This is part of a series of articles on Utilizing the Internet focusing on Web 2.0 communities.

Library Thingis the program for book lovers (or should I say bibliophiles). Years ago I spent days attempting to record all the books I own (and want to keep). It took too long just to type in the title and author (forget copyright and ISBN) so I gave up. Now I am using Library thing. Below I show you several ways to view your library.

Librarything.com is a free program (for up to 200 books) allowing you to click on a book to make your own library database (from Amazon or the Library of Congress). This program is incredibly well-designed and very easy to use. With LibraryThing you can enter dozens of books in your personal database in less than a half-hour.

What you can do with LibraryThing

1. Arrange your books on a virtual shelf or as a list. This program automatically records all the info with ISBNs and details–with one click!

2. You can add random books to your blog using simple cut and paste widgets.

Here are a few examples of different ways to display books on a blog.

3. You can choose how to view (or print) all the books in your home library by cover, by title, by author, etc. If you choose list you can sort by : Title, Author, Date, Tags, Rating, or Shared. I have not added my children’s books yet (big job) except for a handful. If you want to stay under 200 you may need to leave off Goodnight Moon- and Green Eggs and Ham-type books.

4. Connect to people with similar libraries. You can click on a book in your library to see who else has the book in their library and talk to them about it! Or find a book you want to buy and ask the person who owns it what they think. On your main library page you can view who has the same books as you. If you have 200 and someone else has 25 of the same titles you are given that person’s name to click on to browse their library or leave a comment.

5. Write book reviews for each book. Light bulb moment–better–have your children write (or dictate) book reviews on each book you read as a family.

6. You can tag books and view by tag (or tags)–like homeschool or Creation science, classic, etc. Tags are one-word descriptors a little like keywords but non-hierarchical. You can assign as many tags to a book as you like and easily rename or delete them later. Tagging can be a lot easier and more flexible than fitting your information into preconceived categories or folders.

Tag notes: Some homeschoolers have tagged almost every book in their library “homeschool”–NOT very helpful unless it’s a book on “How to Homeschool.” I prefer tags like “ancient history,” “children’s,” “eyewitness,” or “Christian living,” “Proverbs 31,” etc.

You can view by tag cloud or author cloud (larger text=more frequent usage).

Visit http://www.librarything.com/buzz.php to read what others have to say about this program.

Sign up for a free account at Librarything.com. Help Heart of Wisdom by posting a review about any of our books.