Archive for the ‘librarything’ Category

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

“What is Social Cataloging?”

I’ve just posted a full video of my talk “What is Social Cataloging?” on YouTube.

Update: I’ve posted the whole thing as a single clip on Vimeo. I’d go there instead of YouTube.

The best way to watch it is to click this playlist link.

I talk about LibraryThing, social cataloging, the “social cataloging ladder,” Library 2.0, how libraries are failing at library 1.0 and I insult OCLC and cheer libraries on a bunch near the end. Fun for the whole family.

Labels: lianza, lianza09, librarything

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Job: Library Developer for LibraryThing (worldwide search)

LibraryThing is hiring 1-2 library programmers/developers/hackers.

We want to find the best people available anywhere. Work for us in Maine, or stay where you are—in your pajamas for all we care.

LibraryThing and our LibraryThing for Libraries project are both growing rapidly. We are expanding our staff and taking on new, exciting projects. We think books and libraries are the world—and we’re going to change it.

The idea candidate would be:

  • Proficient in PHP, Python and JavaScript. You need to be expert in at least one of them.
  • Willing to learn what you don’t know
  • Knowledge of library systems, particularly OPACs
  • Knowledge of library standards, particularly MARC
  • Able to think globally and creatively about library technology
  • Able to self-direct or collaborate with others as needed
  • Able to communicate well with others
  • Fast
  • Hard working to a fault
  • Eager to change the world

Bonus points for:

  • An MLS
  • Driving Distance to Portland, Maine
  • Strong CSS, HTML, usability, UX skills; Perl
  • Committment and experience with Open Source and Open Data 
  • Already “out there” in terms of LibraryThing membership, or participation in similar sites
  • Willingness to tolerate my quaint dislike of OO programming
  • Experience with non-library bibliographic data
  • Bibliophilia
  • Oenophilia, tyrophilia*

The position is eligible for our $1,000-in-free-books program. Refer someone to us and we pay $1,000 in free books. Self-refer and you get the books instead.

*Not going to concede on this one.

Labels: jobs, librarything

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Tagging: People-Powered Metadata for the Social Web

“Walk into the public library in Danbury, Connecticut, and you’ll find the usual shelves stacked with books, organized into neat rows. Works of fiction are grouped alphabetically by the author’s last name. Nonfiction titles are placed into their propper Dewey Decimal categories just like they are at tens of thousands of other libraries in North America.

But visit the Danbury Library’s online catalog, and you’ll find something rather unlike a typical library.

“A search for The Catcher in the Rye bring sup not just a call number but also a list of related books and tags—keywords such as “adolescence,” “angst,” “coming of age,” and “New York”—that describe J. D. Salinger’s classic novel … Click the tag “angst,” and you’ll find a list of angsty titles such as The Bell Jar, The Stranger, and The Virgin Suicides.”

So begins Gene Smith’s newly released book Tagging: People-Powered Metadata for the Social Web (New Riders). That’s right. The first book dedicated to tagging begins with LibraryThing—specifically our LibraryThing for Libraries project!

Library 2.0 people pause a second. How about that: a book about new developments in social media starts by talking about new things going on in a library? Not a social networking site, not a photo sharing site. A dream come true.

That’s all I have to say for now. I knew the book was coming; Gene interviewed me for it (selections on page 134). But I haven’t finished it yet.

My first impression is that it’s rich and detailed, covering everything from what tagging is and why it matters, to how to implement it at the level of user interface and even technically. But But, as is my wont, I’m already scribbling little objections and expansions in the margins. That’s the sign of a good book, right?

I’ve created a discussion group on Talk for people reading the book. Come join me to talk about it.

Labels: gene smith, librarything, librarything for libraries, social media, tagging, tags