Here are some links that show LibraryThing and LibraryThing for Libraries in action.

LibraryThing page

Sonoma County Library: This is an example of a library catalog that does not use LTFL.

Los Gatos Library: An example of a library that is using LTFL.

LibraryThing for Libraries

Import to LibraryThing from Amazon

Adding books to LibraryThing one at a time is not hard but, if you have very many books to add, it can get kind of tedious.

The solution is to use LibraryThing's Import page. Use it to import books en masse from a web page or from a file. It can handle web pages from a variety of sources and files in a variety of formats.

I decided to import from an Amazon Listmania! list of Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. I copied and pasted the Listmania! page's URL into the Grab from a webpage field on the Import page, then clicked the Grab button.

The Import options page came up. Ignoring the other options, I entered the following tags into the Mass tagging field to apply to all the books in the list: fantasy, British, humor, Discworld.

The Import results page came up telling me that my list had been entered into a queue to be added to my library later. I followed a link from there back to the Import page, where I learned that the importation should be completed in less than an hour.

A few minutes later, the books had been added to my library, expanding it fourfold.

LibraryThing's Blogs

LibraryThing publishes not one, but two blogs to keep you up to date on the latest LibraryThing info.

These are:

• LibraryThing Blog: LibraryThing's features and announcements blog
• Thingology: LibraryThing's ideas blog, on the philosophy and methods of tags, libraries and suchnot.

If you want the latest announcements about LibraryThing--new features, how members are using it, the availability of Early Reviewer books, the latest efforts in flash-mob cataloging--then read the LibraryThing Blog.

On the other hand, if you want to learn more about the technical side of LibraryThing--LibraryThing for Libraries, the latest API for accessing LibraryThing's data, other library-related news--then read Thingology.

LibraryThing for Libraries

Reviews Enhancement

Another great way for patrons to get the most out of your library catalog is to add the reviews enhancement package. This offers users a whole new level of information and interactivity.

User Ratings and Reviews: Lets library users rate and review right in the catalog. There is also a moderation panel built into LTFL. This offers a simple way of keeping tabs on content if desired.

LibraryThing Reviews: LTFL comes with over 200,000 high-quality reviews from LibraryThing.

Widgets: Patrons can show off reviews and their library with library-branded blog widgets.

Facebook app: The Facebook app stands alone (in Facebook) and any patron of yours who signs up to review in your catalog can then go add the app and have the reviews they wrote show up in their friend feed.

LibraryThing for Libraries

(Catalog Enhancements)

LibraryThing is a great website for individuals to keep track of their books, write and read reviews, and connect with people all over the world who share an interest in books. http://www.librarything.com/


LibraryThing for Libraries (LTFL) provides existing library systems (ILS/OPAC's) with a new and engaging way for patrons to search and browse. I will be writing a series of posts on what this service has to offer.


If I am looking for a new book to read, I might go to the local library and type in an author that I know I like. A list of books by that person will come up. And that's it. What if I want to read something similar, but by a different author? I could do a subject search, but, more than likely, I will get an overwhelming list of titles to wade through. A keyword search? Even more overwhelming. This is where LibraryThing for Libraries comes in.


LTFL offers two enhancement packages: Catalog Enhancements and Reviews Enhancements. This post will go over the basics of the catalog enhancement.

Catalog Enhancement Package

This package provides more data for each book and more points for searching. All of the search information relates back to what can be found in the library's OPAC.

-Book recommendations. High-quality recommendations of similar books that point to books available in the library. These recommendations are based on data collected from the over 20 million books on LibraryThing - what books members own and how they rate and tag them.

-Tag browsing. Tag clouds for books, and tag-based searches drawn from the 40 million tags added by LibraryThing members. LTFL has preselected appropriate tags (excludes the highly personal), and has a rating system for the risque. Each library can choose to include them or not.

-Other editions and translations. Provides links to other editions and translations of a work that can be found in the library.

http://www.librarything.com/forlibraries

LibraryThing Blog Widgets

Want to show off your LibraryThing library on your personal web page?

LibraryThing provides a blog widget that you can add to any web page that accepts Javascript. Check out the LibraryThing blog widgets in this blog's sidebar. Adding a widget to a Blogger blog like this one is a breeze:

1. Navigate to LibraryThing's Blog Widgets page.
   On the left is a simple form with values you can change to customize your widget, on the near right is the Javascript code you'll copy and paste into your HTML, and on the far right is a preview of what the widget will look like.
   
   
2. Customize your blog widget.
   Select a preset widget and customize it, then click the Make it! button to update the code and preview what it looks like.
   
   You can even enter your Amazon Associate ID so you can get paid for any purchases your widget is responsible for.
   
   I selected the random book covers preset, unchecked the option to show a header, and entered my Amazon Associate ID. Here's the code I generated:
   

   <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.librarything.com/jswidget.php?reporton=cloudmonkey&show=random&header=&num=12&covers=small-fixed-width&text=none&onlycovers=1&tag=alltags&amazonassoc=cloudmonkey-20&css=1&style=5&version=1">
   </script>

3. Select the Javascript code and copy it.
   You can paste this code anywhere you can add Javascript. Here we'll cover how to add it to the sidebar of a Blogger blog.
   
   
4. Click the Layout tab in Blogger's customization interface.
   
   
5. Click Add a Gadget in the sidebar area.
   
   
6. Select the HTML/Javascript gadget in the Add a Gadget pop-up.
   
   
7. Enter a title, paste the Javascript into the Content area, and click Save.
   
   
8. View your blog.
   Here's what the widget from the code above looks like:

Inaugural Post

Welcome to the Shelf Stompers blog!

We are four students just starting in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University.

The initial subject of this blog will be LibraryThing, the social networking/bookmarking tool for people who love books. Each of us will create a library, review books, and explore the features of LibraryThing. As we go along, we'll report our experiences and impressions, share our book reviews, and explain the interesting features we discover.