Web 2.0 Review: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…LibraryThing is my favorite

Greetings University of Iowa Libraries Librarians!

I’m here today to expound upon the lovely virtues of LibraryThing, both for our patrons and for the library itself with LibraryThing for Libraries.

Simply put, LibraryThing (LT) is a social networking site that allows users to catalog their books and connect with other users sharing their reading interests.

Our students could use this service in many ways. Being part of an academic system requires them not only to continuously read, but purchase seemingly endless quantities of books. With a simple and free LT account, they can input their collections while browsing the collections of others. Using the tools of LT they can write book reviews, organize their collections in ways that work for them, and generate their own ways of tagging books outside the constraints of the LC system. They can also form connections with other users and perhaps use LT to exchange ideas on a book’s content or even purchase used books from one another. Ultimately, LT gives people the power to create systems that work for them while empowering them to trust their own intelligence and intuition.

This is where LibraryThing for Libraries (LTFL) comes in. When LTFL is incorporated into our catalog, users will be able to write reviews for books in the library’s system, incorporate their own tagging system (using tag clouds), and generally participate in the structure and function of the academic library world. This connection with our users will deepen our relationship with the student community and help us “draw on the collective intelligence” [1] of our students and staff.

Three examples of university libraries that are currently using LTFL tools are the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges in Missouri, Bowdoin College Library in Maine, and San Francisco State University’s (SFSU) J. Paul Leonard Library in California.

In an interview with the Association of Research and College Libraries, three librarians at the Claremont Colleges discuss in detail why they decided to start using LTFL and how much they enjoy it.

Candace Lebel, their Integrated Library Systems Manager, said that they, “were impressed with the ease and speed of implementation of LibraryThing for Libraries.”
Alexandra Chappell, a Reference and Instruction Librarian, said that LTFL, “was a great way for us to test out a Web 2.0 idea, without having to make a huge change to the catalog. LTFL was a quick and easy way for us to incorporate tags and book suggestions into our catalogs without having to start from scratch by building it locally over time.”
And Jezmynne Westcott, Science Librarian, said, “2.0 concepts like tagging, community reviews, and rating items involves the user and gives them a feeling of engagement and ownership with the content.” (Link to ACRLog)

Currently, Bowdoin College is at the forefront of LTFL incorporation, so much so that LT itself stated in it’s blog (Thingology) that they might just have to steal their ideas. Right now, they are using LTFL to implement a, “dynamic book locator, book jackets with book summaries and tables of contents, a search for full-text book reviews, and the ability to instant message the catalog records to a cell phone in the event a student is in his or her room and wants to make a list of items to get from the stacks.” [2] (Link to Bowdoin College)

At SFSU, the J. Paul Leonard Library is using tag clouds to further assist students in finding appropriate material to meet their needs. Just go to “More Information” on the page to see what these infamous tag clouds look like and how they’re being used. (Link to SFSU)

When all is said and done, nothing is ever really “done.” In the field of academic libraries, we must always think on the forefront of what technology can do for us and how implementing innovative ideas can bring us closer to our users. LibraryThing and LibraryThing for Libraries allows us to do exactly that by showing patrons we can and will adapt to the frameworks they create, instead of forcing them into the narrow hole our libraries could potentially become if we insist upon inflexibility.

For more information on bibliophile social networking:

Download this podcast from NPR. (Link to “Web Sites Let Bibliophiles Share Books Virtually” 3/20/08 All Things Considered)

Or go to Wikipedia: LibraryThing

Or go to The Christian Science Monitor (“Do Your Own LibraryThing” by Jim Regan 11/9/05)

Sources:

[1] http://www.librarything.com/forlibraries/

[2] http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/004542.shtml

~ by sdribin on March 28, 2008.