THINGAMABRARIANS ON THE WEB: The July/August issue of Poets & Writers magazine contained an article about a new web site that has bibliophiles buzzing. On Library Thing, readers can catalogue their personal libraries – and then connect with others via books. You can list your first 200 books for free, and then pay a whopping $10 a year to list as many books as you have on the shelves and in boxes in the basement. This may be the first time you’ve actually looked at your library. This could have very practical advantages when it’s time to prune your overflowing collection (do you actually need three copies of “Middlemarch?”) or if you’re subjected to fire or flood and have to make an insurance claim. But the main reason for the site is for people to connect via their books. There is one thing inveterate readers/book-buyers like more than reading – talking about their books. In the P&W article, writer C. Max Magee notes that Library Thing users call themselves "Thingamabrarians," and they “can find those with whom they share literary tastes.” The site is only a year old and already had more than 50,000 users cataloguing more than 10,000 books a day. Says Library Thing founder Tim Spalding: "When you find someone that shares ownership of an obscure or meaningful book," he says, "all of sudden every [book] that person has is of interest to you." Writers with at least one published book can become a “Library Thing Author.” Other Thingamabrarians can access info about your book – and those books that you own and have undoubtedly influenced your writing. It could be a subtle way for writers to promote their work to people who actually buy books. Are any wyolitmail readers using Library Thing?
- posted by Michael Shay @ 10:40 AM