All about LibraryThing

Are you a book lover or cataloger at heart? Or do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read?

Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you.

Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes.

Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title -- it’s so easy that you don’t even need MARC record training to do it – to connect with other users through your similar reading tastes.

There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing:

- You can even view your books on a virtual shelf,
- add a widget (see sidebar as an example) to display titles that are in your catalog or
- install a LT Search box on your blog.

So why not join the ranks and create your own library online. With over 65,000 registered (BTW: LibraryThing also has group forum for librarian users and over 4.7 million cataloged books, so you're bound to discover something new).

Discovery Resources:

About LibraryThing
Library Thing tour
LibraryThing blog (updates & news)

Discovery Exercise:

1. Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
2. Add a least 5 books to your library.
3. Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog.

Roll your own search engine with Rollyo

Do you have a group of websites that are your favorites? Or a set of similar online resources that you frequently use to answer homework or reference questions?

Well Rollyo may be the tool for you.Rollyo allows you to create your own search tool for just the websites you know and trust.Take a look at some of these search rolls that have already been created:

Public Domain e-Books Search
Rare Book Library Search
Quick Quotes
Explore other rolls here.

Discovery Exercise:

1. Explore Rollyo and create an account for yourself.
2. Create a search roll for any subject you like.

Create a post in your blog about your experience and link to your search roll. Can you see a potential use for tools like this?

OPTIONAL:

Add your searchroll to your blog

1. Go to Rollyo athttp://www.rollyo.com/

2. Click on DASHBOARD

3. Scroll down the page and click on SEARCHBOX

4. Put the name and URL of your blog in the place provided

5. Click on the search rolls you want and click on the > arrow to transfer them into the into selected SEARCHBOX ROLLS box

6. Go to STYLE and select the type of Rollyo icon you want (it will preview your selection )

7. Go to the COPY AND PASTE CODE BOX. Highlight all the code that is in the box and copy it to your clipboard (highlight the code, go to edit on the toolbar and select copy OR hold down the Crtl key and click the C key at the same time )

8. Sign into your blog and go to the dashboard

9. Go to template

10. Select Add and arrange page elements

11. From this page select HTML/JAVA SCRIPT and click Add to Blog

12. This will lead you to a page that has a space to puta.

A title

b. ContentsKey in a title (Such a rollyo)Cut and paste the html contents you have copied into the CONTENTSDo this by going to Edit on the toolbar and selecting paste OR hold the Ctrl Key on the keyboard down and click on the V key at the same time

Click on SAVE CHANGES.

Preview your blog and the rollyo search should be on the template down the side of the page