LibraryThing Week 8 #19

"Thing" was my favorite character on the Adams Family television program. The bodiless hand creeping out of the black box, "snap, snap". Curious, competent, but just a little odd. LibraryThing strikes me the same.

I've been playing with LibraryThing since July '06. I am not very faithful to it. Every once in a while, usually during my holidays, I will go in and add a few books. I use it as more of a reading list, than a true catalog. I never thought about using it at school. Thomas Kaun, the fabulous Library Media Teacher at Redwood High's Bessie Chin Library, has placed an LT widgit showing new books that have been added to his collection. Great idea!

I have one reservation about LibraryThing; the search database is not all that extensive. I know it seems like Amazon has everything in the world, but I have run into "no hits" on some of my less well known books. For example, Michael Chabonne's Yiddish Policeman's Union. I searched Amazon, and they came up with a double set of books, because they're trying to make a sale. I tried Library of Congress, but no record appeared. That always confuses me, I always thought the LC had EVERYTHING catalogged. LibraryThing is supposed to be a quick hit, and if I can't find it within two minutes, I won't put a whole lot of effort into it. So I settled for the Amazon find and edited.

LibraryThing was where I first tried to use Tags. It made me smile to see my early efforts at tagging, which, by the way, I have since edited. I have learned some things this past year after all!