Adding books to your collection
There are three ways to add a book in Agathos Books — scanning a barcode (fastest), entering an ISBN, or searching by title or author — and all three live on the Add Books page. A summary bar at the top of that page shows where each book will end up before you add it.
Open Add Books by tapping the + icon at the top of the app, or Add Books in the side menu.
Where your books go
Section titled “Where your books go”The bar at the top of the page reads Adding to: My Books (or a library’s name), with a second line showing which libraries new books are shared with. Tap Edit to change either.
Who owns the books you’re adding? (library admins only) — the Edit dialog offers a card for each choice:
- Me — You own the book. It lives in the My Books page, you decide if it gets shared, and you approve any borrow requests personally.
- The library — The book belongs to a library you administer (library-owned inventory), with no personal owner. It’s added to the library’s own catalog and members can borrow it directly — if the library has automatic approval on, loans are approved instantly; otherwise an admin reviews them. Use this for books the library purchased, was donated, or otherwise owns.
The ownership list only offers libraries that can hold their own books. Home libraries don’t appear — a home library’s catalog is built from members’ shared personal books, so add those books under Me and share them with the home library. If you’re not a library admin, you always own the books you add. Library admins can change a book’s ownership later from its details page.
If a library-owned book isn’t in the Agathos Books catalog yet, it goes through catalog review first (like any new book) and is added to the library’s catalog once approved. Books waiting on review show a Catalog review status in the Recently Added list — tap it for an explanation of the process.
Share new books with (when you own the books): in the same Edit dialog, toggle each library you belong to on or off. Sharing offers the book to that library’s catalog — members can discover it and request to borrow it, while you stay the owner and still approve every borrow request. When a library owns the books instead, the toggles are replaced by a short note — library-owned books go straight into that library’s catalog, so personal sharing doesn’t apply. Some libraries require admin approval before a shared book appears in their catalog; see Understanding book approval. Expand How this works in the dialog for the full details, including what you commit to when you approve a loan.
Scanning a barcode
Section titled “Scanning a barcode”The fastest way to add a book is to scan the ISBN barcode (the one starting with 978 or 979, usually on the back cover).
- On the Add Books page, tap Start Scanning (web) or Scan Barcode (iOS/Android app)
- Allow camera access the first time you scan
- Point the camera at the barcode, about 6–8 inches away, with good lighting
- The app beeps when it detects a barcode and a success tone plays when the book is added
- Keep going — the camera stays on and books are processed in the background
The Recently Added list below the scanner shows everything from your current session with a spinner while it processes and a checkmark when it’s done. Tap any finished book to open its details.
Tap the speaker icon for silent scanning. On iOS and Android, the in-scanner flashlight toggle helps in dim rooms.
Entering an ISBN
Section titled “Entering an ISBN”If a barcode won’t scan or you only have the ISBN number, type or paste the 10- or 13-digit ISBN into the search bar at the top of the page. A valid ISBN submits automatically and is processed the same way as a scan — watch for it in Recently Added. A handheld USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner works the same way: focus the search bar (tap into it as if typing) and scan.
Searching by title or author
Section titled “Searching by title or author”Don’t have the book in front of you? Search instead.
- Type the title, author, or part of either into the search bar
- View the search results — multiple editions of the same work may appear
- Tap Add on the book you want, or tap the cover for a preview and then Add to My Books
If you already own the exact same edition (same ISBN), you’ll see Add Another instead — use it to bump the quantity or keep your existing copy. If you already own a different edition of the same book (for example hardcover vs paperback), you’ll be asked whether to add this printing anyway or view the edition you already have. When you’re adding to a Library-owned destination, scanning or searching a title the library already holds opens the same quantity prompt showing how many copies the library has, so you can set the exact count instead of adding a stray duplicate. If nothing matches, check Book not found for next steps.
- Wrong edition? Scanning the barcode always picks the exact edition (book cover may vary). Title search may show several editions. Scan the barcode or manually enter the ISBN to capture the exact edition.
- Pending approval? Some books need platform or library admin review before they appear in catalogs. Check pending books on the My Books page.
- Stuck on the scanner? See Scanner not working.
Related Articles
Section titled “Related Articles”Still Need Help?
Section titled “Still Need Help?”If you’re having trouble adding a book, contact support.