MyLibrary

The term/phrase “MyLibrary” has been used in one way or another for more than nine years to describe this open source software project. Around 1989 the folks at the North Carolina State University Libraries considered trademarking the term/phrase but I believe someone had already done so a few years prior. Consequently, the service was officially called MyLibrary@NCState.

Since then I have used the term/phrase in a more generic fashion. Searches against Google for “mylibrary” return bunches and bunches of hits. The first one even points to the current canonical MyLibrary home page. Other hits return MyLibrary implementations and implementations of personalized pages. Apparently the original idea of MyLibrary really took off and it has become a part of the professional vernacular. Searches against Google Scholar for mylibrary and morgan return pointers to many articles I’ve written describing what MyLibrary is and how it can be applied to library collections and services.

Yesterday I learned that Google has implemented a service against Google Books, and the service is called “My Library“. It works very much like a demonstration application I recently wrote called Reading List. Create a searchable/browsable list of stuff. Identify items of interest. Create an account for yourself. Click a link to added it to “my library”. Review and modify your list of selected items. Google Books provides a “my library” service against books. Reading List provides this service against content from the Directory of Open Access Journals.

I doubt the folks at Google know about MyLibrary, the open source software project. The idea of MyLibrary is as old as the idea of MyNetscape, My Yahoo, and My Deja News. I guess us Doris Sigl, Keith Morgan, and myself back at the NCSU Libraries came up with a pretty cool idea and phrase used to describe it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Tags: General Information //