Managing a Book Collection

Books are one of the most natural fits for MDCollections. Each book becomes a Markdown file with structured metadata in the frontmatter and your personal notes in the body.

Setting Up

Create a new collection and define your properties: title, author, ISBN, publisher, genre, page count, rating, and read status. Set up a title template like {author} - {title} so your files are named consistently.

Fast Cataloging

Pick up a book, scan the ISBN barcode with your camera, and the product lookup fills in the title, author, and other available details. Review the data, add your personal rating or notes, and save. Move to the next book. You can catalog a full bookshelf in a single sitting.

Organization

Use the Stacks view to group books by genre, author, or read status. See at a glance how many unread books you have, or browse your science fiction collection separately from your cookbooks.

Obsidian Integration

Because every book is a Markdown file, your collection works directly with Obsidian. Use Dataview to create dynamic reading lists, link books to your notes, or embed book metadata in your daily journal.

## Currently Reading

```dataview
TABLE author, rating
FROM "collections/books"
WHERE read_status = "reading"

```