Thing 12

Thing 12 is all about Books.  Oh how I wanted to LOVE this Thing.  Instead I ended up irritated and borderline angry.

For Thing 12, I tried the YALSA Teen Book Finder.

First, let me say that I really like YALSA as a resource for content - book lists, ideas, programming, etc.  However, they are really not good at presenting their content in a usable digital 21 Century format.  They are REALLY NOT GOOD at this and the YALSA Teen Book Finder is just another symptom of this epidemic.

Let's start with the features I liked:  I like that when you open the app, there are Hot Picks.  I like that you can "favorite" books and save them.  I like that you can "share" books through Facebook or Twitter.  And I like the ILLUSION that you can find the book you are looking at through the app.

What I didn't like:  The "find" feature really killed this app for me.  Let's say I am trying to locate Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  I know that my local library has this book - I have shelved it with my own hands.  This is a screen shot of the Book Finder App from my iPhone:

I live where the red dot is located.  According to the YALSA Teen Book Finder, I need to drive an hour to find a copy of this book, when I KNOW this is clearly false advertising.  I was SO disgusted.  I understand that there must be some algorithm or system for YALSA deciding which libraries to cull from.  But honestly.  Eau Claire is the "seat" or headquarters of the library consortium that I use.  Eau Claire isn't even pegged on the map.  AGH!!!

Maybe this app works great in Chicago, New York City, or Texas but it sure isn't worth a hill of beans here. There are better products for making lists for reading or sharing what you are reading.  Isn't Facebook a dying application for teens?  What about Flickr or Tumbler or Pinterest??  

I know the app is pretty new - OK.  I guess it isn't that new.  Looks like the app was first "published" in 2012.  I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt, with the push and advertising of the app happening last summer (2013).  Maybe I am misunderstanding the purpose for the app:  an app for ADULTS looking for teen books?

Although this is not directly related to the app, I think this permeation highlights what I see as the main dysfunction with YALSA.  They create great lists, great programming, great ideas for getting teens involved in the library but they put no effort into creating an IT infrastructure that is searchable or usable to anyone under 30.  None of their award lists are "searchable" or manipulable.  If you use the search bar to find, say I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga, the site will return search results but you still have to search through the list to find what you are looking for.  This is so frustrating to me.  Once again, maybe I am missing the point of YALSA - teen content for ADULTS that have time to sort through lists and lists and blogs and blogs?

OK.  Enough ranting.  I think the YALSA Teen Book Finder has promise; with a serious upgrade and many more features, or at least using WorldCat or a better search algorithm to allow users to actually SEE what libraries have the book you are searching for.  And someone needs to work on getting the YALSA site to work like a 21 Century website.