Library Thing

November 10th, 2008

When I was getting my undergraduate degree, I was always looking ahead to a graduate degree. Instructional Technology and Library & Information Science were my two callings, and it would’ve been a much harder choice to make if Maine had an MLIS program. I loved my Instructional Technology program, and am excited to be working in the field and using the degree.

I still love books, though, and I love sharing books with my daughter. That’s why I joined LibraryThing. LibraryThing allows you to index your personal library, and see what others are reading, and get suggestions based on what you already have. I’ve only set it up for the daughter’s books (she owns more than me; I’m more of a borrower than a buyer for adult books) but even she loves to see her library in the covers view. It allows you to tag (I’m still working on that, but have tagged all the books she’s gotten from Maine’s Raising Readers program) and add your own info, and it is accessible by other family members who might be wondering “does she have that book already?” One can also tag books with “wishlist,” and use that to help prevent duplicate gifts. It’s free for the first 200 books, and then you can upgrade — $10 for a yearly membership, and $25 for a lifetime membership. If you have a huge library to catalog, they will also sell you a USB barcode scanner that makes entering books easy, for just $15. An extra pro? LibraryThing is a Maine business.

LibraryThing