Inventaire

Inventaire is a unique collaborative platform that combines personal book inventory management with contribution to a shared knowledge base. Built around Wikidata integration and ISBN mapping, it allows users to manage their personal book collections while participating in a collaborative effort to map and organize the world's books and publications.

Key Features

• Intelligent Book Management:

  • Comprehensive book inventory with automated metadata
  • ISBN-based book identification and enrichment
  • Automatic cover art and publication details
  • Reading status tracking (read, reading, to-read)
  • Personal notes and reviews
  • Collection organization and categorization

• Wikidata Integration:

  • Deep integration with Wikidata knowledge base
  • Automatic metadata enrichment from Wikidata
  • Entity linking for authors, publishers, and topics
  • Structured data representation
  • Knowledge graph connectivity
  • Semantic data relationships

• Collaborative Platform:

  • Shared book collections and libraries
  • Community-driven data improvement
  • Collaborative metadata editing
  • Public and private collection options
  • Social features for book discovery
  • Contribution to open knowledge base

• Library Management:

  • Personal library organization and management
  • Reading list creation and maintenance
  • Book lending and borrowing tracking
  • Collection statistics and analytics
  • Custom shelves and categories
  • Reading progress monitoring

• Advanced Discovery:

  • Sophisticated search across collections
  • ISBN-based quick book lookup
  • Author and publisher exploration
  • Topic-based book discovery
  • Recommendation system based on collections
  • Related book suggestions

• Data Quality and Management:

  • Import/export functionality for collections
  • Data validation and quality control
  • Metadata enrichment and standardization
  • Duplicate detection and merging
  • Bulk editing and management tools
  • Data integrity maintenance

• Self-Hosting Benefits:

  • Complete control over personal book data
  • Privacy for personal reading habits
  • Custom configuration for specific needs
  • Integration with local library systems
  • No dependency on commercial platforms
  • Enhanced data portability and ownership

Technical Specifications

• License: AGPL-3.0
• Deployment: Docker, manual installation
• Platforms: Cross-platform web application
• Requirements: Database, web server
• Database: CouchDB
• Architecture: Web application with Wikidata API integration

Use Cases

• Personal Libraries: Individual book collection management
• Academic Research: Scholarly book and publication tracking
• Book Clubs: Shared reading lists and collections
• Public Libraries: Community book inventory systems
• Researchers: Literature and publication mapping
• Educational: Library science and knowledge organization

Unique Advantages

• Wikidata Integration: Unique connection to global knowledge base
• Collaborative Approach: Community-driven data improvement
• Semantic Structure: Rich, structured book metadata
• ISBN Focus: Strong emphasis on book identification standards
• Open Knowledge: Contribution to public knowledge commons
• Open Source: AGPL-3.0 licensed, transparent and extensible

Based on the Inventaire source code, this tool provides users with a collaborative book inventory platform that excels in metadata richness and knowledge sharing, making it ideal for book lovers, researchers, and institutions who want to manage their collections while contributing to a global knowledge base of books and publications.