Connections is a social networking platform for book lovers provided right in your library's online public access catalog (OPAC). Here are a few things you can do using Connections:
Create and share your virtual bookshelves - keep track of what you have read, what items you own, your current reads as well as wishlist items
Display your bookshelves right in your blog or other social networking applications - once you create your bookshelf, you can create a widget very easily for sharing it with others
Create and fully design a user profile to share with others using all basic social networking features like friending, messaging, instant messaging, etc.
Find other users with similar literary interests and receive reading recommendations from them, as well as recommending books to others
Join or create book clubs or communities, to take part in discussion groups or online chat about a particular book, topic, author or - anything you choose!
Follow what other users are doing in Connections, or follow particular items - so you know when an item gets a new review, or gets added to a book club, for example
Automatically post Connections events to your Twitter account
To learn more, you can read full information on Connections and its features, or watch this quick video:
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You need to create and account and log in, which you do in various ways:
If you've already got a Reviews login, you can use that as your login for your new Connections account
Create a Connections account by using the “Sign-up” section
Log in using Facebook or Twitter
After you have logged in, you can:
1. Edit your profile by clicking the Edit my profile section on the top toolbar - there you can:
Change your personal settings - location, age, gender, set your favorite quote, etc.
Set your current read - set it to a book you are currently reading to share it with other users visiting your profile
Upload your profile picture using the Change picture section
Add your interests using the My interests section - this will show your interests in your profile as well as give you better recommended reads
Authorize Connections with your Twitter account - this will allow you to automatically post your Connections events to your Twitter account (you can choose which events to post) and show a Twitter icon linking to your Twitter account in your profile.
Change your profile style and coloring - you can use either predefined styles or create your own style easily
2. Add books to your bookshelf:
Click on “Add/remove books” and find books to add to your bookshelf - or just search for a book in the top toolbar and add it from the search results
You can even import book data from other online services - you don't have to enter all the data manually again!
You can add, rename or remove your bookshelves. You can also select your default bookshelf.
3. Find your friends or users with similar literary interest - you can search users by:
their nickname or e-mail address using the top search box while selecting “Users” as search parameter
browse users within your library using the Browse library users section in My friends widget
browse your or other items and look for “X users have this” - this will show list of users having item of your interest on their bookshelves
see users in Tracking list section - these are users who have visited your profile most likely for similar literary interest
4. Explore book clubs and communities to find out if there is one appropriate to your interests. If not - create one and start attracting users!
5. Share your bookshelf outside Connections - use the My widgets section to create a widget to place on your blog or website
There you go - you are all set up! Enjoy!