Putting the Books in Library 2.0 (Part II)

In the last post, I talked about how LibraryThing works; today, I’d like to talk about how LibraryThing can work for libraries in the following ways:

1. Reader’s advisory
2. Networking with other libraries
3. Introducing tagging and 2.0 to patrons

1.  Readers’s Advisory

I think the most obvious application of LibraryThing for librarians is during reader’s advisory sessions.   I thought reader’s advisory was going to be the best part of being a librarian, but after almost 2 years of freezing up every-time someone asks, “Do you know of any good books?”, I’m beginning to dread it.  (Full disclosure: I always try to find a way to suggest “The Three Musketeers”.  Looking for a good romance novel?  It’s the book for you!  Looking for a good mystery?  Um, there’s some intrigue in “Musketeers”.   Looking for a history book on socio-economic implications of the Cold War?  Read “The Three Musketeeers” instead!)

What I especially like is the different approaches LT takes to suggestions.  It offers lists of books owned/read by people who read the book, lists of books with similar tags, and lists of books with similar subject headings.  It also then links from each list entry to titles suggested for that book in the list, so digging deeper is made really easy.  (There’s also an UnSuggester — books you won’t like based on the suggestion!  It’s not perfect – entering “War and Peace”, a book I loved, returned a list featuring a slew of my favorite trashy romance novels — but it’s a fun tool to add some humor to reader’s advisory.)  Any help I can get in thinking up something to suggest is welcome.  Here’s what LT suggested for alternatives to — what else? — “The Three Musketeers”: http://www.librarything.com/suggester/7970

 2.  Networking with Other Librarians

LibraryThing has a section devoted to group discussions, with groups focusing on genres, authors and other common interests.   There’s a lively and large group called “Librarians who LibraryThing“.  Discussions range from asking for cataloging advice to sharing ideas for book talks and programs, even to blowing off steam about on-the-job aggravations.  It can be distressingly easy to get caught up in the day-to-day goings-on of the library you work in — having a fun, quick, easy and interesting place to go to meet and discuss other librarians (without leaving your desk) is always a good thing.

3.  Introducing Tagging and 2.0 to Patrons

Why should we hog all the fun web tools?  We should be sharing all the fun things we’re learning with our users.  Most library users are readers, right?  So LibraryThing might be just the hook to get them playing around with interactive web sites.  Plus, tagging books is a great way to gain insight into how our users search for materials.  We all know our OPACs aren’t always perfect, and that users often get frustrated with vague subject headings.  Giving them the chance to apply their own subject headings might just lead to a catalog that’s geared towards the user finding the books they want, rather than a catalog that’s geared towards librarians keeping the books in order. 

 In my own experience, I want to read books that capture me.  A book can be about a subject I’m ambivalent about, but if it’s well-written and has great characters, I’m all over it.  So I used “great characters” as a tag in my catalog.  If more people got creative with tagging, we could search more flexibly, in ways that might mesh more with the reader’s concept of what they’re looking for.