For those of us who would just love to organize and catalog our book collections if we could only find an easy system, LibraryThing offers a solution.
The web-based service lets you enter your titles one by one, either by hand or by searching Amazon, the Library of Congress, and other online libraries. Once you enter your books, your entire library is cataloged in a searchable online database at LibraryThing.com. You can choose to keep your library private or to share it with your friends.
Each book is stored with its appropriate metadata, including a picture of the cover, a synopsis, your notes about the book, and your friends' comments. Books can also be tagged a la Flickr and del.icio.us, and tags are shareable. You and your friends can compare lists and make recommendations to each other. Also, (and this is the valuable part), you can use the system when you lend books out to see who is currently borrowing what. Does this mean I can start letting my friends borrow from my prized Bukowski collection again?
LibraryThing lets users add up to 200 books for free. After that, there's a nominal fee. Registered users can import and export library data to other applications, and they even give you a dynamic widget to put in your blog template that lets your friends see what you're reading at the moment.
Well, it's about time, isn't it?
