Does anyone else do this? (database wank)

When I add manga/comic series to my library on LibraryThing, I always just add only the first volume of each series. After all, with a long series of 10+ or 20+ volumes, it would give it an unfair weight against all the other traditional prose books, especially considering how light and breezy many volumes are.

Does anyone else do this, or something similar?

No. Why would it matter how anything is "weighted" in your library? You own the books you own.

Nope, for me one of the most helpful things about cataloging manga on LT is that it helps me keep track of where I am in a series. Otherwise I'll end up buying the same volume(s) I've already got. Several times. Although I can see that being a useful way of doing things if you don't want to have to pay for going over 200 books. How do you figure they weight your library in relation to prose books? I'm genuinely curious, not being snarky. It just wouldn't have occurred to me to downplay manga series because they are lengthy. It's always interesting to see how people use the site differently.

I'm always in the middle of series that have either finished publishing or are still publishing, so adding individual volumes is a must for me to track what I've already purchased. It's the reason I made the account in the first place.

I even add each issue of a comic series and for some periodicals each issue as well. For the same reason as the others mentioned: tracking missing issues.

I also list all the manga I own. Although if I take a volume out from the library that I don't either do a review or a comment on, I don't usually list it. Unfortunately that means I've lost track of what volume of Black Cat I'm on now :(

Long series of manga/comics do alter the overall appearance of one's library database, but I find I am less concerned with how things look in my library and more concerned with the usability of that library.

Like others who have posted, I use LT to help me keep track of where I am in a series so I can avoid buying duplicate volumes. Also, in my mind not listing the volumes I own presents just as potentially an inaccurate image as listing them would.

One workaround tactic I have seen used by some members here is the creation of a single work for the series, covering whatever volumes they happen to own (e.g. Alice 19th v1-7). Entries like these seem to function much like entries for periodicals in public libraries, but the downside here is that they can clutter up author pages with semi-bogus books.

If I were to streamline my library--list only the first volumes of manga/comic series--I would do so using collections. I already have a collection called Manga and Graphic Novels which exists as a subset of my library as a whole. It would be a relatively easy thing to set that collection so it doesn't affect my recommendations and then make sure that the only common books between it and my Your Library collection are all the first volumes.

A disadvantage of using the Title name plus volumes you have, is that every time you add a volume, you change the title of the book, but the work still has the original name (this is a "feature" of LT). Combinations will be to the wrong volumes or non-existent.
I only do this with series that have ended and only when it is difficult to find covers.

Most in english translated Manga/Manhwa series I collect have the each-volume-separate approach and are therefor easy to add.

>1 einhorn303:

Yes, I do the same thing. I find that it's easier to find books in my library and it looks more "neat".

> 8 By far most of the covers of books in my library cannot be found online. So I have scanned most of them myself (of some I took photos from straight above as they were too large to be scanned).

I also add all my manga separately. I like to be able to see all the individual books I own, I think this is more useful for me.

i think that if i were to do it so that the title would only appear once, i would just create a separate library for it... or a separate tag.

i catalog in every single volume of all my books (that i CAN enter) so as not to buy doubles. (it certainly doesn't help when the books i'm trying to buy are plastic wrapped so it's not like i can skim it to see if i already have it.) when there are enough books in your personal collection, it gets hard to keep track of whether you already have something or not.