How Do I Manage My Book Library? (V2)

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Learn how to navigate your book collection, scan or upload books, search the catalog, and explore Book Intelligence details.

1. Navigating to the Library

Click Library in the top navigation bar. This is where your entire book collection lives.

Understanding Your Library Hierarchy: Think of the School Library as the "Parent" and Classroom Libraries as "Children." When you approve a book here in the Main School Library, that permission automatically trickles down to all classrooms. You generally don't need to approve the same book twice!

You'll see all your books displayed as cards, each showing the book's cover, title, author, and a status badge. The filter dropdown at the top lets you view books by status:

All Books — Everything in your collection
Pending Review — Books waiting for a vetting decision
Allowed — Books approved for circulation
Limited Access — Books with restricted availability
Don't Show — Books hidden from the catalog
Deleted — Books that have been removed

2. Scanning a Book

Step 1: Open the Scanner

On your Library page, click the Options button in the top-right and select Scan Book.

Step 2: Choose your Scanning Method

A dialog box will appear offering two ways to identify your books:

Camera Scanner: Perfect for mobile devices and quick adds! Simply point your camera at the book's barcode for an instant match. This is often the fastest way to inventory a classroom collection on the go.
Barcode Scanner & Manual Entry: If you are using a dedicated USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner, simply click into the ISBN field and scan. You can also manually type the 13-digit ISBN here. This field is fully optimized for rapid-fire scanning of large stacks.

Tip: For the most accurate results and to unlock full Book Intelligence data, like mature theme alerts and SB13 compliance tags, ensure you are scanning the barcode on the back cover rather than the school’s internal asset tag.

3. Uploading a Book Collection

Step 1: Open the Upload Dialog

From the Options menu, select Upload Collection.

Step 2: Upload Your CSV File

A dialog will open where you can upload a CSV file to add multiple books at once. You'll see a "Download CSV Template" displayed in the dialog to use for the required file format and column headers .

Tip: If you see 'No libraries available,' contact your administrator to make sure your library is properly configured.

4. Searching for a Book

Use the search bar at the top of the Library page. You can search by title, author, ISBN, barcode, or tags. Results filter in real time as you type.

5. Viewing Book Details and Book Intelligence

Click on any book card to open its detail page. The Book Intelligence view gives you:

Why look at Book Intelligence? This view moves beyond simple keywords. It helps you understand the narrative structure and educational value of the book, giving you the context needed to answer questions from parents or administrators without reading every single page.

Book cover and metadata (ISBN, publisher, year, page count)
Synopsis — A summary of the book's content
Subjects from multiple sources
Character lists when available

Additional Tabs

On the left side, you'll find tabs for:

Guardian Activities — Parent/guardian interactions with this book
Status History — How the book's status has changed over time
Circulation History — Checkout and return records
Notes and Documents — Attached notes or files