member giveaways « The LibraryThing Blog

Archive for the ‘member giveaways’ Category

Thursday, April 9th, 2026

Happy 10th Birthday TinyCat!

Ten years ago we created TinyCat, a catalog solution for small libraries.

The idea was simple: Thousands of small libraries were already using LibraryThing, but it was too much—too many doors to the larger world of discovery and social interaction. So we cut all that out, and we made everything about finding books. We added the circulation and administration features small libraries need. We made the simple and intuitive user interface we wished that big, public libraries had.

Growth and Improvements

From about 500 libraries in our first year, we have grown to more than 3,500 today—from schools to religious communities, from museums and LGBTQ centers, to a growing number of small public libraries. Another 32,516 LibraryThing members use TinyCat as a second way to search their personal libraries.

The last decade has brought TinyCat to countries across the globe, from the USA to Ireland, Singapore, Peru, Egypt, and South Africa to name a few. We recently added translation options, so more people can now use TinyCat in more languages.

There are many small libraries who still don’t know about TinyCat, and we can use your help spreading the word. If you know anyone working or volunteering with a small library, send them our way. Folks can sign up or learn more about TinyCat at https://www.librarycat.org.

TinyCat Survey

Share your thoughts about TinyCat in our new survey!

This survey is short and every question is optional. You can save your progress and come back any time. While the survey is not anonymous, we encourage you to be honest and candid — all your feedback helps us improve!

This is a great chance to share your experiences as an admin, feedback from your patrons, and ideas you have for making TinyCat even better. All current and previous TinyCat members are welcome to participate.

New Feature: Restrict Catalog Access

TinyCat libraries now have the option of requiring a login to view their catalog. If enabled, all visitors will be prompted to enter their credentials before seeing the homepage or searching the catalog.

To enable this for your TinyCat library, go to your Patron Accounts settings and switch on Restrict Catalog Access.

Enter the Giveaway!

Enter our TinyCat 10th Birthday Giveaway for a chance to win a special TinyCat bookmark and TinyCat stickers!

How to enter:

Share one of your favorite or most popular items from your TinyCat library on social media. Alternatively, you’re welcome to post in the TinyCat group on LibraryThing.
Include a screenshot or link to the item’s catalog page so we can see it like your patrons do.
Tag TinyCat in the post so we can find your post and enter you in the giveaway.

(Not just books! Game libraries can share a game, movie libraries a film, etc.)

Where to tag us:

Facebook: TinyCat
Bluesky: @librarycat.org
X: @TinyCat_lib
LibraryThing Talk Group (link coming soon)

Deadline:

We will randomly select 10 winners on May 8, 2026. Each will receive a special TinyCat bookmark and stickers. We will contact the winners for mailing details.

Store Sale

All TinyCat merchandise and barcode scanners, including stickers, pins, and coasters, are on sale now through May 4. Barcode scanners are only $5 and TinyCat pins are only $2! See all the discounts at the LibraryThing Store.

Profile Badges

TinyCat libraries over 1, 2, 5, and 10 years respectively will receive new badges in LibraryThing. Go ahead, brag!

Thank you for reading and for celebrating with us!

Labels: birthday, member giveaways, sale, TinyCat

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

A Member Giveaways success story

Last week I was delighted to receive the following email from LT Author Douglas E. Richards (member DouglasE.Richards):

“Since its launch 6 weeks ago, my new thriller WIRED has become the #1 bestselling technothriller on Amazon (including both physical books and eBooks), and the #1 book in high-tech sci-fi — and as high as 131 among all items in the Kindle store (including books, newspapers, magazines, and games). I believe that much of the credit goes to LibraryThing and its fantastic giveaway program. WIRED was part of one pre-publication and one post-publication LT giveaway, and I’m convinced that it was the giveaway winners who ignited the word-of-mouth fuse that still seems to be going strong.

I can’t thank you enough for giving authors like me a place to go to find avid readers willing to take a chance on an unknown novel, and willing to spread the word once they find something they like. I really appreciate it.”

Check it out: here’s Amazon’s Best Sellers in Science Fiction list, and there’s WIRED, right there at the top (as of 1 p.m. EDT, still ahead of George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons). This afternoon it’s listed as #79 in the Kindle Store among paid ebooks.

WIRED has already garnered 27 reviews on LibraryThing, and has an average rating of 4.5 stars.

Find out more about Member Giveaways.

Labels: member giveaways

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

The Concord Free Press, Gregory Maguire, and “generosity-based publishing”

The Concord Free Press is a revolutionary new publisher, doing some fantastic things. They publish books and give them away. For free. All they ask is that the reader then makes a voluntary donation to a local charity or person in need. And then pass the book along to someone else (this is definitely the hard part), and ask that they too read, donate, and pass. I think it’s fantastic. They just hit their one-year anniversary, released their third book, and have recorded more than $90,000 in donations so far (you can see a record of donations on their site).

Their third book, The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire just came out last week, and the Concord Free Press (founded by novelist Stona Fitch) gave us 14 copies to circulate among LibraryThing members. The book is great—a departure from Maguire’s typical writing (which I also love).

Book description from the Concord Free Press website:

Set in the grotty upstate town of Thebes, The Next Queen of Heaven is a Christmas tale gone horribly wrong. Clocked by a Catholic statuette, Mrs. Leontina Scales starts speaking in tongues. Tabitha Scales and her brothers scheme to save their mother or surrender her to Jesus—whatever comes first. Meanwhile, choir director Jeremy Carr, caught between lust and ambition, fumbles his way toward Y2K.

Only a modern master like Gregory Maguire can spin a tale this frantic, funny, and farcical. Novelist Ann Patchett calls it “an out-of-control carnival ride—terrifying, thrilling, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.” And we agree.

I’m putting the copies in Member Giveaways, and we’ll send them to anyone, anywhere around the world. Request a copy now, if you’re interested! And remember, when you’re done reading, you donate, and then pass the book along. We’re hoping we can keep the books circulating among LibraryThing members—since the Concord Free Press only prints a limited run (2,500 copies), many people won’t otherwise get a chance to read it.

As it says on the back of the book:

“This novel is free. By taking a copy, you agree to give away money to a local charity, someone who needs it, or a stranger on the street. Where the money goes and how much you give—that’s your call. When you’re done, pass this novel on to someone else (for free, of course), so they can give. It adds up.”

So if you win a copy, please remember to read, donate, and then pass it along (maybe even put it back on Member Giveaways, so another LibraryThing member can have a chance to read it).

Labels: concord free press, gregory maguire, member giveaways