Happy Fourth Birthday Library Thing

It seems hard to believe that this website has only been around for four years, but today is the four year anniversary of the launch of LibrayThing. For those unaware, LibraryThing is a massive online community for book lovers. Users can catalog their collection of books, participate in discussion groups, read or contribute reviews and many many more fun activities.

One of my favorite aspects of LibrayThing is the Common Knowledge section. This is essentially a database containing information such as character names, important places, original publication date, first words and many others. I always try to update the information for books I read, assuming someone else has not already beaten me to it. It is also a good way to keep track of books in a series and in what order they come.

LibraryThing was created by Tim Spalding. Before LT, Tim was a graduate student in Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan. He worked for Houghton Mifflin in Boston as a freelance web developer and web publisher. Tim started LibraryThing as a way to catalog his own book collection and those of a few friends.

In May 2006 Abebooks purchased a 40% stake in LibraryThing. This was a step in Tim's overall plan to expand LibraryThing. This in no way compromised any user information to Abebooks. LibraryThing remained a community for book lovers first and foremost. In January 2009, Cambridge Information Group acquired a minority stake in the company. Bowker, a subsidiary of CIG, is now the exclusive distributor of LibraryThing for Libraries. Tim still retains the majority stake in the company.

The head librarian for LibraryThing is Abby Blachly. She received her MA in History from Simmons College. Abby worked with Tim at Houghlin Mifflin before becoming an archivist and later a corporate indexer/cataloger. Her job description at LibraryThing is "everything but the coding". Those of us in the Early Reviewers group look forward to receiving messages from Abby telling us we will be receiving a book to review or to have better luck next time.

Users can join for free. A free membership will allow you to catalog a total of 200 books. A paid account will cost you $10 a year or you can purchase a $25 lifetime membership. This will allow you to catalog an unlimited number of books. According to the LibraryThing website, over 657,000 users have signed up for accounts and over 37 million books have been cataloged.

I would like to personally say thank you to Tim, Abby and the rest of the staff at LibraryThing. The work you have put into this community is very much appreciated. I believe this is one of the best Internet communities and I am on the site every day. If you have not checked out LibraryThing before, take a look. But be warned, it is very addicting.