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mimmyof5
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| Posted: Sept 20 2007 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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How many of you book loving ladies have utilized Library Thing? I'm wondering if it would be worth my time, and the 200 free book limit wouldn't cut it so I would need to pay. I do like the idea that you can see the cover of the book. Maybe it would be a good way to keep track of my books and utilize them better. Any opinions?
Janet
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Mary Chris
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What is Library Thing?
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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Macmom
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LOVE LOVE LOVE library thing. I paid for membership. I've got 550 books cataloged (about half of what I have). It's helped me catalog my living history books, and quite a few times I've checked it before I saw a book I "just HAD to buy!" and discovered I already had it! (Much easier than looking through ALL my bookshelves!)
Its also helped my friends look through my library and ask to borrow books. When I hit a new topic in history, I can scan my titles faster (and some of them are tagged for specific subjects) and find the right book.
Peace,
Macmom
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Catholic family life works on the same principle as a washing machine- clothes get clean by agitation.
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mimmyof5
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Library Thing
How long did it take you to enter 550 books? I'm picturing myself sitting at the computer, behind stacks of books, for the next few weeks, and the family ordering out for pizza every night  . Or are you putting your books in as you come to them in your studies?
I did find some other homeschooling moms' lists - like Lissa's. I've always wanted to snoop around others' libraries.
Janet
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Erin
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Janet
There is also Readerware which you can give your friends access to as well. You receive the first month for free to decide if you like it. I think it was around $60 American. If you have ISBN numbers it is really fast to upload, and my husband bought me a bar scanner on ebay so it should be faster. (Haven't found it since the move  ) You also receive pictures with it if 'findable'. I bought this before librarything, I have library thing for my blog pics. Considering I have thousands  (mostly inherited) I haven't finished, in fact I started and haven't finished.
Macmom
What was the cost of library thing? Probably cheaper
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Erin
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aiereis
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My husband looked into Library Thing, but decided on Book Collectorz. He didn't like the fact that LT was an online catalog. He thought that if the company ever went out of business all our effort to catalog the books would be lost. With the program that we bought the information is stored on our computer. DH just backs it up periodically should the hard drive fail. Both programs allow you to enter books by ISBN and show you the cover picture once the book is added. They also give you the option of using a bar scanner if you have one.
I don't know if LT allows you to add extra information to your books, but we can add where we purchased the book, how much we paid, when we acquired it and its condition. If you ever loan out your books, there is a line you can fill out noting who the book was lent to and you can set a filter to show all the books that are loaned out. There is also a place where we can add extra information, so we can say "This book was a Christmas present in 2005 from Grandma" if we wanted to. I think it costs $40, so it is more expensive than LT.
As far as time it takes, that partly depends on how much information you want about the book. The information obtained from the ISBN takes next to no time at all. If a book is too old for an ISBN it takes more time because the information may need to be hand entered. If you want to add extra stuff like the cost, where you bought it and who gave it to you it will take more time. Ideally, I would enter 5-10 books a day which would take less than 30 minutes, but I have been forgetting lately. However, whenever we get new books I always catalog them right away.
--Christina
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Macmom
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I am mostly cataloging my homeschool, living history books. So I spend a few weeks each year (off and on) typing the titles in. I'm up to the Exploration of America- I'll spend a few hours getting started on this this weekend, and it will take me a few hours, off and on, to complete. (The other option is "hiring" one of my teens to do it for me. They always want a few bucks to pay for itunes!)
Yes, I did consider the risk of the company going out of business... but I like the option of my friends being able to view my books. Software wouldn't allow me to share this way.
Oh, my collection is at:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=Macmom
Peace,
Macmom
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Catholic family life works on the same principle as a washing machine- clothes get clean by agitation.
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JEJE
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Wow, I've never heard of these programs before! I actually did buy a book we already owned this year Maybe it's time to get our collection cataloged!
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Jenica - Blessed mom of:
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Library Thing
