Handy Library Manager
 for Windows


Help, how to topics > Auto-catalogue, Import > How to auto-catalogue using ISBN numbers and the Internet?


Automatically catalog books using ISBN number.

Catalogue all items in your library using ISBN numbers (books) or UPC codes (CDs, DVDs). Our ISBN auto-cataloguing feature is free to try and is included in the package. You simply scan barcode numbers into a text file or directly into our Web Search utility. If you don't have a scanner, you can review our library supplies suggestions.

Use LIBRARY_NEW database to catalog new items. Move your new items to the LIBRARY main catalog when they are ready for circulation.

LIBRARY_NEW database:

  1. Add new items (auto catalog, import, type in).
  2. Process new items: modify data entries, print reports, print labels.
  3. Move new items to the library main catalog.

The Auto Cataloging feature is using scripts that are constantly changing. How to check the script version number?


How to add new items from the Internet using ISBN number(s) (auto-catalog book items from the Internet)?

On the Add Items/Patrons (1) tab, in the Library Administrator window, click Add Library Items.

On the Add Items tab click Auto Catalog (1).

  • In the Search Type (1) box select isbnBook (search by ISBN number).
  • In the Search Site (2) box select Library of Congress or any predefined search site.
  • (3) Scan ISBN barcode, enter ISBN numbers, or load them from a text file. Don't enter spaces, dashes, or any other characters, just numbers.
  • Click Web Search (4).
  • Check messages on the status line (5).
  • Click on the item in the Found Items (6) table and review details.
  • Click Add Checked Items (7) to add all found items into the LIBRARY_NEW table.
  • Click Close (8) to return to the Library_New table.
  • Click Options (9) to set the search mode and the search order: book web search options

  • On the Field Mapping (1) tab review the content of the Data Field Mapping box: how the information is imported into the Library_New items table.
  • Click with the right mouse button on the box to display a popup menu with the field mapping commands.

Mapping syntax:
[script-field-name]=>{DATA-FIELD-NAME}
example: [title245]=>{TITLE}


  • Click on the Not Found Items tab to review not found items.


Related Question:

How do i Scan bulk ISBN numbers and bulk search?

Answer: please review the above help topic or beginner: library learn basics.


Can any of your programs use hand barcode scanner for adding new books to library database? Scan ISBN code and pull data from internet sources into program?

Answer: You can scan ISBN bar codes from a book into the search box and automatically catalogue book data into our system.


I am volunteering in my local school library to get the books catalogued and into the software so the books can be moved in/out more efficiently. I am entering each book individually into the software. There is just not enough manpower to manually input all these books in a realistic amount of time. Is there a scanner available that can scan the ISBN bar code to input all the data?


Question: If I were to import a text file (excel file), would I later be able to edit information from that record by using the autocataloging function? Essentially, there are periods of time where we do not have access to the Internet in order to catalog. At the times we do have access to the Internet I would like to supplement the item record with autocataloging information, but I do not see how that may be possible without creating a duplicate.

Answer: Web search, auto-cataloging by ISBN does not support updates.


Question: How do you enter not found items into the data base?

Answer: The handy library web search does not bring any results it means: the different edition of the item is listed with different ISBN number; this title is not listed.
Before you decide to enter items manually please check if there are different publications of your book with different ISBN number. Go to Library Of Congress and execute search by Title + Author. Review results. Click on the one that is similar to your library item, look for ISBN number (if there is none, then check LCCN). Use this number in our library auto-cataloging feature.

Before you decide to enter items manually we suggest to use Google search (or any web search) with title + author. There will be many results. Select the site that provides data in the best form. Use text copy/paste from browser to our program.


Question: We are small school and currently we have about 7,000 books that were given to us by private school that closed. I am going to have to enter the data. I wish we had a spreadsheet. I started to create one but it has been labour intensive and I’m only up to 500 books in the spreadsheet. That is one thing that moved me to find software. Plus, I am not a librarian, just a mom who has a love of books and wants our library to be a gift to our students.

Auto-cataloging by ISBN will speed up data entry. To use this feature please purchase barcode scanner for your library.

Question: Combining search results. In Handy Library manager when I do a ISBN Search to add new items I will get results from both the Library of Congress as well as Amazon. Both provide different yet necessary information. Is there a way to, automatically, combine these results into a single entry for the library?

Unfortunately this feature is not supported.

Feedback: We are quite pleased with our Church Library software. It meets our all needs and we continue to find more uses for the program as we use it. Entering new records is a cinch with a scanner and the Auto Catalog feature.


Question: Entering books into your library database. Can you enter a book into the database by scanning in the ISBN number?
Users with purchased support can use the auto-cataloging by ISBN feature.


Question: When importing book data from the internet (through searching by ISBN), how do I get the program to import the Library of Congress call number for the book?
Review search results from the Library of Congress. Define data mapping in the Field Mapping box.


Question: I see that you can automatically catalog new books with the ISBN number. Is that information automatically inserted into the new book information? Do you use that ISBN number or assign it a new bar code number?
Answer: If a user does not enter a new value into the BARCODE field, our system assigns a unique value. Handy Library does not use ISBN numbers for barcode values; your library can have multiple copies of a book with the same ISBN number. The barcode value has to be unique.


Question: How many ISBNs can be loaded and searched at one time?
Answer: There is no limit but we recommend no more than 20.



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