Barcode Scanning

Adding books to your library should be quick and easy. With Book Assembly, you can scan a book barcode using your phone camera and have it added to your collection in seconds. No typing, no searching, just point and go.

How it works

Tap the scan button, point your camera at the ISBN barcode on the back of any book, and Book Assembly does the rest. It reads the barcode, looks up the book details, and fills everything in for you:

• Title and author
• Page count
• Publisher and publication date
• Cover image

The ISBN scanner searches multiple sources including ISBNdb (opens in new tab) and Open Library (opens in new tab) to find the best match for your book. If several cover images are available, you can pick the one you prefer.

Works with most books

The scanner works with the standard ISBN barcodes found on the back cover of most printed books. These are the same barcodes that shops use at the till. Older books without barcodes can still be added by searching for the title or author, or by typing in the ISBN manually.

No app store needed

Book Assembly is a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means it runs right in your browser. There is nothing to download from the App Store or Google Play. Just open the website on your phone, and the barcode scanner is ready to use. You can add Book Assembly to your home screen for quick access, and it will look and feel like a native app.

Other ways to add books

Scanning is the quickest way to add books, but it is not the only way. You can also:

• Search by title or author to find books from online databases
• Type in an ISBN number directly
• Add a book manually if it is not in any database

Book Assembly also checks for duplicates, so if you accidentally scan a book you already own, it will let you know before adding it again.