What are the benefits to using LibraryThing? As a beginner to the LibraryThing site I wondered just that, how would this Web 2.0 tool be of any benefit to me as an individual and as a teacher-librarian?

LibraryThing, created by Tim Spalding, made its debut in 2005 as an online Web 2.0 tool that offered book enthusiasts a place to house their collections. Now it boost over 1,400,000 subscribers and 66 million books cataloged. LibraryThing is making its mark on the Web. Used by individuals, authors, libraries and publishers LibraryThing offers its users a virtual environment to browse in a bookshop. This book-centered site allows users up to 200 free books on their book shelf, after which a minimal lifetime fee of $25 or an annual $10 fee may be paid to upgrade an account.

My first visit to this site was brief and basically just a "drive through" to get a taste of what LibraryThing was all about as I had no prior knowledge of what this site had to offer its patrons. After reading A Very Short Introduction to LibraryThing I realized this site had potential as both a personal and professional Web tool.

My subsequent visits were very productive. I was able to sign up with a member name (SISLibrary) and password. It was quick and painless. I selected a Personal account thinking this would be the best type for what I was looking for, however, later this had to be changed to an Organizational one when I tried to add a LibraryThing widget to my blog. Filling in the profile page was not complicated and I was able to start adding books to my shelf within a matter of minutes. Adding books was also easy and although I was just going by memory LibraryThing offered other titles either by the same author or of similar theme which helped aid in my memory retrieval. I added approximately 20 books at this time and then set about perusing the rest of the site. While looking around the site I located the More tab which directed me to a page that contained a host of options for additional features. One such feature was instructions on how to add a LibraryThing widget to a blog. I followed the instruction and viola, I had a widget on my blog! I have to admit I was pretty pumped when I saw the LibraryThing widget in action. Check it out...top right hand side of my blog.

Surfers have the option to enter titles' ISBN or likely key search terms such as title, author or even a series name. Although it is a bit time consuming to add books to your shelf it is still very easy to do. LibraryThing’s search engine will return likely matches to your search and you can then select the one you were looking for, complete with card catalog information and thumbnail cover art.

LibraryThing offers its subscribers many features to enhance their experience while visiting this site. There are direct links to online retailers (Amazon has a 40% share in the company), a site blog, LibraryThing Blog, to keep members up to date and a Zeitgeist page that reveals the most popular collectors and reviews – did you know that Harry Potter- is the most popular read on LibraryThing! This Web 2.0 tool provides a place for its members to catalog what they are reading. The comments section is a useful tool. It can be used to keep track of books that have been lent to friends or as a reminder that you will never read a particular book again. Its privacy setting allows member to be as public or private as they would like. The “Connections” feature offers those with common likes to be connected and share with each other. Clicking on a book in another user’s catalog will reveal links with the ability to instantly add a title to your collection or have access to Recommendations. Tagging, also offered by LibraryThing, provides a means for members to ascribe catagories to their books. Tags help to define genres in more precise and refined catagories.

So how do I see this site benefitting my personal and professional life?

Personally I am excited to set up an account with books that I have read and enjoyed over the years. It will be nice to be able to keep track of the books I have read. I often find I remember enjoying a particular novel but other details, such as title and author, are a little fuzzy. LibraryThing will help keep these books alive for me and those I would like to recommend them too. I also plan on using the Recommendation application to peruse titles and authors that maybe of interest for future reading.

Professionally I see many applications for LibraryThing in the school /library environment:

*Online chat with an author
*Read and write book reviews
*Student teacher conferencing through “Groups”
*Parental involvement
*Cataloging of novels students have read over a period of time
*LibraryThing widget on Library blog
*reviews on Library blog
*book clubs

One thing to be aware of before moving forward with educational applications is that LibraryThing, due to The Children’s Online Privacy Act, does not permit children under 13 to become members of this site.

Readings:

Sibley, R. (2008). The Librarian Who Loves “LibraryThing”. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(8), 20-21