# 2026-09-12 - How I Organize Ebooks And Notes
I store my notes in a plaintext format similar to my gopher content.
When i am away from my computer, i either use a memo pad or
Orgzly [1], which supports org-mode format [2]. Org Mode is trivial
to synchronize and convert into my own format.
On my computer, i use a directory hierarchy to organize my text
files. This hierarchy is strongly modeled after the hierarchy of
Usenet groups. I refer to the 1996 list of Usenet groups on
ibiblio [3]. A more up-to-date list can be found on ISC [4].
When an appropriate group doesn't exist, i make up a new one.
For example, i store iBiblio's group list under:
alt/library-science/usenet/ibiblio-1996/
On a tangent, i also have lists of the Library of Congress
Classification Outline [5]. I used the `pdftotext -layout` command
to convert from PDF to plaintext. Last year the Library of Congress
changed their search form to require Javascript. Consequently, i
stopped using LoC call numbers and use the outline instead.
A family member gave me a spreadsheet to map between Dewey Decimal
and LCCO. The "Dewey" name is trademarked and detailed access to
current versions requires a subscription ($$$). It is strictly for
non-fiction books. For these reasons, i avoid Dewey Decimal.
This morning i was curious how dry beans are produced: specifically,
how commercially produced beans are dried out. I learned that they
are generally cut into windrows to dry out in the fields, and later
harvested with combines. I wrote detailed notes and filed them as:
sci/agriculture/dry-bean-production.txt
Book notes i keep in a separate bookshelf directory. These notes
were once exported from goodreads.com, imported into an SQLite
database, then exported to YAML. In 2024 i migrated from YAML to
a plaintext format, which i described in my log entry titled
No YAML, No Recutils [6]. Each book record is a text file. My
naming convention is AUTHOR--TITLE.txt. I use an AWK script to
export to free-ebooks.csv [7] and to-read.csv [8].
The books themselves are stored under a loose structure. For
example, Lolly Willowes [9] could be moved into rec/arts/fantasy/ or
if i am in a hurry i might move it into gutenberg/. This part of the
directory structure is loose because there is significant overlap
between categories.
To find my way around, i use plain *nix commands such as:
$ find books | grep -i willowes
$ grep -ilr beans sci
And now for the contents of sci/agriculture/dry-bean-production.txt:
# Dry Bean Production
The cost of dry bean production is greater than that for soybeans due
to higher weed and disease control costs. Generally dry beans also
require more fertilizer inputs than do soybeans. However, the
potential market revenue for dry beans can be substantially greater
than for soybeans in most marketing years. Dry beans may require two
to three fungicide treatments to combat diseases and are prone to
zinc deficiency. There are fewer herbicides available for use in dry
beans compared to soybeans, so an integrated weed control program is
important when planting them. Dry beans are frequently "knifed" and
placed in windrows prior to combining which adds to the harvesting
costs and requires a special header for the combine. [10]
After harvest, beans should quickly be brought to a safe storage
moisture content of 15 to 16% using forced air bins, portable
aerators, or a homemade equivalent. Much of the same equipment used
to clean a food-grade wheat crop may be used for dry beans. [11]
The most important part of bean processing is when a machine collects
the pods and shakes the beans loose, then they are cleaned & bagged.
The beans received from farmers come directly from the combine and
have about 4 to 8% foreign material, beans of varying color, and
broken beans, on average. They are then transported to an elevator,
which conditions them in preparation for processing and packaging.
Bean conditioning involves eliminating damaged or discolored beans,
rocks, and other unwanted contaminants.
Conditioning employs various techniques such as sieving, sifting,
using color sorters, destoners, and gravity separators. Beans are
differentiated based on color using a color sorter--a device that
utilizes near-infrared mechanisms and visual technology to categorize
beans based on their form and hue.
To eliminate cracked and split beans, as well as stones and other
impurities, processing facilities employ tools like sieves, sifters,
color sorters, destoners, and gravity separators. Integrating these
purification techniques results in beans that are consistent in color
and devoid of splits and breaks. Usually, the cracked and broken
beans are repurposed into flours and pastes, whereas the undesired
materials are thrown away. [12]
p.s.
Following up on Dewey Decimal, i learned that it CAN be used for
fiction. Science fiction is placed within national literatures in
the 800s class, for example 813 for "American Romance" or 823 for
"English Romance" [13]. This results in science fiction works being
scattered alongside other genres. Many public and school libraries
file fiction titles using genrefication instead.
tags: bencollver,technical
# Footnotes
(HTM) [1] Orgzly Revived
(HTM) [2] Org Mode
(HTM) [3] 1996 iBiblio usenet group list
(HTM) [4] ISC usenet group list
(HTM) [5] Library of Congress Classification Outline
(DIR) [6] Bookshelf text file format
(TXT) [7] free-ebooks.csv (CSV)
(TXT) [8] to-read.csv (CSV)
(DIR) [9] Lolly Willowes
(HTM) [10] How beans are dried in fields
(HTM) [11] How beans are further dried after harvest (PDF)
(HTM) [12] How beans are processed after drying
(HTM) [13] Dewey Decimal classification
# Tags
(DIR) bencollver
(DIR) technical