Book Cataloging Websites
An Introduction to Online Social Networking Libraries
Reading is mostly a solitary activity. The experience of finishing a good book, especially, can be a lonely one, leaving you anxious to share your enjoyment or find another worthwhile read. Online book cataloging sites can be a good resource for those who want to connect over books in various ways. The three most popular ones, LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Shelfari, each have different features to recommend them.
LibraryThing
LibraryThing offers free memberships for those who catalog up to 200 books. After that there is a choice of paying a small yearly fee or buying a lifetime membership. There is also a special version available to libraries wishing to use LibraryThing as a cataloging tool.
LibraryThing members who have just finished a book don't have to look any further to find another interesting read . Members can receive free advance copies of books for review through joining the Early Reviewers program. Another nice feature is the Member Giveaway for those who would like to get rid of old books or pick up a few new ones. Each book page also offers a link to book swapping sites that have the book available.
There are some interesting ways of connecting here: you can look up tag "clouds" which are a bit like maps of each person's collection. The Zeitgeist feature shows the most uploaded and most reviewed books, among other things. LibraryThing lists quite a few authors as members, most of them writers of genre fiction.
Goodreads
This site offers free membership and slightly better graphics than LibraryThing. The emphasis here is more social, and members' libraries tend to be smaller. The registered authors here include quite a few contemporary poets or authors who publish with small presses.
Profiles here automatically show a "read," "currently reading," and "to be read" pile, and allow you to upload videos. You can also upload information about upcoming readings and events, and your own writing, both of which are searchable. Finally, there is a "Neverending Quiz" to which members can contribute trivia questions about books and authors, and display their scores on their profiles.
Shelfari
When you add a book here, you can not only choose which pile it goes to, as on Goodreads, but also if it's a favorite, you own it, or it's on your wishlist. The graphics are quite nice, with a virtual "bookshelf" for each category you select on which to place images of your books. You can even choose which wood you want your virtual shelf to be made out of.
Profiles and pages are kept very simple here, and it's quicker to browse than the other sites. Friends and groups are likewise displayed in a user-friendly manner. Although all three sites reviewed here offer widgets for blogs and Facebook, this is the only one that has one compatible with Myspace. Shelfari is more similar to Goodreads than LibraryThing because it is more of a social network than just a book catalog.
Choosing a Book Cataloging Site
Depending on your preferences, you may find yourself more at home on one site than on the others. Although you can browse on LibraryThing and Goodreads without a membership, you can only take a tour of Shelfari before you register. Most people who are serious about cataloging a large number of books seem to gravitate to LibraryThing, while those looking for a specific community seem to find it on the other two sites, which allow you to search your email contacts for friends.
Despite their differences, all three of the sites offer a jumping-off place for anyone who would like to maintain a library online. If you're passionate about books and would like to organize your collection and be part of a community centered around reading, there's a good chance you will feel right at home on one of them.
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