UPDATED: Browse Tags

UPDATED: I was informed of a problem with the tags that should now be fixed. Now, once you click on a tag, you should also be able to click on the book title and go straight to our catalog record for that item.

I'm testing out a new feature from LibraryThing on the public catalog. It's called "Browse by Tags". In prior posts I've talked about tags from LibraryThing. However, up till now, you had to go to a full bib record in order to see them.

This new feature is available from the Basic Search page. Underneath the search box there is now a link to "Browse by Tags." If you click it, you see a quick summary of some of the most prevelant tags that have been applied to our collection. To see more tags, click the 250, 500, or 1000 links.

In addition to browsing tags, you can search for new tags. This search box works the same way the tag search box works in the full bib. To search for the intersection between multiple tags, seperate them by commas. For example, I might search for historical mystery, regency. Or, to exclude items with specific tags, put two dashes in front of the tag. So, if I wanted a historical regency mystery but didn't want it to include any Jane Austen charaters, I might search for historical mystery, regency, --Jane Austen.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I'm just testing this feature out. Whether or not it stays depends on whether you think it's worthwhile. So, let me know what you think.

Browse Books via Lexile Measures

On Sunday I turned on a new feature, provided by LibraryThing, in our online catalog that allows our borrowers to browse books via Lexile Measures.

Lexile measures are one way to estimate how easy a book is to read. It is important to note that this measure is only intended to indicate how complicated the book is to read, not whether or not the subject matter is appropriate or interesting for a certain age group. Lexile measures do not correspond directly to specific grade levels. However, Lexile.com does provide a chart of "typical Lexile ranges" for each grade level.

To see an example of a Lexile measure, search for Zen Ties by Jon J Muth. If it exists, the reading level appears in the left column under series info or the professional review links. In this case, the Lexile measure is 460L. To see other books with the same Lexile level, click on the 460L link. A small window will pop up with other books that fall into this category. You can then click on the links for those books to get more information.

In addition to browsing books that exactly match your current book, you can also browse a range of Lexile measures. To do this, click on the 460L link as before. When the window pops open, you'll see sliders at the top that indicate the minimum and maximum measures that you wish to display. Click on the sliders, move them to your desired level range, and then click the Search button. Note: It may take several seconds for large search ranges to return results.

It is not necessary to first look up a book before browsing the Lexile measures. I've also added a link to this feature on our Advanced Search page. Below the text boxes and above the limits there is a link that says, "Click for Lexile Reading Level Search." If you click on this, a window will pop up similar to what happens when you click a reading measure link within a book's record. Like above, click on the sliders to move them to your desired range and then click the Search button. Note: There is a slight problem with how I implemented this box so if the first time you click the link the window doesn't pop up, wait a couple of seconds and try it again. I'll be researching ways to resolve this nagging problem.

Unfortunately, at this time there isn't a way to combine the Lexile browse with any other search criteria. Also, I have heard reports that some of our catalog-only computers within the library are having trouble with the sliding feature. I'm working on figuring out what the problem is and seeing if there is a solution.

You can read LibraryThing's official announcement here or read about their initial implementation in their personal catalog product.

What do you think of this new feature? Do you think the Lexlie Reading Level Search" link would be better on some other page than the advanced search?

Displaying Reviews in Our Catalog

As I've mentioned previously, one of the features we use from LibraryThing is the ability to rate books as well as read and write reviews. Currently, borrowers only see reviews if they click on the bib record.

Sometimes I want to be able to quickly see if a book has been rated instead of having to click each title so I added this feature to our test catalog. What do you think? Do you like seeing the ratings on the summary page in addition to the full bib page? Let me know by adding a comment to the blog entry or sending me an email.

LibraryThing and Our Catalog Part 2

What are tags?
Tags are a way to categorize things. In the case of LibraryThing, it's a way to categorize books. The tags you see in the library catalog are created by LibraryThing users. Unlike subject headings, any LibraryThing user can add their own tags to a book.

Tags are particularly useful for genre fiction where subject headings don’t always match common usage. For example, the term “cozy mystery” isn’t an official subject heading. Yet, users often add the tag “cozy mystery” to books such as Aunt Dimity's Death and Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth. Here is an example of the tags for Murder with Peacocks.

Within a tag cloud, the larger the tag, the more people have used it. In this case, more people consider Murder with Peacocks a mystery rather than a romance. See Wikipedia for more information about tag clouds.

Using Tags to Search
Clicking on a tag within the catalog will pop up a window that displays all the other books in our collection with the same tag. For instance, clicking on amateur detective on the Murder with Peacocks tag cloud retrieves books such as Dying for Chocolate and The Mummy Case. Clicking on any of the resulting titles will redirect you to more information about that book.

It is also possible to search for multiple tags at a time. For instance, let’s say I wanted a list of books with the tags young adult and space opera. Here’s how I would search:

1. Go to http://catalog.mylibrary.us/ and search for any popular book (Kite Runner is a good choice)
2. Click on a title to bring up the detailed information page
3. Click on any of the tags that appear on the left. If a tag cloud does not appear, search for another book
4. Within the tag browser search box, enter the tags you wish to search for separated by a comma. In this case, I enter young adult, space opera
5. Click the Search button to retrieve your results

To exclude a specific tag from your search, preface it with a double dash. For instance, if I wanted young adult space opera but did not want any books dealing with the military, my search would have looked like this: young adult, space opera, --military. To just "demote" military titles from the results, use a single dash.

Reviews
Another feature LibraryThing provides is the ability to view and write reviews of books. If reviews exist, you can read them by going to the detailed information page for a book and clicking on see reviews/add a review. A window will pop up that displays the reviews. These reviews come from both LibraryThing users and High Plains Library District’s borrowers.

To write a review:

1. Go to the detailed information page for the book you wish to review. I'm going to look up Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.
3. Within the detailed view of the book, click on see reviews/add a review.
4. Click Review this Yourself.
• If you have not reviewed items before, click next to Start a new reviews account and enter your username, password, email address, and click Submit.
• Otherwise, enter your existing username and password.
5. If desired, choose a star rating, enter your review, and click save.

Reviews must be approved by library staff before they are posted.

Brochure
Click here if you would like a brochure, in PDF format, that covers LibraryThing widgets in our catalog.

LibraryThing and Our Catalog Part 1

What is LibraryThing?
LibraryThing is a web application that allows people to create and share their personal book collections. To see an example, you can visit Diana Gabaldon’s LibraryThing collection. I've been using LibraryThing as my personal library organizer since 2006 and have been very impressed with it.

In addition to adding books to their collection, LibraryThing allows its users to write reviews, add tags to books, and compare their personal library with other users.

What is LibraryThing for Libraries?
LibraryThing aggregates all the personalization users add to their catalogs, such as tags and reviews, and sells this information to libraries. Unlike Novelist, LibraryThing will only link to books that our library district owns.

What Information in our catalog comes from LibraryThing?
LibraryThing “widgets” are found on the detailed information page for each book. They include:

• Similar Books
• Other Editions
• Reviews
• Shelf Browse
• Tags

The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book offers a good example of all of these features.

Similar Books
One of our LibraryThing widgets is called “Similar Books.” However, this is a misnomer. Instead, these book lists are closer to an “if you like this book, you might also like . . .” list. Sometimes these books are actually similar to the current book but sometimes the books are just owned by the people with similar book collections. For example, consider the suggestions for Who Wants Candy? by Jane Sharrock. The suggestions are The Ultimate Candy Book, Candyfreak, Sweets, Candy and me, and Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot. Only the first suggestion, The Ultimate Candy Book, is a recipe book like Who Wants Candy?. However, those that like making candy may also enjoy reading about the history of candy which is where the other suggestions are useful. Clicking on any of the books listed will take you to more information on that book.

Other Editions
When viewing the detailed information for a title, LibraryThing will search our catalog to see if any other editions are available. If they are, LibraryThing will list these books in the left column. Clicking on the title of one of the books will take you to more information on it. This is particularly useful if your original book has no copies available for checkout. For an example, see Caught by Harlan Coben.

Shelf Browse
Shelf Browse is our newest LibraryThing feature. It allows you to virtually browse books similar to browsing books in a physical library. This is particularly useful for information books as similar subjects are often shelved near each other. For example, when I go to the detailed information for Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, it shows me the book covers for other books on solving sleep problems in children. Click Explore the virtual shelf browser: Full Screen to see even more books.

In my next post, I'll discuss LibraryThing Reviews and tags