Library Thing

UPDATE: Shelfari.com has a much better UI and is just as awesome.  I’ve made the switch

I can’t remember whose blogger profile I was looking at but I saw a link for LibraryThing.com.  I had created a personal web application at home to query Amazon Web Services to bring back all the information I could about my books.  I did this years ago so that I could save it all to a CD and put it in my firebox in case of theft or fire/water damage.  I also sent a copy of the CD to my renters insurance company.  They were very surprised and actually starting querying their members for such items.

I like LibraryThing.com because it does everything I need.  I can tag items for grouping and it has links to buyers, like Borders, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.  There are reviews and a “social” network to see who else owns the book or is currently reading it.  You can catalog when you read the book and other great metrics.  I like the comments section to put peoples names into, in case I loan the book out.  Helps me remember where it is.

If you don’t have an account, it is almost mandatory as a nerd with a library. It’s a centralized way of remembering what books you own.

Yes, Safari Books Online is freaking awesome, but sometimes a normal book is what is needed.  I know I can’t study with Safari (personal opinion).  I use it more as a reference.

Check out my library here.

Special Note: They are in Beta and are a growing website.  If the visitor load gets to big sometimes, you can’t view catalogs without signing in.

Comments

Matt D.: Also a cool program – Delicious Library I got a license via MacHeist, and while it’s not exactly what you’re saying, it lets you keep a catalog of all of your books, movies and games and uses AWS to give you up to tdate information (and download cover/case art) for each and displays them on a virtual shelf.

Jason Meridth: @Matt D. Awesome. Looks very cool. I prefer free tools that run on the web, like delicious.com for bookmarks, etc. Mainly because I’m cheap. :) I actually have a Mac Book Pro, so I’ll definitely check it out.

James W.: You should also check out http://www.shelfari.com