In a past life, I was a librarian.  Best part of the job:  shushing people.  What a power rush!  So when a tool crosses my path that combines my love of organization with my love of books, it re-awakens those old librarian urges.  LibraryThing (www.librarything.com) is just that tool.

LibraryThing allows you to catalog your books using records from Amazon (www.amazon.com) and the Library of Congress (www.loc.gov).  You merely search by author, title, or ISBN; a results list pops up, and you click on the individual title to add it to your personal catalog.  For those of us who are fans of particular authors, a checkbox feature where we could check off multiple titles when searching by author would be very useful.  Overall, the tool is easy to understand and easy to use. 

Designed and recommended for individuals, a version is available for non-profits or small organizations.  You are also able to export your lists, access them via your cell phone, and join the various reader communities at the site.  You can also make your lists private (so no one else can see them) or leave them as public. 

Either way, the old cataloger in me is thrilled to finally have an easy way to track which books I own. 

Posted by Samantha.