Shelfari and LibraryThing are social networking sites for people who love to read. Both sites serve the same basic purpose, but the interfaces and accessories for each site differ. In the following discussion, I will provide an overview of the “theory” behind these sites and a very brief list of the merits and flaws associated with each site.
Although both websites are partially owned by Amazon.com and are more or less the same thing, there has been some controversy between the two sites. LibraryThing founder, Tim Spaulding, ardently criticized Shelfari with accusations of astroturfing and spamming, referring to Shelfari as, “social networking rapists” and a “bad actor” (complete article) On a personal note, I have used Shelfari for over a year, and have never suffered a spam problem, so either they've fixed the problem, or I've narrowly avoided social networking rape. I would not let the spam remark frighten you from opening an account. I simply advise that you use a “dummy” email address when opening both accounts.
Shelfari/LibraryThing Overview
The purposes of both networking sites are:
1. To help you network with people who read the same or similar books as you
2. To be able to share your opinions or ask for information about books and authors
3. To help you connect and keep updated on your favorite authors
4. To help you find new books and authors you might enjoy
5. To help you organize and maintain a record of your personal book collection
6. To keep a record of material you have read in the past
Your virtual shelf does not have to be limited to print material. You can include audio books, graphics novels, basically, anything you want to upload to your shelf. Each website also enables you to build a wish list, which will allow you to keep track of random books you may hear about in which you might be interested, as well as provides a means of subtly hinting about potential birthday and holiday gifts.
Before Getting Started…
Keep in mind, this is a social networking site. You need to approach building your account with the same caution as you would when opening a Facebook or MySpace account. Take into consideration if you plan to use your account for professional networking or purely personal fun. I generally will put everything I read on my shelf, but if I was the head of my child’s school’s PTA or a children’s Sunday School teacher, some people might take issue with what I read. For the purpose of this exercise, I am assuming readers are creating accounts for private use. All Shelfari accounts are free, and LibraryThing allows free accounts for up to two hundred books, so feel free to make multiple accounts if necessary.
Getting Started…
What are some of you favorite books? To get started, think of between 20-50. When building your account on either website, the books you pick are critical, as other users on the site will find and network with you according to the books you have listed in your account. Unlike MySpace, LibraryThing and Shelfari do not allow much personalization for your actual profile—your personality is projected by the books you have listed.
On either website, you can upload a book list from a website or Excel file, but I recommend working with the manual features for practice. As you can download your booklist from each website into an Excel file, transferring books from Shelfari to LibraryThing should be easy; however, I have noticed that tags do not always transfer. I suggest waiting on tagging your books until after next week’s tagging lesson. I am not going to give detailed instructions about setting up accounts in this blog, so bring your questions with you or contact me.
Shelfari
Useful Websites:
Shelfari
Shelfari Blog
Frequently Asked Questions
Shelfari Questions Group
Create a virtual shelf to show off your books, see what your friends are reading and discover new books - all for free! Shelfari lets you build a shelf to display the books you’ve read, want to read or are reading now. Then you get to be the critic by rating and reviewing your books so your friends can see what you think. Connect with your friends to see which books you have in common, what they’re reading or what they think of the books they’ve read. Ask your friends for book recommendations or create a group where you can talk about your books. There are so many great books out there, but sometimes finding them can be a chore. Shelfari lets you see what other members are reading now and what books are the most popular. You can even see the top books in your favorite genre! (http://www.shelfari.com/)
Shelfari Merits:
1. Shelfari is a visually pleasing, free website.
2. It is a relatively easy to use website that is easy to navigate.
3. You can keep track of what you have read in the past, as well as find new books and authors.
Shelfari Flaws:
1. There are not many extras and options available to users.
2. The high reliance on graphics may make the site difficult to view with slow internet connections.
If you are looking for an easy way to keep track of the books you have read and find new ones, Shelfari is a great website for you. The virtual bookshelf graphic is a relaxing, pleasant way to view your profile. If you are considering applying one of these websites to promote the library among patrons, Shelfari being free and less overwhelming may be the better choice. If you are a parent with a child learning to read, the virtual bookshelf is a great way to encourage kids, as they can visibly see their progress.
Conversely, if you work in a library, you may be annoyed by your inability to control the books on your shelf. Although you can tag books and apply a custom organization, if you are accustomed to more standardized means of organizing material, this might be a drawback. There are many fewer options, interfaces, and “playthings” than LibraryThing.
LibraryThi
ng
Useful Websites:
LibraryThing
LibraryThing Blog
About LibraryThing
LibraryThing Introduction
LibraryThing is a site for book lovers. LibraryThing helps you create a library-quality catalog of your books. You can do all of them or just what you're reading now. And because everyone catalogs online, they also catalog together. LibraryThing connects people based on the books they share. Your profile connects you to everyone else on LibraryThing. If you want, you can tell people all about yourself and your library. (Or, you can keep it completely private.) Your profile connects you to people who share your books. With over 470,000 users and 30 million books in the system, you'll find some "eerily similar" libraries. LibraryThing knows a lot about books. The book information page gives you library-quality data. It's also full of social information. Each book page shows you who has the book and what they think about it—tags, reviews, even conversations. LibraryThing knows how books connect, providing some of the best recommendations on the web. (http://www.librarything.com/)
LibraryThing Merits:
1. There are many options and extras available.
2. The user has more control in manipulating screen views and the shelf material, and more information is generated about the material.
3. Because you can control your account to display mainly text, it may be the better choice for slower internet connections.
LibraryThing Flaws:
1. The website is not completely free.
2. The user can be overwhelmed by the extras and options.
If you are a habitual micromanager who must have as much control and information at your disposal to be happy, LibraryThing is the website for you. I read one blog describing LibraryThing as a site for “MLIS Wannabes,” and I think this to be very accurate. I have been in small rural libraries that could use this website as an effective cataloging system. If you have a huge private collection, this is a great site to help you keep it organized. Because this is a website so geared toward providing detailed information about books, it may be the better place to network with other libraries.
Contrarily, if you work in a library, you may not want to log on to a site reminding you of what you have just spent eight hour doing. The options available to manipulate your information may be a bit overwhelming, especially to someone just trying to track down a good book. Additionally, although many of the extras, such as the gallery and legacy libraries are fun features, they serve no real function.
Conclusion
Both websites serve their purpose. The website you choose to invest with your time will probably depend on your personality, if your willing to spend money, and the purpose of your account. Both are at least partially owned by Amazon.com, which has some people saying they may merge or one site may be dropped in support of the other. Although many outspoken people fiercely advocate one over the other, when you actually compare the two websites, they both serve their intended purpose.
If you would like an additional comparison of the websites, take a look at Sims Learning Connections Blog. This blog goes into a bit more of a personal, detailed than I have here (this is supposed to be fun week after all, and I need something to talk about for 30 minutes).
If you enjoy these websites, you additionally may want to check out GoodReads and BookJetty for further comparisons.
Be sure to check back over the next few days, as we discuss some more fun websites to visit!
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