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79 points hmkoyan | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.255s | source

I've been working on librari.io for the past several months and just launched the beta version.

The Problem: I have 500+ books across multiple rooms in my house and was desperately looking for an app to manage them properly. Most library management apps are either too basic or designed for institutional libraries with rigid workflows that don't fit personal use.

What I Built:

- Multiple libraries: manage collections in different locations

- Location tracking - remember exactly which shelf each book is on

- Loan management - track books you've lent to friends

- Custom fields & tags - store any additional book info the way YOU think about them

- Reading progress tracking - dates, duration, personal ratings

- Modern UI/UX - clean & actually enjoyable to use

Current Status:

- Beta version live

- Working on improving the responsiveness of the app and addressing initial user feedback

Would love feedback! Especially curious about:

- What features would make YOU actually use a library management app?

- UI/UX feedback always welcome

- Any book collectors here who'd be interested in beta testing?

Looking forward to your thoughts! Thank you in advance.

1. jlpk ◴[] No.44612139[source]
I also use the My Library Android application. I have about 1,200 books scanned through the ISBN tool in that app, which took a few hours across a few weekends. Common issues were old books not being found, or information formatting issues. Overall though - all I cared about was a comprehensive view to track across when we move homes in case any boxes get lost. That app has very limited statistics, but I haven't found myself interested in exploring anything further, nor care about tracking my own reading progress, tbh. Like others mentioned - the scanning is slow and error prone and frustrating. A bulk import from a photograph of a book shelf sounds fantastic, but with re-releases of books, I'd be curious about it's accuracy (reviewing and editing incorrect information is the worst after you scanned the ISBN, so a nice UI like in this app that could make the correction process easier would be great!). The single photo with multiple books and bulk import I would have paid for, definitely. UI of the MyLibrary app is not great, but it is free, and I can export the data, so happy with it. Someone else mentioned multi-user support, which would be nice, but not confident I could convince my family to scan books either. Once you get everything in, scanning additional books as they come is easy.