It's a Library Thing thing

So I have to say, I was kind of disappointed in LibraryThing. I had been meaning to get around to getting my own account for some time because I thought it would be a great way to keep track of all of the books that I read. Maybe I just need to play around with it some more, but I honestly prefer the Visual Bookshelf app on Facebook. It just seems easier to navigate and all of my Facebook friends with Visual Bookshelf automatically show up on my profile page.

The idea behind both applications is a good one. At my previous library, we were always encouraging people to keep a reading journal to help them remember what they had read. I tried it myself for awhile but it worked about as well for me as keeping a regular diary did (AKA not at all). With the online applications, however, I can see where it would be easier for people keep on top of it. Heck, I am doing it fairly well with Visual Bookshelf. We are getting ready to phase out the use of checkout cards in our books, and a lot of people will be angry because that is how they tell if they have read the book before or not. Library Thing and other like apps may be a good way to help wean our patrons off of the cards.