Avoid duplicate buys
Check whether the book is already in your catalog before another copy comes home.
Book collection app
Know what’s on your shelves.
Keep your books organized and close at hand, so you can check what you own before buying another copy or trying to remember which edition is already at home.
Stop buying from memory.
The moment you most need your book catalog is often when you are standing in front of another shelf somewhere else.
Remember the edition
Reference the cover, ISBN, photos, condition, and notes when the specific copy matters.
Keep a large library manageable
Give hundreds of books a structure you can browse instead of trying to remember every shelf.
Shop with your library in reach
Check your collection at a bookstore, library sale, estate sale, or thrift store when a title looks familiar.
Your books, remembered
Keep the details with the book.
Covers
Recognize the book at a glance instead of scanning a wall of titles.
Title & author
Keep the basic identity of every book clear and consistent.
ISBN
Save the identifier that distinguishes one edition from another when it is available.
Edition details
Keep the edition information returned by supported lookup, and add your own notes when the copy matters.
Categories
Organize books by subjects, genres, or another system that makes sense for your library.
Condition
Record the condition of the copy you actually own.
Purchase details
Remember when and where you bought a book without hunting through old orders.
Recorded value
Keep a value with books where replacement, resale, or collector context matters.
Photos
Add your own images for signatures, inscriptions, special covers, damage, or other details worth remembering.
Notes, attachments & links
Keep private notes, supported PDF or image attachments, and useful references connected to the book instead of scattered elsewhere.
Your whole library
Every shelf counts.
Catalog the books you read, collect, reference, display, or simply do not want to accidentally buy twice.
Hardcovers & paperbacks
Everyday reading copies, favorite editions, mass-market paperbacks, trade paperbacks, and hardcovers.
Special editions
Limited editions, collector editions, alternate covers, deluxe releases, and book-box editions.
Signed books & ARCs
Keep photos and notes with signed copies, advance reader copies, inscriptions, and other details that make one copy different from another.
Series & box sets
Keep the volumes you own together so it is easier to see what is already in the collection.
Reference & art books
Design books, cookbooks, photography books, textbooks, technical references, coffee-table books, and the titles you keep for more than reading.
Your library, your system
Make the shelves make sense.
Use categories such as Fiction, Design, History, Biography, Reference, or whatever makes your own library easier to understand.
FictionDesignHistoryBiographyReferenceArt & Photography
Faster cataloging
Build your library faster.
Scan a supported ISBN barcode, confirm the book Catalist found, and save it. If a lookup misses, keep the record moving with manual entry instead of hitting a dead end.
Scan the ISBN
Use the barcode on supported books to bring in available book identity and cover information.
Confirm the match
Check that Catalist found the right book before it becomes part of your collection.
Save what matters
A useful record does not need every possible field completed before you can keep it.
Add it yourself
Older book, unusual edition, or lookup miss? Add the book manually and keep going.
Built around ownership
Catalog the books themselves.
Catalist is for keeping a record of the copies you own. It does not need to become a reading challenge, review feed, or social profile to make your library useful.
More than books
Your library can live with the rest.
Your books do not have to live in one specialist app while vinyl, board games, tools, home inventory, and other collections live somewhere else.
Keep them together in Catalist while each collection keeps the organization that makes sense for it.
Explore what you can catalogSimple pricing
Two plans. One complete Catalist experience.
Start free or go Pro. Use the same Catalist account for your books and every other collection you want to keep together.
Catalist Free
$0
Use the complete cataloging experience for up to 75 items across 2 collections.
- 2 collections
- Up to 75 items
- All cataloging and organization tools
- Photos, supported attachments, and useful links
- Acquisition dates and recorded values
- Notes and ownership details
- Model and serial numbers
Catalist Pro Monthly
$4.99 per month
Catalog unlimited items across unlimited collections.
- Unlimited collections
- Unlimited items
- All cataloging and organization tools
- Photos, supported attachments, and useful links
- Acquisition dates and recorded values
- Notes and ownership details
- Model and serial numbers
Catalist Pro Annual
$49.99 per year
Get the same unlimited Pro plan and save with annual billing.
- Unlimited collections
- Unlimited items
- All cataloging and organization tools
- Photos, supported attachments, and useful links
- Acquisition dates and recorded values
- Notes and ownership details
- Model and serial numbers
Questions, answered
The practical details.
What to know about using Catalist as a book collection app.
What is a book collection app?
A book collection app gives you a digital record of the books you own, with identifying details, covers, categories, purchase information, notes, condition, photos, and other context you want to keep with each copy.
Can I scan books into Catalist?
Yes. Catalist supports ISBN barcode scanning for books. Confirm the returned match before saving it to your collection.
What happens if a book does not scan?
You can add the book manually. A lookup miss should not prevent you from keeping the book in your collection.
Can I catalog older books without barcodes?
Yes. Add them manually and keep the details you know.
Can I organize books by genre or subject?
Yes. Use categories that fit your library, such as Fiction, Design, History, Biography, Reference, or your own system.
Can I keep multiple editions of the same book?
Yes. Each copy can have its own item record, photos, ISBN when available, condition, purchase details, value, and notes.
Can I add photos of signatures or special details?
Yes. Add item photos for signatures, inscriptions, alternate covers, condition, or other details you want to preserve with the record.
Is Catalist a reading tracker?
Catalist is centered on the books you own rather than reading streaks, reviews, or a social reading feed.
Is my book collection public?
No. Catalist is private by default.
Can I use Catalist for books and other collections together?
Yes. Books can live beside vinyl, board games, tools, home inventory, technology, and other collections in the same account.
Know what’s on your shelves.
Give your book collection a place you can actually take with you.
Private by default · One catalog · Everything you own