I was having a Twitter conversation with Eric Démoré (@EricDemore) about books for classroom libraries. Check out his blog as well, it has some quality stuff. (http://demore.ca) After going back and forth for several minutes, the conversation turned to our blogs, and eventually, to the use of www.goodreads.com. 

We discussed the strengths of Goodreads, such as being able to have a list of “to read” texts, a way to keep up with books you have read, and a place to find suggestions for one’s next great book. It is made even better by the fact that one can download the app to a mobile device, and add those books straight from the bookstore, using the UPC barcode scanner.

Eric then mentioned that he would like to find a way to make it work as a means of keeping up with student checkouts; a way to keep up with what student has what book off the classroom shelf. I had not thought of that before, so I was intrigued.

Quickly, I poured myself another cup of coffee, and got to it. As it happens, it is far easier than one would think.

Step one:  Log into your account at www.goodreads.com (or make one if you don’t have one and really want to be cool)

Step two: In the header section, click MY BOOKS

Step three: Click ADD SHELF on the left side, and name it something like BOOKS BORROWED

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Step four: Next, click the new folder (whatever you named it), then click settings. Here you can change what is viewable in that folder. You will want to uncheck several of the items, as you probably are not as interested in the ratings and such in this area. Be sure you keep title, author, and date added. Also, click the box to add NOTES. This is where you will put the student’s name who has the book.

Step five: Finally, you are ready to add books to this shelf. You can either scan them from the app, or add them by typing the name. After you add the book, just click the little “edit” link in the NOTES column and add the students name. When they return the book, just delete it from the shelf by clicking the X at the end of the line.

Now, get reading!