23at40

Thing 33. Travel 2.0

2009-05-29T15:16:00.003-05:00

Sure, I think travel sites are good for the library. I mean, as a supplement to the excellent travel guides that we have. I just don't find the user recommendations all that innovative or surprising (yet). It's that rule of the masses: more opinions don't mean more quality opinions. Unless someone is going to NYC, or London, or Hong Kong, there are not enough users at any one site to generate quality content. I want my content edited and vetted. Just like the selection process at the library or at my favorite radio station or even the grocery store: at some point I want to be able to rely on a trusted expert to tell me stuff, or show me stuff, or direct me to listen to stuff. I do use TripAdvisor because it has the most content, but I don't know that it is particularly wonderful. I mean, when people are rating chain hotels, it's hard to know what their standards are. Cause mine tend to be vastly different.
I thought some of the travel blogs were fun. Notes from the Road is truly one of the best looking blogs I have ever seen. The photos are lush and beautiful, and I like the tone of the writing. One of the sites that isn't included that I think is very useful is locally-created, but world encompassing VegGuide, for the vegetarian traveler. I'm not vegetarian, but I like to have the option, and I think it seems like a pretty good little resource. And what about wikitravel?

Thing 32. Google Maps and Mashups

2009-05-15T14:25:00.006-05:00

View Come Visit My Roseville in a larger map
Uh, I created a map using the Google maps that takes you on a purely cursory tour of the neighborhood by the temporary location of the Roseville library. I did it because I had to, so don't judge. It seems fairly easy to do, but I honestly don't know how often I'd necessarily use this. I'm sure a lot of brides out there would love this and I think it could be really great for all sorts of specific purposes, I just can't think of any off the top of my head. Two really cool mashups are WalkJogRun, which enables you to track a route in your neighborhood or access the routes of others, and Panedia, where you click on a marker on the map and it shows you truly beautiful panoramas of the scene around you. Panepedia seems based in Australia, however, so there are few entries other than Australian ones. I cannot wait until it gets filled out, though I bet if I searched Flickr I could find some pretty good stuff.

Thing 31. More: Twitter

2009-05-08T14:40:00.007-05:00

To say that I'm sick of Twitter would be an understatement. I felt like I said all I had to say in the last Twitter post. But, because I am trying to be flexible and open minded and young-seeming, I sucked it up and tried some other things that the More Things on a Stick Wiki (haha "stickwiki") told me I should try. Thing is, I have all the same feelings as before: it's a great marketing tool, possibly a great networking tool (if anyone you want following you actually has a Twitter account), and a fun phenomenon if you have time. Otherwise, I'm completely bored with it. I don't want to check it, even my (few) friends who are on it have nothing of interest to say, and I'm sick of hearing about it.
I added a gadget to my homepage so that my Twitter updates are all there, I practiced texting on my phone before deciding that I really, really did NOT want to have to come up with pithy status updates and tinyurls, and I messed around with the Tweeter Directory only to become more and more irate about the fact that I'm being forced to explore this platform ad infinitum. No my page does not reflect me as a person and no, there is not enough information there for people to get a sense of who I am as a person because I AM NOT OUT TO MARKET MYSELF. I am out to finish this endless "Thing," this monkey (or twit-like birdie) on my back. In that grudging spirit, I will answer the rest of the questions:
I am using Twitter to see if anything interesting comes of it. I've had an account for about a year now, 7 people I know have an account and a whopping 2 of them update with any regularity. I also subscribe to three businesses, two of which I'm told sometimes feature special Twitter-only coupons and one which I just want to know when their events occur. I tried subscribing to a local, interesting guy and a library specialty account, but they posted so much about so many trivial things that I quickly unsubscribed out of sheer uninterest.
As you've guessed I'm at "#2 Presence" in the 5 Stages of Twitter Acceptance and as far as adding to the list of what I think Twitter is... perhaps a graphic representation would suffice:

Any questions? Thanks for the image limeduck!

Thing 30 More Ways to Use RSS and Delicious

2009-04-27T21:56:00.009-05:00

There is no reason for anyone to use the internet and not use an RSS reader. It is hands down one of the most useful tools out there and I adore it. I, of course, use Google Reader. In fact I started using it before I really understood what it was, but the prompts were so simple that I was able to figure it out and realize the awesome power of it fairly quickly. One of my favorite blogs, 20x200, is part blog, part art gallery and part store. Each week, this bricks and mortar gallery in New York introduces two new prints, one photograph and one graphic, and you can buy these limited editions for as cheap as $20!!! Jen Bekman, who runs the gallery, is cool, completely immersed in the latest art and came up with the idea of making the latest art available to the masses. If I did not have RSS, I would forget-JUST PLAIN FORGET- to check and see what goodies are waiting for me. Seriously, it's like having a little present that you've customized for yourself waiting for you. And you don't have to fill up your email inbox.
With that said, some of the feeds are a pain. I've subscribed to a couple of different news feeds and the amount of material has just been overwhelming. For instance, I started subscribing to the (new) White House blog when Obama became president. It was SO cool to get a play-by-play of what was going on every day. One of the problems, though, was frequently the feed would send me the entire blog: all the entries from the beginning, even after I had read them all. Now this was clearly a problem with the platform itself, but I unsubscribed because of it. Others, like the Star Tribune politics blog, inundated me with too many things. Same with The Morning News, an really great online magazine. Every year in March, The Morning News does a "Tournament of Books ," pitting the latest, hippest books against each other according to the very subjective reviewers. It's funny and fun and I would like to subcribe to just that, but when I subscribe I get EVERYTHING that The Morning News posts, which is like a magazine's worth of reading PER DAY.
Now, I've heard the opinion of some that you should just subcribe to as many things as interest you and don't worry if you don't get to it all, but I just cannot do it. I have hand-picked these 28 subscriptions and I want to read it all. I don't like feeling unfinished. It's weird the relationship that I have with my subscriptions: I've unsubscribed if a blogger is too depressing, or makes too many of the wrong choices, or blogs about stupid things once too often. The choice of these feeds is so personal, it's like creating your own library.
Delicious, on the other hand, has not been as reveletory for me. I went through a spate of using it for all web pages that interested me, but, like my former files of articles that I would rip out of magazines, I rarely, if ever, accessed them again. I definitely like knowing it is there, and probably someday I'll have a use for it, but for now I just don't need it.

Thing 29. Google Tools

2009-03-21T13:58:00.002-05:00

As it's plain to see, I use Google. I've already used both Google Alerts and I am a Gmail user. What to say? Google Alerts couldn't be any easier and Gmail, well, it's fantastic and I guess I wouldn't use anything else. Check out the coolest Gmail theme ever: Ninja!
I think Google Alerts could be used especially to stay in touch with what is happening in the community, or to find out what is being said about a specific library. It seems like a useful tool, but my problem is usually the amount of crap that gets dumped in my email. I suppose I should have a separate gmail account for this sort of thing. It is something I've been thinking about for a while.

Thing 28. Customized Home Page

2009-03-06T14:36:00.003-06:00

Didn't we already do this one? In Online Productivity? Thing ? Anyway, I use Google as my home page and I now have Pandagirl as my theme. I use Google because most anything I use is from Google including my email, rss reader, blog platform, and I've always kind of liked their search engine (maybe you've used it?). It's just been so easy for me to customize my stuff through Google that I haven't felt the need to do anything else. This exercise helped me realize that it was unnecessary to switch and that one of the best things about going with a very popular platform was that the chances for updates and support are pretty good.
On my page I have my Gmail, Google Reader, local weather, BBC, top national news and quote of the day. I know I have the option for multiple "folders," so I could have more than one customized home page tabbed on this page. I've tried that, but found that it was just too much. I like how incredibly easy it is to change things on this page and I like how my email and rss are right there, because those are the things that I really care about. I toyed with the idea of adding some sort of twitter or facebook notification gadget, but then realized that email notification for this sort of thing is fine with me, someone who barely dabbles.

Twitter addendum

2009-02-16T23:09:00.008-06:00

I actually get some time at my other job to read magazines that are, uh, not really held in high esteem. I came across an "article" about Twitter and how celebrities use it to comment on all sorts of things and people can follow these tweets without having to be a "friend" like you would have to be on Facebook. It occurs to me that Twitter, and possibly the reason I don't really like Twitter, is perfect for marketing a personality. Even if that personality is not a person . One day, and I don't think it will be that far in the future, there will be enough people on Twitter to make it a worthwhile marketing platform. And then, not too long after that, everyone will stop following anyone or thing on Twitter because it will be like carrying around a bunch of annoying advertisements trying to sell you on something.

Thing 27. Twitter

2009-02-15T13:19:00.005-06:00

My Twitter username is bananahaynes. I would have posted a widget, but then I'd have to change my settings to "public" and frankly, I don't want to. I have enough relationships online and off, thank you very much. I finally signed on for Facebook and I have a very love/hate relationship with that. Twitter, to me, is like Facebook with only the status updates. I've stopped actively pursuing anymore "friends" because I can't handle the time or mind clutter. And for me to be a part of a constantly updating social network will drive me effing nuts!

I actually signed up for Twitter quite a while ago because I wanted to see if I could understand it. I do, now, but for it to actually work for the things I'm interested in, such as friends' lives, they too would have to sign up. And I think I know three people who actually use it, and one who has ever updated. I then signed up for a feed suggested by More Things On a Stick and one of a local fellow who has a great personality and seems to really, really like twittering. Problem is, I just don't care. I have more than enough useful and non-useful information running through this brain of mine to be bogged down with minutiae. I fully agree with David Lee King who says basically that if you are into it, use it, but otherwise it's fine to just know about it. Like many of these Things, I am very thankful to be aware of the technologies. Twitter is the sort of thing that libraries could use, but not unless there is someone on staff who would be able to do it all the time and not until a good portion of their patrons are following the feed. This may be something that will take off in the future, but for now I think it's a bit over-hyped.

Thing 26. Join the 23 Things On a Stick Ning

2009-02-03T08:59:00.004-06:00

I've been putting off writing about the Ning, mostly because I don't really see it as being that great. I mean, if all the information about 23 Things came off of that page, maybe it would be a place that I would visit often. As it stands, there just isn't anything there unique or useful or entertaining enough for me to want or need to visit it that often, if at all. I joined in the second round and I commented and I read some stuff, but this is just another thing for me to have to check and keep track of, and that takes away from my productivity.
With that said, I guess I could see making one for some sort of community page or something. It's the sort of thing that isn't really useful until it is, I guess. Profound, huh? I do notice that with the advent of More Things that there is more activity on the Ning, making it more interesting, so maybe I'll continue following it through the entirety of More Things and comment on it at the end.

Just an Observation about RSS feeds and Design

2009-01-30T12:09:00.007-06:00

I read most of the blogs that I follow straight off of my Google home page where I have a RSS reader installed. Most of the entries come up full-text and I never even see the web page that the text is from. Of course, I check my blog posts to make sure that they look okay from the reader, but AFTER ALL THAT WORK to update and add to my page none of it is even represented on the reader. If I was trying to sell something or get people involved in something and the page was part of that theme, I would really want to try to remember adjust my settings so that people would have to go to my page to read the entire entry.
Now, I'll admit, I find it super annoying when I am required to do that, but at the same time, for favored pages, I grudgingly do. I guess the best answer to all of this is to make sure that the content is just as strong as the aesthetic and the bells and whistles.

Thing 25: Bloggers Toolkit

2009-01-29T22:11:00.011-06:00

Oh geez. I spent what seemed like ten hours looking at widgets, trying them out, making them work, and making them fit my page. I spent WAY too much time looking at things that were broken, useless, or ridiculous. I ended up adding a favicon, a search bar, a subscription feed, a widget that turns my posts into a podcast, and a widget that pops-up mini-screens over the links on my page.

I ended up rejecting many widgets mostly because they came with advertising attached. I guess that's the downside of free widgets; I despise ads because they make the page so cluttered. In fact, I'm not sure how long I'll keep Odiogo, the podcast widget, and Snap Shots, the pop-up box widget, because both of them add a visual element to the page that I don't like. The podcasts themselves are hilarious, though. They're all wooden and mis-pronounced in a charming, robot kind of way.

The really great widgets were the ones that could be added with one click. My favicon was a little more complicated and even now seems to only work intermittently. Also, during the customization part I had no idea what to put in for number of pixels that I wanted the widget sized at. Mostly, I'm pleased with what I found, and I'm still thinking that Lil Wayne widget would have looked SO good...

New Newbery Medal! And an R. I. P.

2009-01-26T22:52:00.008-06:00

Congratulations Neil Gaiman! I haven't read The Graveyard Book, but it's always nice when someone who lives (kind of) locally wins an award. I've only read Coraline and American Gods by Gaiman. I thought American Gods was really pretty amazing, but I had major trouble with Coraline: it was so terribly unsettling. It figures that it is now a Major Motion Picture, one that I probably will not see.

On another note, John Updike just died of lung cancer. It's like the passing of a national treasure. Dude wrote SIXTY-ONE books! I didn't always like his stuff, but he sure knew what he was doing. And, despite the fact that it was pretty fluffy, I did like The Witches of Eastwick, so there.

Thing 24: Refresh Your Blog

2009-01-24T23:03:00.004-06:00

I did, a little bit. Refresh my blog, that is. The thing is, I liked it a lot before and I don't think many of the changes I did are that interesting. I did, however, learn that if you want to use a template for Blogger that is XTML, then you must unzip it first. Granted, I have very little idea what that means, but I still got a new template only to get rid of it because I didn't really like it that much. I'm going to be looking around to see what I can find and maybe change this one of these days.

Anyhow, on to commenting about blogging itself. I have blogged twice since I finished the first round of 23 Things and frankly, I just will not be blogging unless it is for something like this. I love reading blogs, but I don't love blogging. I read tons of them and comment when I'm moved to. I find new blogs all the time and follow them on my feed, deleting and adding as I see fit. Really, I love blogs.

Musings

2008-09-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

I finally re-joined the American Library Association. The re-design of their new site will definitely improve things.
Whenever someone mentions Cocoa Beach, I think of a giant expanse by the water filled with Cocoa Puffs. No Lie.
Happy 42nd Anniversary, Mum and Dad (not actually sure my parents know what a blog is)!!!

It's Good to be a St. Paulite?

2008-08-31T13:10:00.000-05:00

photo by Moncrief Speaks

Have you heard? The RNC starts tomorrow in my front-backyard (that's what my child calls the backyard; also, the backseat is the "front-backseat." wha?). I'm totally dreading it, but at least Bush won't be here and thank God McCain chose the worst running-mate ever.

My friend and her child are going to the rally/protest at the capital, but I just don't have it in me.

photo by the_bill
I'm going to bury my head at the last day of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. And mourn the passing of another glorious summer.

Thing 23. Final Thoughts

2008-08-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

I kind of jumped the gun. I over and out-ed before I was actually done. I completed the evaluation, and the one thing that I really DISliked about these exercises is the trail one has to leave when exploring the 'net. I mean, I fear THE MAN, among others, and I don't want to be tracked. So social networking, as it's name implies, isn't really for people who don't want to be social. To millions of people that is. I mean, I don't mind meeting some of you for a drink or something...

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

2008-08-13T22:22:00.001-05:00

Doing 23Things was such a great way to systematically work through some of the most important technological advances taking place on the internet. It is so important to know about these things mainly because, no matter what, someone will walk up to that desk and ask us.
But the other thing for libraries is that so many of these things are FREE. Free word of mouth, free advertising, free organization, free graphic design. For so long libraries have offered such a wealth of resources for (virtually) free. These Things are part and parcel of the philosophy of a public library (which is my domain, anyway).
One thing that makes me happy is how much I knew already. One of the challenges of being in the position of being very "green" in the library industry is being sure of paying attention to the proper advances. I work very limited hours at the library and my other job has absolutely no computer time involved, so the tools that I was already using and the blogs that I had been watching were actually right on target. Having this, as I've said, systematic approach to exploration just helped me to organize my research.
I will try to continue blogging.
I will absolutely continue monitoring my RSS feeds.
I will use these applications as needed.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

2008-08-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

Yawn. I do belong to social networks, as you well know: flickr (though only for friends and family to view), LibraryThing, Goodreads, and MySpace (as a kind of shadow participant). I think that while it's a great idea for libraries to keep abreast of the multitude of social networks, I also believe that time needs to be invested to monitor the importance of the networks that pop up all over the place. There are soooo many. Gather, for instance: I just have no desire to join a social network that is basically indistinguishable from another except that the participants are older. Even after reading the article about Gather wanting to become like a MySpace for Books, I didn't feel compelled. At all.
WebJunction however... I think I'll probably bookmark this site and search for more links as far as online learning and career networking. It seems useful, especially in that there is a Minnesota contingent. God knows, LinkedIn feels somehow soul-less. I hate corporate and LinkedIn feels corporate.
I think the beauty of social networking is that it is there when you need it. For instance, how wonderful to find a ready made group when you are adopting a child or when you are looking for a job in a particular field. I do use social networking. When I need it.

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

2008-07-25T14:06:00.001-05:00

Ugh. I've really gotten so much out of this 23 Things exercise, but now it's starting to grate a bit. Maybe because I have already made the decision to not participate in social networking sites. This does not mean that I don't think that they are a good idea or that other people shouldn't, it's just that for all the reasons I've talked about in former posts I don't want that much of an online presence. Or any more reasons to log in.
I already have an account with MySpace, though only to use for searching bands or other people's prospective dates, otherwise I really can't say I often look on MySpace. Plus, the layout of the pages is generally appalling. I can't stand looking at them.
I've always stayed away from Facebook after reading how hard it was to cancel an account with them. It's my worst nightmare to not be able to opt out of something online and then have it haunt me in some (unknown, possibly imaginary) way.
Then again, I think so many people (kids? most people younger than me?) check their Facebook or MySpace just to keep up with their friends. Blogs are just absolutely not the same as these social networks and I can see why libraries want to be a part of this movement. I mean, why not? They're free. Mainly, if a library chooses to be a part of a social network then some ONE person must be in charge of making sure that it is updated often. There is nothing more lame than an outdated social networking page. It would be better not to participate at all, or make the decision to have a more static webpage that would not require frequent updates. Know what I mean?

Thing Nineteen. Podcasts

2008-06-22T15:42:00.001-05:00

I think podcasts are a great idea. I really, really do. I just can't seem to get myself to actually sit down and listen to anything (that needs my undivided attention) for any appreciable amount of time. I don't like listening to people read stories, I don't like audio books (sorry Kristen). There is a special place in my heart for all the public radio greats: Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, This American Life, and A Prairie Home Companion, but I can't be bothered to seek them out. There are very few occasions that I feel comfortable sitting and listening, and even then I must be very entertained to be able to focus. Even lectures at school allowed me to look at the speaker. I must be one of those lame people who just can't learn through listening. I listen to the radio almost exclusively in the car, I've tried audio books and the format grates on my nerves. Why? I cannot tell.
The upshot is is that I've read about all kinds of good podcasts but put off listening to any until later. And it never happens. I like the MPR directory, I didn't listen to a podcast, I'm sure this format would be great for a library. Enough said.

Thing Eighteen. YouTube

2008-05-30T13:56:00.002-05:00

Wow, what happened? I guess I got a little off track as life took over (ahm gittin' hitched in July), and since I missed the (first) deadline anyway... Hey I've got all the time in the world to finish these "things."

Now, don't get me wrong: YouTube is super fun, but I have NO patience for browsing through the enormous amount of CRAP. I rely on other blogs and word of mouth to direct me to Quality Video Entertainment. And for me, entertainment's mostly what it is. I guess the Common Craft videos really come in handy though, as well as this shirt-folding video:

thank God someone posted that.

Oh, and this is my betrothed:

Hot stuff? Rock star? In our house he is!

I just kind of hate embedded videos though. I hate having to click on a video and have it be a surprise. It could be anything. I don't know why it bothers me, but sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and others I just get pissed. I know that's vague, but I'm trying to explain the annoyance I feel when someone has posted a video. I think part of the reason is that when I'm using the computer, even at home, there are few occasions that are "safe" to play a loud, unreviewed video. I'm not saying that most videos are inappropriate, but you never know. And I almost always forget to adjust the sound.Also, I hate bloggers who rely heavily on videos for posts. I like to read what someone thinks. At least comment on the videos you post.You know who you are.

After a couple of drinks, though... Well, who hasn't wasted an entire evening looking at The Kings or Iggy being awoken onstage to put on a performance, or the new Weezer? Huh? Come on admit it!

Sure I like the options for libraries especially the options for getting people involved. Look at this kid's contest (from the Swiss Army Librarian) called Story Tubes. Fun! Though this contest is sponsored by publishers, Brian Herzog points out that an individual library system could just as easily set up a contest. What a great way to get the community involved and invested! At the very least it would get people to look at the library home page, and just to have people become familiar with that is invaluable.

Thing Seventeen. ELM

2008-05-02T14:29:00.001-05:00

Ye gads. I am ashamed to admit that I have a hard time remembering what ELM is versus MELSA versus MINITEX. I had to do a quick self-tutorial. Doh.
ELM is an amazing example of local government working for the people of MN. It's just that most people have not a clue that it exists. And a lot of people don't have a library card, which is the way that ELM resources are accessed. I suppose having a library card helps to determine that the user is a MN resident. I'm just sad that people don't realize how valuable their tax-paid library cards are. USE THEM, PEOPLE. Sorry for shouting.
With that said, I am annoyed by this exercise mostly because, again, we have to sign up for an account. Now I've used all of these resources in the past without setting up an account and it's worked just fine for me. I think I'm glad to know that these tools exist, but I couldn't cancel my account after I was done. At least, I couldn't figure out how to do it. I hate that. Also, after all the rigamarole of setting up an RSS feed, my reader was inundated with results. I would use this function sparingly. I suspect for the average user a more measured approach would be more productive. I did, however, like the ProQuest Newsstand email as a web page option. And I did end up signing up for a NetLibrary account, but that was so I could practice downloading our library's new option for audiobooks.
I suppose maybe my annoyance is unfounded. It is great to have options; even multiple ways to do the same thing. I just can't stand the multiple account sign ups and I know I'm not the only one.

Thing Sixteen. Student 2.0 Tools

2008-04-25T14:10:00.002-05:00

Boy, why didn't I have these tools when I was in school? I could've used them in grad school, too. The U of Minnesota Assignment Calculator is such a clean, simple way of kicking off an assignment in a thoughtful and organized manner. I love it that there are as many or few recommendations for helpful links as you wish to use. Somehow the "official" timeline would enable me to work more efficiently, I think, as though I had some responsibility to someone. This, as well as the Research Project Calculator, would help in so many situations-especially with written assignments. I've always had a nasty habit of doing everything at once; not entirely at the last minute, but not with enough time either. I believe that a lot of my thesis papers would have been so much better if I had given myself time to really ruminate on the research that I had done instead of instantly synthesizing it (the research) into a paper. I suppose many people do it, and the Assignment Calculator enables you to be more methodical in your process. Slick.
I've already recommended it to a friend. Hopefully she'll tell me what she thinks. I think the library should absolutely link this to an education link or a student link on the resources page.

Thing Fifteen. Online Gaming

2008-04-20T21:46:00.001-05:00

After some reading of random 23Thing participants' blogs to see if I'm a total wet blanket about all of this online gaming stuff, I realize that I'm not the only one who has qualms about it. Second Life in particular totally creeps me out, especially after watching the Ohio University video about all the opportunities for learning and networking at their Second Life campus. Just absurd. Why would I want to go to a less aesthetically pleasing universe? So I could fly? Well, maybe; but seriously, it's not as though most people are going to Second Life to learn. People are creating virtual lives. People are creating virtual lives. Can anyone really think of anyone who could not benefit from spending more time working on REAL relationships, real jobs, real wardrobes, real bodies? Second Life is not a game. I love the computer, and this is what I fear about the computer, and the future and young people. Humans strive to avoid reality in all sorts of different ways, and this is just another way to do it.
I think Puzzle Pirates seems like a way cooler alternative, but I really didn't want to sign up for it with my new computer. I've, many times now, managed to introduce viruses to computers even though they've been armed with the latest anti-virus shields. I'm just not willing to try it.
The upshot is that I think gaming is fine. Of course people should be able to play games, and even do Second Life if they want. If there is someone at the library willing to take the reins and trot out the program, so be it. It's just not gonna be me.

Thing Fourteen. LibraryThing

2008-04-18T14:37:00.001-05:00

In case y'all didn't notice: I added my LibraryThing widget a long time ago. There are few things more pleasurable than finding out what others have read. LibraryThing is a delightful site. I love the options of knowing what other people have read based on the similarities of their libraries to yours. I love the "more recommendations" and the(brilliant) "anti-recommendations." Seriously, choosing the hot links to either of these categories after you have found a particular book leads you to all sorts of intriguing titles. So many people are a part of LibraryThing that I think it works really well. Millions of books are represented.
And the tagging! I cannot tell you how many times I have used LibraryThing to find a book that I was unable to remember the title to. More often than not I have located seemingly un-locatable books. I think that alone is a good reason to be familiar with LibraryThing. I think it would be great to have LibraryThing integrated into our catalog. From what I gather it is a simple thing to do.
I also belong to Goodreads. Not so many people contribute, so I don't think it's as great as LibraryThing. But check it out, it has a nice feel to it also.