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Goodreads vs. Librarything vs. Shelfari

When it comes to social networking sites, book lovers have it made. There are several popular websites that allow readers to catalog their books, share reviews, and connect with like-minded bookworms. But with choice comes decision and selecting the best site for you can take a bit of research and experimentation. Like many readers and aspiring librarians, I used to track my reading using spreadsheets, so I was thrilled with the features offered by Goodreads, Librarything, and Shelfari, and have been compulsively recording the books I’ve read and want to read online since 2007. Online cataloging is also a lifesaver for librarians who are inundated with information about books and need a flexible, easy way to keep track of books they want to read, titles they want to eventually add to their libraries, and remember and categorize books they’ve read.

Overall, I like Goodreads for its social features, LibraryThing for its extensive cataloging features, and Shelfari for its community-added metadata like character lists and “ridiculously simple synopses”.

Find me on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

What site(s) do you use for personal or professional use?

Read on for in-depth looks at each site.
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July 8th, 2010  ♥  Books, Resource Spotlight  ♥  1 Comment »

Resource Spotlight: My Favorite Librarian Blogs

There are a lot of great library blogs out there. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I wanted to give some love to a few of the blogs I find myself actually reading, rather than just skimming over in my blog reader. Feel free to mention some of your own favorites in the comments! I’m always on the look-out for new blogs, especially those that feature all aspects of public or school librarianship.

GreenBeanTeenQueen: Written by Sarah, a teen and tween librarian, this blog features teen and YA reviews, author interviews, and other book blog features like In My Mailbox. I also especially enjoy her YA movie news, her librarian’s musings, which are more in depth looks at book and library-related topics, and Tween Tuesdays, which are reviews focused on tween books. Overall, it’s a good mix of reviews and original content, with a new post almost every day.

Crazy Quilts: Edi, a school librarian, uses her blog to promote literacy of students of color. She posts reviews about a diverse range of teen books interspersed with her thoughts on literacy, libraries, and reading. New posts appear a couple times a month. I also especially like her lists of authors, blogs, and other resources.

The YA YA YAs: A gaggle of three teen librarians blog about YA literature and librarianship. Besides their fun reviews and thoughts on libraries, they maintain two great booklists: Asian-American protagonists in YA fiction and YA books translated into English from another language. They don’t post as often or regularly as they used to, but it’s worth it to mine their archives and check out their blogrolls for resources.

A True Reality: Three librarians share their opinions on YA literature, pop culture, and other book-related topics. Their reviews are personal and informal, which I like, and they post a lot about teen television, another subject near and dear to my heart. Posting can be sporadic, but they generally update one to two times per week.

Swiss Army Librarian: Not a youth services-oriented blog, but Brian Herzog tackles the public library in his posts. He posts a Reference Question of the Week, which breaks down his reference process and often recommends great resources. The rest of the posts focus on day-to-day library work, some humor, and thoughts about libraries and books in general. He updates consistently and posts are concise, but useful.

January 12th, 2010  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  5 Comments »

Resource Spotlight: ALAN

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), an independent assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English, has been around since 1973. While it’s part of an organization geared for teachers, ALAN’s membership also consists of librarians, authors, publishers, other educators, students, and anyone interested in young adult literature. Membership is only $20 for individuals ($10 for students) and does not require NCTE membership.

Members receive a print copy of the ALAN Review three times per year. The journal publishes articles on YA literature and its teaching, interviews with authors, reports on publishing trends, current research on YA literature, reviews of new books, and membership news. They have open calls for manuscript submissions for upcoming issues, like the summer 2010 theme: Interplay: Influence of Film, New Media, Digital Technology, and Image on YA Literature due in March. Electronic copies of back issues dating back to 1994 are available even for non-members. Members also receive a monthly e-mail newsletter, News of Note, compiled by an English education professor.

ALAN hosts an annual workshop in conjunction with the NCTE convention. Attendees are invited to two keynote presentations, discussions with authors about YA trends and directions, and breakout sessions about YA literature. Participants also receive a box of free books from publishers. This year’s convention and workshop just ended (search for #alan2009 on Twitter for lots of discussion), so start preparing for next year. The 2010 Convention, ‘Teachers and Students Together: Living Literate Lives,’ will take place November 18-23, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

Members can apply for grants of up to $1,500 for research in YA literature. The deadline is annually on September 15 and winners are announced at the ALAN breakfast at the NCTE convention. ALAN also provides travel grants of up to $500 for early-career teachers to attend the ALAN workshop.

ALAN also gives out three awards annually. The ALAN Award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature, including publishers, authors, librarians, scholars, editors, or servants to the organization. The Ted Hipple Service Award is given each year to an individual who has contributed to the ALAN organization. ALAN’s newest award, The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award, is awarded to the author of a book selected as “the title of the year most relevant to adolescents and having enjoyed a wide and appreciative teenage audience.” The winner for the inaugural award in 2009 was My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger.

Lastly, the ALAN website has an excellent resource for those looking for authors and speakers to visit their school, library, or bookstore. The Speakers Bureau lists agencies that represent speakers for visits; book publishers who coordinate author visits and publicity; and individuals who handle their own bookings.

November 25th, 2009  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  No Comments »

Resource Spotlight: Teenreads.com

Teenreads.com, part of The Book Report Network, has been posting reviews, author interviews, and other resources since 1997. Though designed with teen readers in mind, the information available can be valuable for librarians as well.

The book reviews make up a large portion of the site. They’re written by a panel of reviewers that includes librarians, writers, booksellers, and teens. The reviews are typically a few paragraphs long and tend to focus on plot synopsis, with a bit of critique at the end. This style of review allows the reader to make a decision about whether or not to read the book without being influenced too much by the reviewer’s opinion. They can also be useful for reader’s advisory, as a librarian can get a sense of the book’s story and tone without having to read it. Each of the reviews also includes links to reviews of the author’s other books (if any) and some include links to book excerpts, author interviews, and other extras that can enhance the reading experience.

The site’s Ultimate Reading List is a compilation of over 300 titles that are ideal for reading and discussion. Books were selected by teens and the site’s contributors. Annotated with short synopses and links to reviews and reading guides, the list includes both YA and adult books.

For those running book discussion groups, the site has tips for starting and maintaining a book club and discussion questions and activities for dozens of current and classic teen titles.

The site also features author interview and profiles, previews and synopses of new books, a books into movies feature, and lots of polls, contests, and giveaways. The blog offers additional author features that don’t seem to be included in the regular author section of the site.

Overall, the site is a comprehensive resource for YA lit readers and those who serve YA readers. For a periodic overview of new content, subscribe to the newsletter for a monthly e-mail update.

November 16th, 2009  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  No Comments »

Resource Spotlight: YALit.com

YALit.com isn’t flashy and consists of just five pages, but its content fills an incredibly useful niche. It simply lists upcoming YA book releases in chronological order and allows users to subscribe to an RSS feed to get updates on new books. Created by a YA librarian, the site provides the title, author, publisher, release date, format, and a link to Amazon. They’ve also added a commenting feature, but it hasn’t gotten much use yet. I registered for the site, which allows me to add books to my profile, but it’s not clear what purpose that serves. It’s also unclear what criteria they use to select books for the site — is it just what the publishers say is YA? — and how comprehensive it is — does it include niche and independent publishers?. Still, it’s a great resource to get an overview of upcoming books or to look up a book’s release date without sifting through Amazon pages or looking at each publisher’s catalog.

Update: Keri, the librarian behind YALit.com, has answered some of my questions in the comments. Click through below to check out her response.

October 19th, 2009  ♥  Books, Resource Spotlight  ♥  1 Comment »

Resource Spotlight: YPulse

YPulse is an amazing resource for anyone who works with or markets to tweens, teens and college students. Founded in 2004 by journalist Anastasia Goodstein, the website provides free information daily about youth through its blog, e-mail newsletter, and Twitter feed. The organization also hosts conferences like its upcoming Youth Marketing Mashup and sponsors research reports, which are available for purchase.

I love the daily Essentials posts, which compile web links relevant to youth. Though I read a lot of blog feeds, this distilled list usually gives me several fun tidbits I haven’t picked up from other sources.

YPulse also has a youth advisory board composed of teens and college students from across the US and even a few from abroad. They weigh in on pertinent issues and review movies, books and other media. Recently, one member gave her views on Disney’s upcoming Princess and the Frog and another shared her thoughts on the Jonas Brothers.

While the focus of the site can be a bit commercial, keeping up with marketing trends is essential for youth librarians and others who work with young people.

May 26th, 2009  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  No Comments »

Resource Spotlight: Best Buy Community Grants

As part of its community relations program, electronics giant Best Buy awards community grants of up to $10,000 to non-profit organizations in each of its eight service areas. Local employees will select organizations that support teens in the areas of education, life skills, leadership skills or relationship development. The application period is from May 15 to June 15 and winners will be notified in August. Visit their site for more information.

Best Buy also has an interesting teen site, @15. It features forums, games, several initiatives, contests, and scholarships. One current initiative allows teens to vote for how to donate $100,000 to green charities (through May 15). There’s also a Song Writer’s Contest that runs through July 8.

May 7th, 2009  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  No Comments »