How to become a LibraryThing author

LibraryThing is the leading social-networking site for bibliophiles, and it offers authors an opportunity to enhance their profile. You can build a special author page on LibraryThing to show members what's in your personal book collection.

To become a LibraryThing author, you need to be a member who has at least one book listed on Amazon or the Library of Congress, and the book has been entered onto LibraryThing by you or someone else. You also need to catalog at least 50 books. You’ll need a public account that allows comments on your profile. Get more details from Abby@LibraryThing.com.

So far about 300 authors have signed on at LibraryThing.

Like other social networks that have mushroomed recently, LibraryThing has grown purely on word of mouth, not advertising. Like other social sites, part of the fun of LibraryThing is belonging to a big club that lets you display how eclectic and singular your interests are, while offering the possibility you’ll find a one-in-a-million soulmate.

Spending time on LibraryThing is addictive because of all the interesting connections you turn up, especially among obscure books. Members enter their book collection simply by punching in the ISBNs, then can compare their whole collection—or individual rarities—against the collections of other members. Ever wonder who else in the world has read that oddball book you love? On LibraryThing you’ll find out.

LibraryThing also has a book-recommendation system that can be more accurate than Amazon's because LibraryThing members pay more attention to the raw data it uses. By contrast, Amazon recommendations can be corrupted with gift purchases and most users don’t go to the bother of fine-tuning it.

Another important feature of LibraryThing is anonymity. Unlike a commerce site like Amazon, which must identify users to collect payments, LibraryThing knows only a person’s user ID, unless the user adds more information and makes it public. This gives members the freedom to list material and provide information they might not want to be associated with publicly.