ReadItSwapIt becomes 10th swap site
A tenth book-swapping site has chosen to integrate with LibraryThing, ReadItSwapIt.ReadItSwapIt is a UK site, and boasts some 125,000 titles available right now. Here's the page on LibraryThing showing copies of a book on ReadItSwapIt. They've got a bang-up buzz page. It's a credit-free system. This is a bold move, but not unattractive. As they explain it:
"Swapping on ReadItSwapIt is like swapping with friends. If you like each other's books, you swap. If you don't, either of you can reject the swap.That rings true to my experience. I posted a book to a swap site, and then dithered when I got the email. My wife decided she wanted to read it too. I ended up buying the book on Amazon and having it expressed to the swap person, just to save face. People like me need a more forgiving system.
Many swap sites operate a credit system. That means, instead of swapping books, these sites allow you to swap credits. Any time anyone wants a book of yours, they give you a credit and you post the book out to them. You can then use this credit later to get a book sent to you by someone else.
This sounds great on the surface. But in practice, the problem with this system is that whenever anyone requests any of the books you have registered, you have to post out that book immediately. It doesn't matter how inconvenient it might be for you to get to the post office that week. And what if you go on holiday? You have to let the site know. You have no control over the amount of swaps you make. You could end up acquiring loads of credits but not be able to find any books you like on the site. So you're left with a load of worthless credits, no books and a big postage bill."
I'm also impressed by their commitment to accessibility It's way more than LibraryThing does.
Labels: swap
posted by Tim at 11:16 PM
12 Comments:
"You have no control over the amount of swaps you make. "
????
That's just crazy talk. I've had to cancel trades on various sites for a myriad of reasons. The swap police haven't arrested me yet.
hi a paragraph is missing in the quoted section that goes between the two quoted and so makes sense of the larger paragraph which appears to be criticising its own system rather then a credit based swap site.
Many swap sites operate a credit system. That means, instead of swapping books, these sites allow you to swap credits. Any time anyone wants a book of yours, they give you a credit and you post the book out to them. You can then use this credit later to get a book sent to you by someone else.
I'm not sure that these comments apply to ReadItSwapIt. As it says in the introduction ReadItSwapIt is a 'no credit' system. You can't build up 'worthless credits'. If someone wants to swap with you, you have to agree to take one of their books (which they pay to send to you). Otherwise you just reject the swap (for the perfectly good reason that you don't want one of their books) and that's the end of the story.
Maybe the second half of the quote is actually an example of what ReadItSwapIt is not like?
Hi - I'm a moderator on the RISI forums and would like to point out that a paragraph is missing in your description of the site. Of course you have control over your swaps, you either request a swap or accept a swap, simple as that. Please could someone insert the missing paragraph ASAP - at the moment it will just put people off a great site.
Thanks
Sorry about that. I don't know how I skipped it. Sense is restored, I think.
T
"I'm also impressed by their commitment to accessibility It's way more than LibraryThing does."
As a disabled and committed LT user who has a certain amount of trouble using adaptive software to manipulate the site, I'm really glad you recognize this, and I hope it turns into a commitment to improve accessibility! (I'm a digital librarian/adaptive technology user committed to accessible standards, so if you want beta testers of accessible designs, I'd be happy to help out.)
Well, I used to work in educational publishing where accessibility was a requirement. (That said, we cared about the law, not actual disabled persons, generally. So we'd go to extreme lengths on something that couldn't be made meaningfully accessible, but didn't go past the letter of the law when we didn't have to. And the money was crazy. My biggest achievement was to make ebooks really really cheaply. They were also (imho) the best made by any company, but price was important. Nobody used them at all, but states started requiring them and they were hugely expensive--many millions, mostly for rights. Any penny saved was a penny that we didn't have to pass on to the schools. I confess it turned me off to the whole project.)
I'm back from my tangent now. I won't pretend it's a priority, except for LibraryThing for Libraries which is accessible, although it's embedded in OPACs which are inaccessible as sin. I'd also rather not do it by email.But why don't we start a group for it—to identify the problems, in order or severity.
An accessibility group is a great idea! (And LT is way more accessible than most sites online, most definitely including OPACs.)
I was looking forward to meeting you and talking to you about it on Saturday but I'll be out of town and will miss your party. :(
jadelennox:
That's too bad. Coming up to Portland any time. Lobster rolls...
Do you want to start the group?
T
Okay, done! Accessibility on LibraryThing
Mmm, Portland.
couldn't find this list of 10 swap sites that are linked with LT anywhere! Is there some secret bit of the navigation menu to show readers which sites have joined?
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