How to Catalog your American Space collections with LibraryThing A How-to guide for the curious, the...
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How to Catalog your American Space collections with LibraryThing A How-to guide for the curious, the timid, the confused, and the erstwhile cataloger Steve
How to Catalog your American Space collections with
LibraryThing A How-to guide for the curious, the timid, the
confused, and the erstwhile cataloger Steve Perry, IRO, Accra Karen
Hartman, IRO, Rome Carol Bean, IRO, Belgrade November 2013
Slide 2
About LibraryThing O Library Thing is a free service for
cataloging your book collections. It is most appropriate for
smaller collections that dont circulate materials, as Library Thing
does not have a circulation module. O Another limitation of Library
Thing is that it is meant for Books only, it is not meant as a
cataloging tool for videos, periodicals, magazines, etc.
Slide 3
About LibraryThing (cont.) O However, Library Thing (LT) does
meet the new Standards for American Spaces for both IRCs and
Corners requiring each space to have an online catalog of their
collections: LT also provides an ongoing inventory for your
collections. The following is from the Standards: O The collection
is accessible via an online public access catalog accessible to
visitors on a dedicated computer terminal.
Slide 4
FIRST: Are you a member of LibraryThing? O If not, sign up! Use
Organization rather than the Personal option. O
http://www.librarything.comhttp://www.librarything.com
Slide 5
Use an abbreviated version of your Corners name
Slide 6
STEP 1: go to Librarything.com -- click on the JOIN NOW tab; if
youre an IRC or American Corner, use Organization rather than the
Personal option when completing this part.
Slide 7
You will see a page similar to this, to verify you are a real
person.
Slide 8
You can skip the next step for now.
Slide 9
Once you are logged in, you will see a page similar to this
Click on the Add Books link
Slide 10
This is the ADD BOOKS Tab
Slide 11
This is the ADD BOOKS Tab after you begin adding books
Slide 12
In the ADD BOOKS Tab, you can search by ISBN, Title, Author,
etc. Make sure you click the Library of Congress button -- for
consistency of cataloging.
Slide 13
Click on the title of the book that appears as a result of your
search; to the right of that title, you will see an edit pencil
click on the edit book link to catalog this book for your
collections.
Slide 14
Clicking on the edit link brings up a basic template: you still
need to localize it for your collections.
Slide 15
Ensure that the Author and Title are correct in the template.
TAGS are enhanced subject headings think of them as keywords that
your patrons might think of to locate a book. In this example, I
input Tags that made more sense for my patrons.
Slide 16
One helpful way to look for possible Tags is to go to the
WorldCat site: http://www.worldcat.org http://www.worldcat.org
Slide 17
Notice the rich use of Tags in Worldcat: these are all
possibilities for your collection as well. NOTE POSSIBLE TAGS YOU
CAN USE
Slide 18
Basic Cataloging in the ADD BOOKs MODE: type the date you are
cataloging the book in the Date Acquired box Rule of thumb for Call
Numbers: add the year of publication and authors last four letters
in the Dewey field
Slide 19
Save your work by clicking on the Save key at the bottom of the
template this will add the book to your collection
Slide 20
When you have cataloged a number of books, you will want to
give the URL of your new online catalog to your patrons so they can
search your collections remotely. Click on the Your Books tab This
is the URL to give your patrons
Slide 21
When you have cataloged a number of books, you will want to
give the URL of your new online catalog to your patrons so they can
search your collections remotely. Patrons can use the search your
library box Patrons can use the search this library box
Slide 22
You can also import books from a spreadsheet Click on the
Import Books link at the bottom of the page. Click on the Add Books
tab
Slide 23
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the example
link at the bottom to get the format.
Slide 24
Copy the entire text and paste it into a plain text document
(for example, using Notepad), and save the document as a.csv file
(for example, newbooks.csv) Note the All Caps words. They will be
the top row of your spreadsheet.
Slide 25
In Excel, go to the file menu and click on Import and select
the CSV file option. Click the Import button at the bottom and
navigate to the file you saved.
Slide 26
Excel will show you the options in the Import Wizard. In the
first screen be sure to select Delimited then click the Next
button
Slide 27
In the next window, make sure only comma is checked (uncheck
all other options), then click the Next button.
Slide 28
In the next screen, make sure General is selected for the data
format, then click the Finish button.
Slide 29
The final window will give you the option of creating a new
sheet or importing the data into the existing sheet. Choose
Existing sheet The column headings and example book will be filled
in.
Slide 30
If you have spreadsheets with your book orders, copy the data
from your spreadsheets into the new spreadsheet in the appropriate
column. Sample book order Spreadsheet created from LibraryThings
example Copy from here to here
Slide 31
Note that ISBNs can be either ISBN-9 or ISBN-13 ISBN from
example ISBNs pasted from sample spreadsheet
Slide 32
When you are finished, delete the first row in the new
spreadsheet (LibraryThings example book) Select Save As from the
file menu, and change the format to Comma Separated Values
Slide 33
If you open the file in Notepad, it will look something like
this.
Slide 34
Go back to the Import Books page in LibraryThing and click the
button to Choose File Once your.csv file is selected, click the
Upload button
Slide 35
LibraryThing will give you some options Switch the first two
source options from #1 Amazon.com, #2 Library of Congress To #1
Library of Congress, #2 Amazon.com When you are done, click the
Import books button
Slide 36
You will see a confirmation page like this. If you click on the
Import Page link, you will see the queue listed at the bottom of
the page.
Slide 37
When the import is finished, you will see your books listed in
the Your Books page Remember to check the imported records and fix
or edit the fields. Click on the pencil icon to edit.
Slide 38
What happens when you are weeding your collections and you need
to delete a particular book? click on Your Books Select List Look
for the red X for Delete
Slide 39
Want to promote your collections? A cool idea is to click on
Your Books and then Covers consider printing this out and placing
your contact info on it
Slide 40
For more advanced users: what happens when you cant find a
cataloging record? First, consult detailed summaries of the Dewey
System: http://www.oclc.org/en-US/dewey/resources/summaries.html or
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12513/12513-h/12513-h.htm
http://www.oclc.org/en-US/dewey/resources/summaries.html
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12513/12513-h/12513-h.htm
Slide 41
You are attempting to catalog a book on President Truman and
cant locate a record with a Dewey Number in Library Thing Here are
some steps: 1. Google Presidents and Dewey Decimal System for
sample call numbers. 2. You learn that the principal Dewey Number
is 973.099 3. The book was published in 2009 on President Truman
and the author is SCHMIDT 4. One possible solution is to write the
call number as follows: 5. 973.009 TRUMAN 2009 SCHMI
Slide 42
Original Cataloging: Next Steps O Since this is original
cataloging, write the call number and the name of the book down
separately in an Excel Spreadsheet you are compiling for this
purpose. O This is so you wont use the number again for a similar
book on the same subject. O At this point, you can now insert the
call number in the Dewey field in the record that you found for
this book.
Slide 43
Example Below O INSERT DEWE Y NUMBER HERE
Slide 44
If you dont find any record for the book you are attempting to
catalog, you always can use the Add Manually click ADD BOOKS, and
look for the link at the bottom of the page. Simply complete all
fields, including the Dewey Number.
Slide 45
ADDITIONAL HINTS O If more than one person in an American Space
will be using Library Thing, it is very important that they use
Tags consistently. O Therefore it is considered a best practice if
you can print out the Tags and have everybody follow their use. New
tags can be added at any time. O A good idea to print the TAGS
field weekly to capture all the new Tags that have been
created.
Slide 46
To do this, Click on the Tab YOUR BOOKS and then TAGS; also a
best practice to edit the Tags each year for consistency and
correct spelling; you will see an edit button when you hover over
each TAG
Slide 47
Finally, Library Thing only allows 200 books to be cataloged
for free; after that you will be charged O However, American Spaces
are exempted from this charge, via agreement with Library Thing
Management.
Slide 48
First: Make sure your profile is filled in. Click the Home tab
Click the Edit your profile link
Slide 49
Fill in the About page, then go to Account Settings
Slide 50
Change the settings to Organization
Slide 51
Change the settings to Library
Slide 52
Next Step: make sure you have properly identified your Corner.
O Library organizations can add up to 5,000 items. What if you have
more? O Be sure to identify your account as an American Corner O
American Corner libraries have blanket approval for up to 10,000
items.
Slide 53
Problems? Contact your IRO O If LibraryThing isnt allowing you
to add items: O All you need to do is to write your regional IRO
with the name of your specific Library Thing catalog. O This can be
found (when logged into Library Thing) by clicking on the Tab Your
Books the name will appear in the space for the URL.
Slide 54
Example of how to find your catalog URL in Library Thing (Click
on tab YOUR BOOKS)
Slide 55
Creating a style with standard information in Library Thing O
LibraryThing allows you to create a standardized style so that
uniform information in a certain standard order - will appear each
and every time. O This will enhance the functionality and
usefulness of Library Thing. O To do this, click on the wheel when
you are logged in: example in next slide.
Slide 56
The Wheel gives you access to a standardized style guide: Click
on the Tab Your Books and you will see the Wheel
Slide 57
Clicking on the Wheel gives you control over how your
information will appear to users -- allows a uniform style guide on
how you wish to display this information: we recommend Style C
Slide 58
After selecting the style and deciding you wish your
information to be displayed in your catalog, be sure to Save
Changes.
Slide 59
Slide 60
Learn More About It! Many IRCs or ACs have used LibraryThing to
make their collections available to the public: Here are just a few
that have done this: Buenos Aires IRC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCBuenosAires
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCBuenosAireshttp://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCBuenosAires
Krakow IRC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/AIRC_KRAKOWhttp://www.librarything.com/catalog/AIRC_KRAKOW
Managua IRC http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCManagua/
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCManagua/
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCManagua/ Nairobi IRC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCnairobi
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCnairobi
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/IRCnairobi Samara AC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SamaraAC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SamaraAC
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SamaraAC
Slide 61
We hope this information has been useful to you O Please ask
your regional IRO should you have further questions.
Slide 62
How to Catalog with LibraryThing Brought to you by Steve Perry,
IRO, Accra Karen Hartman, IRO, Rome Carol Bean, IRO, Belgrade
January 2014
