Librarything - a genealogist's friend

My post yesterday reminded me that I had not blogged about one of my favourite tools for over two years. I love Librarything the online tool that serves as my reading log, personal library catalogue, book recommendation tool and conduit to other booklovers with similar interests.

Although I use this tool for all things bookish I find that it is a wonderful tool for genealogy. As one enters books into the database one can tag them with descriptors. The tag "Genealogy" has been used 38,731 times to date to describe works in the database. The books most often tagged genealogy are:

• Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills (352 times)
• The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Dennis Szucs (215 times)
• The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood (196 times)
• The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America by George B. Sr. Everton (187 times)
• The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual by Board for Certification Of Genealogists (185 times)
• Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills (181 times)
• Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources, Third Revised Edition by Alice Eichholz (170 times)
• Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians by Elizabeth Shown Mills (166 times)
• Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom (162 times)
• The Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook by Emily Anne Croom (146 times)
• They Came in Ships: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record (3rd Edition) by John Philip Colletta (131 times)
• Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research by Sharon Carmack (127 times)
• Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records by Richard S. Lackey (115 times)
• Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case by Christine Rose (113 times)
• Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon Debartolo Carmack (112 times)
• Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs by Maureen A. Taylor (111 times)
• Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures by Christine Rose (105 times)
• Quicksheet Citing Online Historical Sources by Elizabeth Shown Mills (102 times)
• Guide to genealogical research in the National Archives of the United States by United States (99 times)
• The complete idiot's guide to genealogy by Christine Rose (97 times)
• Producing a Quality Family History by Patricia Law Hatcher (94 times)
• Searching for Your Ancestors: The How and Why of Genealogy by Gilbert Harry Doane (93 times)
• The Family Tree Problem Solver: Proven Methods for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Wall by Marsha Hoffman Rising (90 times)
• Land & Property Research in the United States by E. Wade Hone (90 times)
• Genealogy Online by Elizabeth Powell Crowe (89 times)

As this list has a US bias one could search for books tagged Genealogy and Australia. I would not describe all of the books in this list as genealogy but those titles may provide infomration on,life in ancestors' countries at a particular point in time. The top titles in this list are:

• A Short History of Australia by Manning Clark
• Tracing your family history in Australia : a national guide… by N. J. Vine Hall
• The Floating Brothel by Siân Rees
• The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller
• The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
• The Great Shame: And the Triumph of the Irish in the… by Thomas Keneally
• 1788 by Watkin Tench
• Roots and branches : ancestry for Australians by Errol Lea-Scarlett
• The Birth of Sydney by Tim Flannery
• The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey by Spencer Wells
• Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and Maltreatment of… by Bruce Elder
• Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville
• Compiling your family history by Nancy Gray
• The Singing Line by Alice Thomson
• Poppy by Drusilla Modjeska
• The long farewell by D. E. Charlwood
• From shamrock to wattle : digging up your Irish ancestors by Trevor McClaughlin
• How to find shipping and immigration records in Australia by Cora Num
• Bound for Botany Bay: British Convict Voyages to Australia by Alan Brooke
• Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins by Steve Olson
• The Second Fleet : Britain's grim convict armada of 1790 by Michael C. Flynn
• A geographical dictionary or gazetteer of the Australian… by William Henry Wells
• How to trace your Italian ancestors : a guide for… by Bette Leone
• Parish registers in Australia : a list of all known… by N. J. Vine Hall

Searching for "genealogy, Australian" shows these as the top titles:

• The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes
• The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
• Tracing your family history in Australia : a national guide… by N. J. Vine Hall
• Poppy by Drusilla Modjeska
• A Short History of Australia by Manning Clark
• Compiling your family history by Nancy Gray
• The Floating Brothel by Siân Rees
• From shamrock to wattle : digging up your Irish ancestors by Trevor McClaughlin
• The long farewell by D. E. Charlwood
• Greetings from the land where milk and honey flows: The… by Patricia Cloos
• How to trace your family history in six easy steps by Douglas R Sellick
• Debrett's handbook of Australia by Debrett
• Canowindra pioneer register, pre-1901 by Canowindra & District Historical Society.
• Camden district : a history to the 1840s by P. J. Mylrea
• Births, deaths and marriages in the Horton, Emu Bay,… by Ulverstone Local History Museum.
• How to trace your family tree (and not get stuck on a… by Janet Reakes
• Galston and Arcadia : memories of value 1819-1986 by Leslie Bothwell Geelan
• Pioneers of Camden by J. D. Wrigley

Librarything also lists users who have used the term genealogy, there are over 1700 people who have used the tag "genealogy. By looking at people with similar libraries on can follow them. I follow a few people with similar interests but only one Australian genealogist " Carole Riley" who has 237 books tagged "genealogy". 

 "A free account Librarything allows you to catalog up to 200 books. A paid account allows you to catalog any number of books. Paid personal accounts cost $10 for a year or $25 for a lifetime." A $US25 investment for such a useful and powerful resource represents great value.