thing16

=Thing #16 - LibraryThing: Where Books Meet Web 2.0=

**Introduction**
When you are taking a course monitored by librarians, you have to expect there will be something in it about books - even if it is a technology course!

With nearly 400,000 users and over 25 million books in its system, [|LibraryThing] is a great example of how a website can incorporate **tagging** and other **social features** to connect people, ideas and information. [|LibraryThing] allows users to **catalog** AND **share** their book collections (up to 200 titles for free, $25 for LIFE), to connect with readers sharing similar collections and interests and to find new books based on recommendations, favorite titles, authors, browsing and serendipity! Cataloging books is as easy as typing the title, author or ISBN number to access the book's complete information from Amazon, Library of Congress and open access library records, including cover images and Dewey Decimal numbers. Users can tag their books, post book reviews and discussion topics, and join or create public or private groups for virtual conversation on any topic/theme of book-related interest. And, of course, users can keep track of group postings using RSS!

And, just in case this is interesting to you, LibraryThing held a contest:

//"In honor of hitting the big 10 million book mark this week, we're having a book pile contest bonanza. We're combining three contests into one here—Valentine's Day, President's Day, and of course, ten million books. The challenge. Start taking pictures. Your book piles can be love themed, president themed, or just the coolest dang book photo you can create.// "

Here are some of the entries as tagged in Flickr: []

If it's not obvious yet, this SOCIAL thing is a Web 2.0 theme...

**Discovery Exercise**
Check out Library Thing. (You are __not__ required to JOIN).


 * PART 1** :Take the [|Library Thing Tour]


 * PART 2: Explore LibraryThing**

**Some suggestions for exploration**:
 * Try a search by title author or tag, then **follow the results** as far as you can. (Be sure to drill down to a specific [|Author page] and [|Title page] to check out its composition).
 * Check out the [|Zeitgeist] -- try the Author and Tag clouds (the bigger the tag, the more items tagged as such). Follow any links that interest you.
 * Check out [|Groups]. Select a featured group, or search for a group by keyword. One group to look at is [|50 Book Challenge]. This theme could really be carried into a classroom.
 * Use the [|Suggester] to find recommended titles based on a book you love; Use the [|UnSuggester] to find "un"recommendations.

Create a [|LibraryThing] account (no email necessary!) and catalog 10-15 of your books.
 * Stretch/Optional**

**Learning Activity**
Write a blog post sharing about your LibraryThing experience. Can you imagine any ways you might use LibraryThing for professional, personal or classroom learning or organization? Be sure to include "Thing 16" in your post title.