After you finish a good book, what's the first thing you want to do? Talk about it with someone else! Social reading is just a new term for what readers have always been doing: sharing their thoughts and feelings about books with other people. Add in social networks like Facebook and Twitter, along with interactive websites dedicated to book talk, and you have a social reader's paradise.
Companies are now jumping on the bandwagon and adding social reading features to their eReading devices.
Now doesn't that make you want to grab a book and start sharing? It's easier than you might think!
Our very own catalogue now has social reading features for patrons and staff. After setting up an account, you can:
- Comment on books you've read
- Suggest similar titles for a book
- Create and share lists of your favourite books
- Follow other readers with similar reading interests
- Share books or lists on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
THING #7 - Set up an account in the Vision catalogue.
Go to http://vision.bibliocommons.com and find the Log In to My Vision button.
Use the barcode number on your library card to login the first time. Use this Vision FAQ sheet if you need help setting up your account. If you want your account to be anonymous, avoid using your real name in your username.
THING #8 - Create a list in Vision.
Now that your account is set up, it's time to start sharing the book love! Go to My Vision, My Lists to Create a New List. The FAQ guides on the right-hand side of the catalogue's screen can help you along. Add a few book titles to your list. The topic is up to you!
THING #9 - Share your comments about a book in Vision.
Choose one of the books in your list and click on its title to go to the full item record. Click on Add a Comment to share a few words about the book. Don't be shy, people love seeing what others thought about books they've read! And your username is anonymous. Your comments will show up at the bottom of the page, under Community Activity.
Hang in there, only one more Thing to go this week!
THING #10 - Follow a reader with similar reading interests in Vision.
Search for a popular or classic book that you've read. The goal is to find an item record with a lot comments under Community Activity.
Click on the username (in blue) of
the reader whose comment you like the best. If the reader has a public profile,
you can view the books they've read. Click on Follow to keep track of
the books this reader reviews. Now when you click on My Vision, you'll
see the items that the readers you follow share, and usually how they've rated
them. Keep a watch out for 5 star reviews and you could discover your next great
read!
***Don't forget to write a blog post about this week's Things on your blog!***
Cool Extra THING - Join a social reading website.
Create a Goodreads account. There are mobile apps available for Goodreads for rating and reviewing on the go. Search for the app in your mobile device's app market.
How does social reading in Goodreads compare to in Vision? That's something to blog about.
