WorldCat.org
Something for the catalogers! Hey! Actually I don't use WorldCat.org that much but I do know about it and its social networking abilities. As a cynic I wonder how much it is used. It seems to be trying to rival LibraryThing which I doubt will happen. But it will be interesting to explore.
I created my account -- it was easy (I was taken aback by the fact that you cannot ever change your User Name that seems inflexible). I identified more than one favorite library and then when I discovered I didn't want one as a favorite it took a while to work out how remove it.
Creating a list was easy although it is the usual WorldCat fashion and could have been easier. Susan's instructions in the blog were more helpful than anything else. I created a couple of lists and may use one the Great Children's Books one to share with my mother (it is an ongoing discussion).
I searched for lists to watch but this is much more of a hit and miss activity -- who knows what terms someone would use. Some would be so general such as Cookbooks or Mystery Novels that there be pages to wade through. I prefer looking at lists that users have created based on items I am searching. That way I can find other things that might be of interest. I also wonder how often anyone updates their lists.
I found out some interesting things about WorldCat.org. First when I looked at what our library had recently added I saw the records I had loaded on Friday afternoon -- this gives a very skewed picture of what was added. As these items are for a new library branch and not yet available to the public anyone trying to find them will be frustrated. But this is an unusual situation that only happens occasionally. Normally it is a way for people to find some new cataloged materials and might provide quite a variety of materials.
Our ILS allows us to create a variety of lists and maintain them so I do not see the utility of the WorldCat.org ones. I cannot see users just searching for lists. Perhaps putting on some of the things being read by library sponsored book clubs might be useful or things relating to library events but you can't control your audience for that. Which can be a good thing -- need to think of things that would appeal to a wider audience -- perhaps list of genelaogical material available at the library or historical maps or photos. But if you want to reach certain people WorldCat.org is not a good option. It allows you to reach the world so we need to think of what we want the world to know and how to draw them into our library. And lists of bestsellers does not seem the best way.
