of
use of the scanner comes at a cost. Yes, Amazon may log in the fact
that someone just scanned for a certain ISBN, but it's sort of like
taking a census, the numbers are used, but noone knows where the
numbers came from. One thought about scanners, though - always compare
the data that you download with what is in your book - the two will
not always jive.

Both ReaderWare and Book Collector seem popular amongst the book
community and they are recommended by users often enough.

ReaderWare Privacy Statement:
The Readerware Software:
"The Readerware software does not track your usage, not the books you
scan, not the sites you visit, nothing.
The Readerware database is stored locally on your machine, this is
your private data. None of this data ever leaves your machine.
Readerware supports cookies because they are necessary to access many
sites. These sites may be using cookies to track your visits to their
site. You will need to consult the privacy policies for individual
sites.
So to summarize, Readerware tracks nothing, any information you
provide is strictly confidential. To me all software should work this
way, unfortunately it is not the case. Many software products do track
your usage and transmit this information to others, the songs you
play, the bar codes you scan etc.
Readerware does not."
http://www.readerware.com/PRIVACY.txt

I can't find a Privacy Statement for Book Collector but perhaps I'm
just missing it.

Some more links:

JF Books:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Information_Management/Book_Collection_Managers/JF_Books.html

Book Organizer Deluxe:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Information_Management/Book_Collection_Managers/Book_Organizer_Deluxe.html

Deamant Library:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Information_Management/Book_Collection_Managers/Diamant_Library.html

Book Organizer:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Information_Management/Book_Collection_Managers/Book_Organizer.html

Please let me know if you have any other questions. 
hummer

Excellent. Products, etc. I never thought of on my own nor was able to
find on my own. I have now purchased hummer's recommended Readerware
and am enjoying it. Well worth the $$ I bid.

That's wonderful news, merlin_ch_goo, I'm so glad Readerware has
worked out for you. Thank you for your nice note, rating, and tip -
all are appreciated. Happy booking! Sincerely, hummer