LibraryThing

• Are you a booklover or cataloguer at heart?
  Do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read?
  Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalogue of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalogue by just entering the title or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget to display titles that are in your catalogue, or install a LT Search box on your blog. Not just for personal collections, libraries have started using LibraryThing as well. “Small libraries are using LibraryThing to catalog their collections. Libraries are using the LibraryThing widget on their web pages to recomend books and list new titles.” (via http://wlaweb.blogspot.com/). With over 95,000 registered usersand 6.7 million books cataloged, you’re bound to discover something new.

  Discovery Exercise:

  1. Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
  2. Add a least 5 books to your library.
  3. Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog. How popular were your books? Did you find any discussions about your favorites?

  Discovery Resources:

  · About LibraryThing
  · Library Thing tour
  
  

• Yarra Plenty Regional Library is using LibraryThing: click on search catalogue, search an item, click on detail, notice the tag cloud at the bottom of the page and the 'books like' link.