iBookshelf
App Description:
From the iTunes store: “iBookshelf is your personal portable library reference. A
comprehensive book database, created and continuously maintained through
extensive feedback from readers like you. Books are displayed sorted by your
preference. You can search for books in your library, and enter a "loan
status" to remember who you loaned the book to or borrowed it from. A new
book can be entered automatically (enter ISBN and remaining data is loaded from
the internet) or manually. It will even tell you where you can buy the book and
how much it costs and where you can find a library with the book!”
Price:
While there is a free version, I bought the $1.99 version
because I had a lot of books in my classroom library.
Website Component:
The library is backed up to a website, but it isn’t really a
component to using this successfully.
Screenshots:
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| Books can be organized in multiple ways |
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| All books have many, many data entry points. |
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| There is a book synopsis making lesson planning easy! |
My Impression on
What Parents Think:
This app is for organization so my parents don’t use it at
all.
Pros:
- One of the unique aspects of this app is that it has the book scanner built in.
- It has the capability to scan the barcode on the back of books as well as I can enter the IBSN number manually in case there is no barcode.
- I get to set the genre of the book.
- Every field is customizable.
- There is an online database meaning that I don’t have to enter in all of the data myself.
- Each book has a synopsis built in.
Cons:
- · For the scanner to work properly, there has to be an Internet connection. My school doesn’t have wireless so I had to use my personal hotspot on my phone to get all of the books in my classroom library. You can use the app without Internet once all of the books are scanned in though.
- · There are limited checkout capabilities. This is more of a reference app.
Overall Impression:
I wanted this app to solve the unique problem I have in
pre-kindergarten. All of the books in “my” classroom library are the property
of the pre-kindergarten program. None of these books are mine and honestly I
didn’t know what I had. That made Sunday Funday lesson planning a problem. I
would go to select my books for the week and either A.) have to go into work B)
use books I knew I already had or C) use books from our school library. It took
about two weeks to scan in all of the books in the classroom library, but now I
have them all scanned in. I think my favorite feature is that I can set the
genres. Instead of setting the genre as fiction or whatever, I’ve been able to
set them based on what unit I use them in. Meaning next September when I am
thinking of planning my dinosaur unit, I can just check out the genre on Sunday
and not have to come into work! However, if I were ever move out of pre-k and
the books needed to be “checked out” by students, I don’t know if this app
would necessarily be the best one to use as this is mostly a reference app.
Overall it solves a problem and I love that!
