*insert Goodreads pun here*

My Goodreads shelf

Lately I’ve had a lot of “Be my friend on Goodreads” emails come into my mailbox as my library school classmates are connecting with each other on the site. Because of this, I’ve become very interested in how people – and institutions! – use Goodreads to complement their online presence. I’m a semi-active Goodreads user; I use it to keep track of the books I read, but I only log on sporadically because most of my reading is (unfortunately) done over school breaks and I don’t write reviews. Even from my irregular use of the site, I can tell that it is a great place to get book recommendations from authorities you trust and strengthen social ties among friends, classmates, and even strangers.

Contrasting my relationship with Goodreads with those of my peers and other users, I began to wonder – have academics studied Goodreads in the context of how libraries can make use of this specific site? If so, what have they found? This is the perfect opportunity for me to put my own academic hat on and do some digging.

I wish that this was my academic hat.

I turned to the trusty UBC library homepage – one of the best ways to satisfy scholarly questions and whims – and did a basic search for Goodreads I was very impressed with my findings – over 200 articles came up, which I was able to filter down to a manageable number of articles that answered my question. Here is my favorite article of the bunch – it has a fresh voice and is meticulously researched.

Finding Good Reads on Goodreads by Barry Trott and Yesha Naik, published in Reference & User Services Quarterly in 2012, talks about the ways that Goodreads can be used in libraries with a focus on how it can enhance reader’s advisory. The most important take-away is that Goodreads is a great way to bring the library out into the online environment where patrons are already congregating rather than waiting for patrons to come to the library’s website.

They point to two ways that public libraries can take advantage of Goodreads. First, public libraries could teach their patrons how to use Goodreads as a reader’s advisory tool for themselves. That way, “when patrons find the Goodreads page about a particular book they enjoyed, they are exposed to a RA goldmine: discussions about other books and authors, many of which are comparisons made between these books and authors and the original book”

A second way that libraries can use Goodreads is by creating an account for their library. They say that “the more the librarians post on their Goodreads account, the more they will be building a reputation for being a good source of information for reading suggestions.” Having a Goodreads presence can do more than allow libraries to recommend books: a Goodreads page is also an opportunity to boost a library’s brand, showcase library services, and demonstrate to community members that they are welcome in the library.

Inviting patrons into the library through Goodreads

The authors point to the Salt Lake County Library Services page on Goodreads as an especially dynamic model of how libraries can take advantage of the affordances of the site. You can check out their page here to see the intersection of libraries and Goodreads in action!

I also found that Sacramento Public Library has an excellent Goodreads page, which they bill as “A virtual space for the Sacramento Public Library community to discover and talk about books.” I was especially impressed with their discussion threads, including one called “Let’s Talk About Racism.” They used this thread to advertise an upcoming event as well as to recommend a book and give patrons an opportunity to weigh in with their opinions about the book.

For those looking to read a broader view about Goodreads and libraries, I recommend a Library 559M UBC wiki page about Goodreads that has an excellent background on the history of Goodreads, the ways that libraries can use it, and some controversies.

And finally, an invitation: be my friend on Goodreads! Expanding my network there would a great first step to being more active on the site and engaging with the Goodreads library community.