Rather Delicious Library Thing

Finally! A new technology I will actually use. I am talking about Delicious, which I have only recently discovered. It always bugged me that I couldn’t bookmark something on my computer, and then show it to my kids later on their PC’s, or access it at work. I thought, ‘surely there must be an easier way to do this, that doesn’t involve sending myself links all the time’. Then I learned about Delicious.

After signing up I began to search for those websites I check on a daily basis. Sites like “Perth Now”, “WA Today”, “Zoupon” and “EatingWA” immediately popped up on my screen, ready for the tagging. I found Genes Reunited and the TV guide too. Having all of these bookmarks in one place allowed me to open just one website, and check on all my regulars. It was to my delight that I realised, after trying to search the tag “food”, that recipes from the “Taste” website could also be bookmarked in this way. Suddenly the bookmark list on my browser was much smaller, and yet I had access to everything I wanted. Furthermore, searching with tags allowed me to easily find other websites I would enjoy, by looking into what users with similar tastes to my own were tagging.

LibraryThing was another matter. While I see merit in a website that allows me to read book reviews, I don’t believe in cataloguing what I have read. To me this seems like I am simply counting books, like they are just a means to a number. I have read some books multiple times, and revisited books years after I first read them. Having them in a list of books I have already read would discourage me from revisiting them and take away some of the enjoyment of reading in the first place. There is something poetic and beautiful in not knowing the number of books you have read, nor remembering all the titles.

Whilst I can't see myself personally using Librarything, I can definitely see merit for its incorporation into libraries. I believe it would make a brilliant resource for book clubs. Any web application that encourages patrons to actively participate in their library (be it through book reviews, discussions on forums about recommended books and authors, or connecting patrons to members with similar tastes) has to be a good thing.