Goodreads has more than forty million members, and is the largest social network for readers. Not surprised, this is a free website for book lovers. Members can share books, track what they read, make lists of what they would like to read, plan to read, and recommend books. Others can comment on your posts or you can keep the profile private. You can also rate books, provide reviews, join a discussion group, start a book club, and even share your own writing.
You can register with your e-mail, or Google, Twitter, or Facebook accounts. To add new books, click on "create a shelf" tab on left and name your shelf. Next, use the search function and type in book title, then click the green “Want to Read” button, here you have the option to rate the book as well. After, adding books to my shelf, I browsed through the site's features. The top tabs include: "friends," where you can add via Facebook, G-mail, Twitter, "recommendations," you can rate 20 and get recommendations, and the "explore" tab, which over a vast amount of other links such as giveaways, popular, choice awards, e-books, genres, a "fun" link that includes quizzes and quotes, and a community link. I must say I spent a lot of time on this tab!
Although it was not difficult to create a shelf and add books, I found that some of the other online book communities were easier to navigate through. This one took me a little longer to figure out. I really liked the extra links I mentioned above, and the neatness of the shelf.
Chandler, O. (2015). About Goodreads [Webpage]. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/about/us
LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers. It helps you create a catalog of books you own, books you've read, or would like to read. Your books are organized into collections, and have the option to add them manually through search, or import them from other services. It allows users to search, sort, tag, and use the Library of Congress and Dewey systems to organize collections. LibraryThing searches the Library of Congress, Amazon sites, and more than 690 world libraries. You can access your catalog from anywhere, even from your mobile phone.
You can classify your collection by creating a wish list, books read, and currently reading.
LibraryThing connects people based on books they share, and recommends books to you.
Signing up is free up to adding the first 200 books, and all you need is your email, it's that easy. After I entered the site, adding books was easy. Just click on the "add books to your library," and type in the title of the book. Each entry has as a work page. In this page you can edit facts about the book, and switch book covers. In addition, each book also has a link to customize your list, whether it's on your "wish list," "to be read," and "currently reading," to name a few. You can also connect with the author and find out some information about him/her, such as events. Other features on the side tab include links to: "reviews," "communities," "lists," and "helpers."
I found this site very user friendly and easy to navigate through. Adding books to shelf and customizing was quick and simple. I liked this one, but the only setback I saw was the price. To upgrade, it would cost you from $10- $25, after adding 200 books.
Works Cited
About LibraryThing. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.librarything.com/about
LibraryThing connects people based on books they share, and recommends books to you.
Signing up is free up to adding the first 200 books, and all you need is your email, it's that easy. After I entered the site, adding books was easy. Just click on the "add books to your library," and type in the title of the book. Each entry has as a work page. In this page you can edit facts about the book, and switch book covers. In addition, each book also has a link to customize your list, whether it's on your "wish list," "to be read," and "currently reading," to name a few. You can also connect with the author and find out some information about him/her, such as events. Other features on the side tab include links to: "reviews," "communities," "lists," and "helpers."
I found this site very user friendly and easy to navigate through. Adding books to shelf and customizing was quick and simple. I liked this one, but the only setback I saw was the price. To upgrade, it would cost you from $10- $25, after adding 200 books.
Works Cited
About LibraryThing. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.librarything.com/about
Shelfari introduces readers to a global community of book lovers and encourages them to share their literary preferences with peers, friends, and others around the world. It is owned by Amazon, and is a place for authors, aspiring authors, publishers, and readers. Shelfari has various features to help groups connect with each other in a fun and engaging way.
Some of it's features include: building virtual bookshelves to express your likes to friends and to the world, discover books that are popular within your circles of friends, rate and discuss books online, find people with similar reading tastes, online book groups to further explore literature, share ideas, and interact with, and learn from authors.
I did have an amazon account already, so signing in to Shelfari was quick. It is very user friendly, and I created my profile and began adding titles to it, the process was effortless. It is simple, just type in the title of the book in the search box on top, and a list appears. Click the "add" button, then it asks if you read it, then if you "own it, or it's on your "wish list." It proceeds to let you add "character description," add "tags," and you're done! Even though users create only one shelf, I still liked the clean and "uncluttered" look of the page. Users can scroll left and right to view their shelf, and books are categorized by: "plan to read," "reading now," and "I've read" tabs. You also have the option of "editing" and can rate and add comments. I really liked this one as well.
Works Cited
About Shelfari. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.shelfari.com/Shelfari/AboutUs.aspx
Booklikes is a free reader's blog platform that is aimed at writers and book bloggers. You can create new shelves, make custom reading statuses, and import books from Goodreads.
Your profile offers a stylish and your shelf displays in several rows, and adds a next page if need be.
BookLikes states that users can discover great books by exploring book blogs and book reviews. Users have the ability to write reviews, recommend and suggest great reads by “liking” and “reblogging” favorite book reviews, collect books and personalize bookshelves with a design and book sources, add as many shelves and books as you wish , meet the book lovers, writers, reviewers, bloggers and explore their reading world, follow those with a similar reading taste, inspire others with quotes or post photos of authors you love, get engaged in book discussions, and share your reading life.
The initial set up for BookLikes, was quite easy as well. To add books, just type in the title at the top right corner of page. A list of books appear, then just click on the book you want to add and a summary of the book appears, and right below it, a "+ shelf" tab appears, and you click on that. Then you have the option to add to your personalized shelf, and choosing "read," "planning to read," or "currently reading." You can also click on "post" to add text, quote, a video, or links. An advantage that I found to BookLikes is the fact that it has a little icon that is simply just the letter " i" in a circle. If you drag that button to your bookmark toolbar, it will allow you to add books directly from a website to your BookLikes blog. I like that the shelf looks neatly organized. In addition, the site includes links to: book clubs, discussions, events, giveaways, goodies, daily deals to name a few. I spent quite a bit of time exploring the great daily deals, which link directly to Amazon. It could be dangerous! Lol. At least for me it was.
Works Cited
About booklikes. (2015). Retrieved from http://booklikes.com/about
BiblioNasium blends technology with personal connection to create a supportive, engaging space for reading success. It is for kids and serves as a guide for parents. BiblioNasium's mission is to instill good reading habits at a young age; to promote reading as a social activity, and to connect kids, parents and teachers to create a virtual “reading village.”
Biblionasium offers things that the others do not, such as online reading logs, where children can track their reading, including the date, level, number of pages and length of session. The online reading logs provide teachers and parents with a paperless tool to monitor and assess progress. There was also a class set up feature for teachers that the other options did not offer.
I feel Biblionasium is great for schools because it's age appropriate and safe for students, since the social media part is teacher controlled. In addition, online reading logs can be accessed by the teacher, student and parent. The students can also find books on their guided reading level, and teachers can track what students are reading. One benefit of this site for educators is that you can create reading challenges for your students, either as a whole group or just a set number of students. I feel this is invaluable as this provides differentiated instruction for all users. I can see the value that this site has for educators, reading specialists, students, parents, and librarians, as well as a site that students would enjoy better than the other sites mentioned above.
Works Cited
About biblionasium. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.biblionasium.com/about_us
Biblionasium offers things that the others do not, such as online reading logs, where children can track their reading, including the date, level, number of pages and length of session. The online reading logs provide teachers and parents with a paperless tool to monitor and assess progress. There was also a class set up feature for teachers that the other options did not offer.
I feel Biblionasium is great for schools because it's age appropriate and safe for students, since the social media part is teacher controlled. In addition, online reading logs can be accessed by the teacher, student and parent. The students can also find books on their guided reading level, and teachers can track what students are reading. One benefit of this site for educators is that you can create reading challenges for your students, either as a whole group or just a set number of students. I feel this is invaluable as this provides differentiated instruction for all users. I can see the value that this site has for educators, reading specialists, students, parents, and librarians, as well as a site that students would enjoy better than the other sites mentioned above.
Works Cited
About biblionasium. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.biblionasium.com/about_us
In conclusion, after analyzing each option, I considered the ages of students, which social media site is appropriate for their individual and class needs, as well as privacy and safety factors. For educators, Biblionasium would be the best choice for an elementary school setting. Some of the other sites like Booklikes and Shelfari would be great for middle and high school students. Although all sites are great, it depends what the user prefers. I had a hard time deciding which one was best for me personally, since I had not explored these sites in depth until this assignment. In my opinion, I feel that as I continue to navigate through each site a little more, I will be able decide which suits my personal needs best. For now, I will continue to have fun exploring each one.
That being said, which one do you prefer?
That being said, which one do you prefer?
It's unreal that LibraryThing would start costing money after 200 books. That would probably knock a lot of of librarians out. We read so many books!
ReplyDeleteYes Lana, that's exactly what I was thinking too.
DeleteI did not realize Goodreads is one of the largest social networks.
ReplyDeleteMornee,
DeleteI didn't know either until I started reading about all the sites.
I was surprised to see that Library Thing eventually charges a fee after 200 books. That's crazy! I really enjoyed using Shelfari simply because it is so easy to use!
ReplyDeleteYes Melissa, me too I too enjoyed Shelfari, but still can't decide which one I liked best, I need more time to use them more.
DeleteI guess I missed where there was a charge after 200 books on LibraryThing. I think there are better sites out there that are completely free. I definitely wouldn't pay for it!
ReplyDeleteI've seen where people want to use LibraryThing as a cataloging database. Maybe that's why they limit the books one can put there. $25.00 for a lifetime membership for some libraries might be a good solution. Of course, since they comply with COPA, no one under 13 can get an account. And the upper limit is 5,000 books (with some exceptions). But I'm thinking a church library or one in a small high school-- might be useful!
ReplyDeleteI liked LibraryThing but I think Biblionasium is best for using in schools. I also like it the best it was easy to use.I had fun exploring all of them also.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't pay for it either, especially when there are others that are free and maybe a little better.
ReplyDelete