OCLC and GoodReads Are Expanding Their Partnership
FYI: In an article published last week we learned that GoodReads has approximately 12 million registered users.
From OCLC:
The new agreement pledges to improve Goodreads members’ experience of finding fresh, new things to read through libraries. It will also provide libraries with a way to reach this key group of dedicated readers through social media. As a WorldCat.org traffic partner since 2007, Goodreads has sent more than 5 million Web referrals to WorldCat.org.
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The expanded partnership includes several components:
- A joint marketing effort to get libraries to join the Goodreads site and create a library “group” page, which will now be listed at the top of the groups page.
- Engagement reports from Goodreads that show how many libraries have joined and created group pages and how fast membership is growing for individual libraries on Goodreads.
- An upcoming webinar held specifically for librarians and library staff members, to learn more about Goodreads and how to optimize the library’s presence.
- Library-specific promotional materials to encourage patron participation in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 during the month of November.
- A discussion session planned for ALA Midwinter 2013 to hear library feedback and solicit ideas for additional visibility and collaboration.
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“This partnership truly starts to deliver on the power of exposing libraries where potential library users—people who love books and will use libraries—go,” says Cindy Cunningham, Director of Partner Programs for OCLC. “The APIs and data available through the WorldShare Platform make it simple for Goodreads to include the aggregated library data of the cooperative in their user experience, which delivers value back to both the end-user and to the participating libraries. I am thrilled to think how much more visible libraries will be on the consumer Web, at a massive scale, as we embark upon this new chapter of our relationship with Goodreads.”
Read the Complete Announcement
Learn More About the OCLC/GoodReads Partnership & Webinar Info
See Also: Video Presentation: Goodreads VP on “The Mechanics of Book Recommendation Engines”
See Also: Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler on the Future of Discoverability and Social Reading (via Digital Book World)
Jeremy Greenfield talks with Chandler.
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Awards, Data Files, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Reports

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.