Most good library management tools available out there are focused on cataloging and organizing our e-book collection. However, many e-book readers and collectors are also readers of printed books and titles in other formats, such as audio. Alfa eBooks Manager offers you an integral solution to all your book cataloging and management needs in a neat and full-featured interface.
Unlike many similar tools, Alfa eBooks Manager is prepared to accommodate all your titles, regardless of the format in which they sit on your collection. Thus, this is the only tool you’ll ever need to keep your entire book collection organized and to avoid duplicating titles in different formats inadvertently. Unlike various other similar tools, however, this one is not available for free.
To be honest, the fact that you need to purchase a license to make the most of Alfa eBooks Manager is a con that should not detract from its many pros. The program is well designed, works seamlessly, and its comprehensive and wholistic approach deserves credit. Calibre quickly comes to mind (as probably the most widely used free and open-source e-book manager out there) when reviewing book management tools, but though they share certain aspects of their functionality, Alfa’s utility is certainly much more useful for users with an extensive paper collection.
Thus, Alfa eBooks Manager offers a wide variety of interesting features for each format supported. Printed books can be included into the program’s database either manually or by importing a .txt file especially created by a free app called Alfa ISBN Scanner, that you can install on your smartphone. E-books can be imported by scanning your hard or external drives, directly from other e-book managers (such as Calibre), or by searching the Web. Finally, audio books – in MP3, M4B, or AAX formats – can also be either “scanned” from your drives or downloaded from the Web.
Once your collection is in the right place, you can start completing your books’ metadata, organizing your collections following your favorite method and tastes, importing and exporting records, converting your e-books into various formats, reading (or listening to) them directly from the program’s interface, etc. (Unlike Calibre, Alfa eBooks Manager won’t create copies of your books and put them in a special folder of its own—it will link the record to the file(s) regardless of where they are on your computer or any external disk.)
The program comes in three flavors—Basic, Pro, and Web, the latter including specific tools to help you manage and enjoy your e-library remotely. Though they all come with an e-book and audiobook reader, you may want to add AlfaReader to your purchase, as it will allow you to enjoy your books without opening the program and loading your entire database.
Comments (2)
I can't even properly import my CSV data or covers from a previous s/w package and from what I have been able to glean even the paid for version will not support what I'm looking for to read barcode information from a scanner, and get the details automatically. The next version up ($20) still only permits books to be added 1 at a time. Double that if you are setting up a "large" library (200-300 books) and want to use batch entry for the initial process.
The program looks promising, but the restricted functionality ... and the lack of "try before you buy" means I'll walk away and keep looking for an alternative.