Jäsendoncornell

How I use collections:
Your library: books I own
Other libraries: books I don't own
Currently Reading: library books currently on loan, books read but unshelved, books pulled from shelves to read
Read but unowned: Library books I've read and returned
Wishlist: inactive (requires an external database export followed by an import)
To read: inactive (also requires export/import; eventually it will list all books owned but unread
I'll be adding books to Recently read and Favorites. (9/27/2009) Note: not likely to happen soon (02/17/2010)

Tags vs Collections
I use collections to describe my relationship or engagement with a book - whether I own it, have read it, liked it, etc. Tags, on the other hand, I intend to use to describe the book itself, without the "me" aspect. I have some cleaning up to do: the fiction/non-fiction tag pair is valid, but the others are vestiges of a system in use before collections became available in LT.

I have my own personal database of books (and reviews, clippings, notes, etc.) that I've used for 20 years and I'm not going to abandon it, so any system for using collections and tags has to be portable from my database to LibraryThing.

September 2012: I just bought a Kindle Touch in order to play around with e-books and - maybe, eventually - reduce the amount of physical space my library is taking up. So far I've purchased two books, downloaded a number of freebies, and "borrowed" a couple from the local library consortium, but their selection is limited and the waiting lists are long.

I've been recently hired as data coach for a local middle school. It's not a teaching position, but it is an entry into the education field, my choice for a second career.

June 2010: I'm a graduate of the "Traders to Teachers" program at Montclair State University and pursuing a second career as a high school math teacher. This seriously interferes with my reading time.