LibraryThing for Libraries at ALA: new features and hungry rhinos

Are you ready for this?

Tim and I will be at the American Library Association's annual conference this year. We have new, new LTFL features to show off. You can find us at booth 2857 in the exhibit hall.

1. New features! We'll be demoing our new catalog enhancers - never before seen by librarians. We'll post an announcement all about the new features in a day or two.

2. An art installation! Yeah, you'll just have to wait and see it. I can't even describe it, other than to say that it takes away ennui.

3. More rhinos! Tim and I are both flying to Chicago with an inflatable rhino in our luggage. We plan on playing "Toss the Rhino", and perhaps if we are feeling extra daring, "Pass the Rhinos".

(Thanks to Brixton for the masticating rhino photo. The rhino tossing one's mine. That's Tim and Casey putting some English on the rhino.)

LibraryThing at Computers In Libraries 2009

LibraryThing, your favorite makers of libraries in computers, will be at Computers in Libraries this week. We'll be passing out free stuff and showing off our new LibraryThing for Libraries feature so if you're at CIL, stop by booth 214 and say hi. Unfortunately, we're rhino-less this time, but we do have T-shirts and laptop stickers (and Tim.)

Our new feature allows our catalog enhancements to run even on items that don't have an ISBN. Check it out in action on this 1948 edition of Tom Jones, or this 1937 edition of David Copperfield

There's no ISBN on those items, but our code is still smart enough to load the right tags and recommendations info. It uses a combination of our new What Work API and the LibraryThing Connector (the JavaScript that powers LTFL) to pull title and author information out of the catalog's HTML and then match it against our system. This new feature should help our academic libraries in particular, since they tend to have a lot of older pre-ISBN books.

Rhinotossing

Internet Librarian ended up worth it. There weren't that many people, but our booth was mobbed even so. Some came for the free LibraryThing t-shirts (being secretly given out, but word got out), free CueCats barcode scanners or the free laptop stickers. Most came to see LibraryThing for Libraries and our new reviews feature. To my great surprise, people got the Facebook application.

But what do you do when the conference is winding down for the day, and no customers are around. First, you run around with a rhino, attacking other exhibitors. Then you settle down to a nice game of rhino-catch!



Many apologies to the esteemed Christa Burns, whose presentation was affected by rhinos--mostly wondering what the heck was going on.

Next party or conference, we're going to organize a formal game of rhino sports. I think it'd be particularly fun to half-fill the rhino with water—a full rhino would be immovable—and see whom it burst upon.

Rhino sick, LibraryThing well

If you're at ALA, come by the LibraryThing booth (2878) and learn about putting tags, patron reviews and recommended books into your library catalog.

Also, help us find the hole in the rhino and blow it up again!

LibraryThing for Libraries, at CIL, with a new feature!

LibraryThing will be at the Computers in Libraries conference in Washington, D.C. next week. We're showing off LibraryThing for Libraries (LTFL) as exhibitors, demoing the enhancements available to libraries to make their online systems more Web 2.0., with a brand new feature.

If you're in the DC area, and are interested in coming and seeing how LTFL works within OPACs, or witnessing our rhinosaursi upgrade (now with 100% more roars!), you're in luck. We have free exhibit tickets, which gets you in to the exhibit hall (but not the conference sessions). Email me if you'd like to attend: sonya@librarything.com.

Computers in Libraries conference
Monday, April 7 - Wednesday April 9, 2008
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA