Method 5: Tag, You’re It!

Since I’m continuing this online class quite a while after the initial offering, there are some methods I have since discovered on my own. This is the case for learning about social reading sites.

Goodreads is one of the several profiled allowing you to add books you have read, are currently reading, or wish to read and to compare your list with others in the community, both friends and strangers. Recently, I connected my Goodreads profile to another social media, Facebook. Since I often find Facebook rather vacuous, I recently added some Facebook friends to Goodreads and also linked my Goodreads account to Facebook so my reading updates appear. When I re-read an old favorite book, an out-of-state Facebook friend commented that my choice looked interesting and she had ordered a copy!

 Although I have read all my life, I haven’t kept track of every book I’ve read. Nor have I kept a consistent list of them. A few months ago, I discovered dedicated books to keep such records. Instead of buying one, I created one from a blank sketchbook but I admit to falling behind. It is much quicker and easier to list your reading habits online. The more I use Goodreads, the more I learn. I’ve added their book montage widget to my art blog, read reviews of old favorites, seen which books my friends are reading, discovered others had read and commented about some my own reviews.

Three videos from Library Thing for Libraries really got my attention. One showed how the site help libraries create a “Library Anywhere” presence on mobile devices. Another explained how libraries can use statistics from that to track patron usage. Another described patrons using phone apps to scan a book’s bar code, get a match, and then locate it at a local library.

As rapidly as technology advances and connects, the more tools libraries have to reach their patrons. Social reading sites are great tools.