#16 Library Thing

Well, I got bogged down with Flickr so I decided to go in a non-linear fashion and select a random 23 Thing (specifically Library Thing) to complete.

This was a good way to jump start my N. Texas 2.0 participation again. As I suspected other life events got in the way of the time I could devote to this.

I had always planned to check out Library Thing and am happy to at least get past browsing and actually sign up and begin adding my personal Library a little at a time. It is a wonderful idea and service and well executed. I've added a few titles from my Library. The cataloger in me would like to spend hours really dissecting every title and writing long, effusive reviews. The time-short part of me wants to add a few details and move on.

I love this site. Interesting to see others who have my books.

It is telling to read about tags since the first sentence describing their use says "Tags are a simple way to categorize books according to how you think of them, not how some library official does" (emphasis is mine). I think that points to a key access problem/image with libraries. Cataloging isn't perfect -- I mean who thinks of "cookery" instead of "cooking", but still... why is "some library official" akin to "clueless bureaucrat?" I mean libraries aren't a terrible model to consider when organizing books.

I found the site a little chaotic and cluttered. I was not sure where to look first. I think too many things engaged my attention. I look forward to exploring in more depth in the future.

I love the Librarians Who Library Thing -- especially the funny requests from patrons.