Lesson 3: LibraryThing
You may have never dreamed or aspired to become a librarian — despite its glitz and glamor.
However, you may have thought about how to best organize your personal collection of books and other media.
Perhaps, though, you didn’t want to have to learn about classification schemes such as the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Classification; rest assured that you don’t have to — especially if you use a service called LibraryThing.
Take a tour!
(By the way, remember blogs from a previous lesson? Check out the official LibraryThing blog.)
Please keep in mind that LibraryThing offers a free account that allows you to enter or catalog 200 items!
Like other Web 2.0 applications, LibraryThing allows users to assign “tags” to items. Tags are one-word labels. Let’s say one of your favorite books is The Stranger by Albert Camus. Tags for this item could include the following: algiers, camus, existentialism, etc.
The Arlington Heights Memorial Library’s catalog actually uses some features of LibraryThing, including tags. Take a look at this entry for the following book: Killing Rommel. You’ll see a constellation of tags or keywords, known as a tag cloud.
This month’s assignment:
Create a free LibraryThing account (which requires that you select a username, password, and enter a valid email address).
Find and add (i.e., catalog) 5 items.
“Tag” the items that you collect.
Reminder: You can ask questions and post remarks in the “Comments” area.
Tags: tags
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
fun assignment - might use in future