One Thingamabrarian's Story

I love to read. I enjoy looking at books. I enjoy holding books. I enjoy the peace and quiet of walking through libraries. I even enjoy studying the architecture and layout of libraries. In short, I am a dyed-in-the-wool Thingamabrarian. For those of you who are not, and possibly have never heard of Thingamabrarians, I've included a definition for you:

Thingamabrarian: [thing-uh-muh-brair-ee-uhn] -noun
1. a user of LibraryThing.com.
2. a person that may, or may not, be trained in library science, but is engaged in library service using the resources found at LibraryThing.com.
3. one who has the care or charge of their own personal library.
4. the chief administrative officer of any library; this may include a personal library, a public library, a corporate library, or a not-for-profit library.
5. one who enjoys all (or at bare minimum -- most) aspects of anything book-related.

As a very small child, my parents read books to me, every day. I begged my parents to teach me to read, but they told me that was one of the things I would learn in school. I was so impatient for school to start; all I wanted to do was learn to read. Two weeks into kindergarten, when I realized they weren't going to teach me to read first-thing, I decided I did not like school. I couldn't understand why my kindergarten teacher was wasting my time. I already knew my colors; I could count; I could sort things by shape, color, type, or size. All I wanted was to learn how to read, and I wanted to be taught right then.

Finally, after much begging, time-wasting, and some school-changing (due to the US Air Force) I learned to read. I immediately soaked up everything within reach or "eye-shot" -- books (of course), cereal boxes, comic books, the labels on canned goods, any newspapers or magazines left lying around, the fine print on advertisements, even cookbooks. Nothing was safe from my "habit." All of the local librarians knew me by name. By second grade I'd begun asking for "a library for Christmas," and did so every year afterward until my Freshman year of high school -- when I realized I didn't need a library. Public libraries well-served my purposes and kept more money in my pockets. At first, my parents merely thought it was "cute" that I wanted a library for Christmas, but they soon learned I was in earnest. I began "collecting" a few books here and there.

My Junior year, the Air Force moved us again; this time we went to Tokyo, Japan. My American teachers at the Department of Defense school for military dependents were mostly well-traveled, highly intelligent, and many were avid readers. I picked up more books there mostly as gifts from teachers that were glad to see someone so willing to learn. Still bored with the slow pace of school, and disappointed by the lack of relevance most of "school" had to my own varied interests, I spent most of my free time (that wasn't spent working at our church) in the library.

While we were still there, one of the missionary families we knew was preparing to leave Japan on furlough. The family home-schooled their kids and had a lot of books, plus, the father had a good-number of books as well. They did not want their books in storage, so I was ecstatic to learn my parents had volunteered to keep their library in our home until their return! By the end of my Senior year I was reading and average of five books a day (at least half of those were in class). As school came to a close, and I knew I'd soon be leaving to start college, I read more and more. It was a rare day that I went through fewer than three books; several days I read as many as eight books.

Had I known my Father would retire from the Air Force while I was in college, I would have shipped all my books to college with me. As it was, most of the books I'd collected were given away. I started my book collecting over again in college; between library sales, book store sales, and buying a book a month, I acquired several hundred volumes in my years there.

After college, I continued collecting books. Book clearance stores, yard sales, thrift stores, and library sales have always been my favorite places to pick up books. I don't care that I'm the first to read a book, but if it's a good one, I want to keep it. Recently, I've discovered many books can be had for free through FreeCycle.com; a read-a-holic's dream: free books!

In 2001, I married a teacher -- also an avid reader and book collector. We now have books throughout our home. Now, not all of our bookshelves are completely full, but only because we have so many boxes of books stored in closets. Even before we married, I've wanted to be able to organize all of my books -- now all of "our" books. I tried a card catalog a few times, but it was a slow process, and inefficient. I tried bookkeeping ledgers and Excel spreadsheets, but ran into many of the same problems encountered with the card catalog. However, in February of 2007, I found LibraryThing! I convinced my wife that we needed a membership, and set to work entering our books.

At first, I was only gung-ho about adding books to my virtual library -- I wasn't at all concerned how they were entered. As time progressed, I decided that if I was going to spend the time entering the books, I was going to do so with the most accurate information I could find, and that it was important each book was organized by subject matter as well as by specific location. I've found that approach best-suits my temperament. Initially, it does take a bit longer this way, but I no longer enter any books using Amazon.com's info because I generally get much "cleaner" and accurate entries using the Library of Congress info on LibraryThing, or by manually inputting the information myself.

Another thing I've found very helpful is the ability to make a Wish List of books, simply by adding a separate tag. My Wish List is ranked by which books I want the most (5 stars) to books I've already read (no stars -- usually will help complete a collection, or it's been a long time since I read it). My Wish List is also accessible via both mobile and regular internet access. That way, if I'm ever at the library and don't happen to have a printout of the books I'm looking for, I can view the list quickly, and go right back to the book sale tables.

Another great asset of the Wish List feature is not having to come up with "a list" of things I want when someone asks what I'd like for Christmas, my birthday, or "just because." I can just email them the link, and both of us are set.