LibraryThing
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Type of site
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Catalog and community |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tim Spalding (majority) AbeBooks CIG |
| Created by | Tim Spalding |
| Website | librarything.com |
| Alexa rank |
 23,400 (January 2017[update]) |
| Registration | Free with upgrade option |
| Launched | August 29, 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
LibraryThing is a social cataloging web application for storing and sharing book catalogs and various types of book metadata. It is used by authors, individuals, libraries, and publishers.
Based in Portland, Maine, LibraryThing was developed by Tim Spalding and went live on August 29, 2005. As of December 2015, it has over 2,000,000 users and 100 million books catalogued.
The primary feature of LibraryThing ("LT") is the cataloging of books, movies, music and other media by importing data from libraries through Z39.50 connections and from six Amazon.com stores. Library sources supply Dublin Core and MARC records to LT; users can import information from 690 libraries, including the British Library, Canadian National Catalogue, Library of Congress, National Library of Australia, and Yale University. Should a record not be available from any of these sources, it is also possible to input the book information via a blank form.
Each work may comprise different editions, translations, printings, audio versions, etc. Members are encouraged to add publicly visible reviews, descriptions, Common Knowledge and other information about a work; ratings, collections and tags help categorization. Discussion in the forums is also encouraged.
Items are classified using the Melvil Decimal System, based on the out-of-copyright 1922 edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification with modifications for standard spelling of division names (as opposed to the original names, which were spelled in accordance with Dewey's advocated spelling reforms), and modernised terminology.
LibraryThing's social features have been compared to bookmark manager Del.icio.us and the collaborative music service Last.fm. Similar book cataloging sites include aNobii, BookLikes, Goodreads, Libib, Shelfari, and weRead.
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