LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site that allows book lovers to create a library-quality catalog of books in any kind of category they wish. For example, the user can create a catalog of books they own, books they wish they owned, books they’re reading, books they’ve lent out, and well, you get the idea. Since it’s a whole network of catalogers, anyone can contribute tags, reviews, evaluations, ratings, and so on. There are also members’ forums and an Early Reviewers program. It is free, and all you have to do to sign up is visit http://www.librarything.com/ and create either a personal or organizational account with a user name and password. Sharing your e-mail is optional, but recommended, should you forget your password. When creating your catalog using LibraryThing, you can add books by using title, keyword, author, or ISBN, and if your particular book is not on the results list, you can manually add it. LibraryThing states that it “gets its book data from Amazon.com and over 700 libraries around the world, including the Library of Congress.” You have the ability to choose which source to pick from too. Once you have your catalog up and running, there’s so much you can do, including: review books, tag, converse with other book lovers about books, customize your catalog view, get recommendations, see what other members think about the same books, connect with other people who share your book interests, find interesting data about your books, and share about your favorite authors, bookstores, and libraries. LibraryThing even keeps statistics on nearly everything imaginable. On their “Zeitgeist” page, one learns that there are over 1 million members, over 63 million books cataloged, over 76 million tags, over 1 million reviews, and over 10 million ratings. Authors also use LibraryThing, and it is a resource for following their scheduled events such as book signings and visits, reading their biographies, learning of their works (including upcoming ones), linking to their homepages, seeing their member ratings, and even chatting with them in scheduled discussions. LibraryThing even shows related book awards, related people/characters, and related places for authors. The Zeitgeist also lists the twenty-five most reviewed books (#1 is currently Twilight), the most prolific reviewers (#1 is currently user “bluetyson” with 35,613!), 50-top rated authors , 50-lowest rated authors, and the 25 top languages (for translations from—and #1 is currently French). As for the top-rated and lowest-rated authors, one must carefully take note of how the ratings are come by. For example, the top-rated author is currently listed as Jeannie Fulbright, but this is based upon her five-star rating from eight (yes, 8) raters. Likewise, the lowest-rated author is currently Robyn Donald, who comes in with a 1.2 rating based on 4 raters.
There’s a fun and interesting “Common Knowledge” tab which gives the user many of the “Tops.” For example, Top 200 Places Mentioned in Works, Top 200 People/Character Names, Top 200 Events Mentioned in Works, Top 200 Places of Residence for Authors, Top 100 Places Where Authors are Buried, and so forth. It is interesting that LibraryThing includes a “Top 200 Occupations for Authors,” because we might just say “um…author?” to that one, but it really shows what a diverse field authors come from, and how they really wear many hats—from author to teacher, lawyer, soldier, painter, actor, political activist, and so on. I think it is analogous to how books sometimes fit into several categories at once, and people can too. I got a laugh from the first year listed under the Top 300 Birth Dates for Authors: “19??.” This was the same for the Top 300 Death Dates for Authors. There are numerous groups a person could join and be active in, including (just to name a few):
· Librarians Who LibraryThing
· Science Fiction Fans
· What Are You Reading Now?
· 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
· Crime, Thriller, & Mystery
· Tea!
· Hogwarts Express
· BBC Radio 3 Listeners
· LibraryThing Series
The “Local” tab is really helpful because you can find local members and local events. You can type in your location, or a location where you’ll be traveling, and choose a search radius (10 miles, 20 miles, etc.). It includes bookstores, fairs/festivals, libraries, societies, et cetera.
LibraryThing connects you to people like you who read what you read. Or, you can use it to branch out and find new interests. …Or further pursue your current ones. It has a lot to offer, but keep in mind that it has millions of contributors making tens of thousands of contributions daily. You could become one of them too, like I did. Among the cool features that come with your own LibraryThing are tailored recommendations, the usernames of members with your books, and your own Zeitgeist for your collection, allowing you to know at a glance how many books are in your collection, how many tags, and even how many characters! Check out my LibraryThing via this blog. Enjoy!
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