Any chance of printable LibraryThing advertisements?

Bookmarks (four or five on an 8 1/2x11 inch sheet, front and back if possible), page-sized ads, etc.

I know you guys said you were going to eventually have these in your store, but I want to be able to mass print these out and stick them in the library books that I check out and "accidentally" leave it there. :P

Any chance of this?

Bookmarks would be cool. Even if they were just pdfs you could print yourself. We could have a Flickr bookmark comp :)

Ooh.. I second the idea for a competition. Always fun. :D

While waiting for the bookmarks: there are some different logos on the press page, all with a link to medium and large size.

I think this is a great idea. I've been trying to stir up interest at my local public library but haven't been able to find anyone who "get's it" yet.

It might be nice to have an LT flier that I could hand to book people - friends, bookstore owners, librarians.

In the style of the tour?

I could easily enough put together a pdf with some bookmarks on them based around the LT logo (I have a scaleable version of that) - what should they say- the same as the buttons on one side and www.librarything.com on the other? Or something more than that.

Whatever, I think they'd need Tim or Abby to sign-off before use.

Ooooooh, I love the subversiveness of this! "Accidentally" leaving LT bookmarks in returned library books is wickedly great. I will buy a lot of 100 in that soft taupe-y color on the press page. Unfortunately, I don't have a creative cell in my body so I could never enter a competition.

I'm actually thinking of several different bookmark ideas, tailoring to the different uses of LibraryThing. One focusing on cataloging and organizing the books in your library, another focusing on the ability to keep a reading list, and finally one focusing on the BookSuggester and UnSuggesters.

That said, I have no artistic ability in my blood either. So I'd have to depend on the great artists out there...

Suggest some words to me and I'll rough something out when I have a moment . . .

OK created a couple of very simple sheets for someone to try out. Here are letter sized pdfs with six bookmarks on each. They are set up so they should print double sided with a bit of tolerance for mis-alignment: with and with out a coloured background. Sorry, they are quite big files - it's the gradients and shadows I think.

[Note added later: the other side is the same but with the web address in place of the tag line, and half on each sheet have this tag line and half the 'Catalogue your books on-line' one. Was in a bit of a rush.]

GreyHead -- Is this something that can be taken to Kinko's and printed double-sided on a heavy card stock, preferably laminated? If Tim would get Cafe Press to offer these for sale, I would buy 100.

When I saw this thread the first time I thought maybe bookmarks with a logo at the top and some of the best things about LT on it.

I started making such a document but I was trying to use the info from the tour (http://www.librarything.com/tour/) but there is too much there.

My only suggestion (maybe I'm showing my age), is that the bookmarks should clarify that LT is a web site -- either with the web address or some other way. If I found this in a book, I wouldn't automatically know that it means there's a web site.

I was thinking the same thing - the web address should be displayed.

The web address is on page 2, which would be the flip side if you print double-sided. (Page 1 is one side, page 2 is is the other side).

Thanks Greyhead. I'll have to try them out after Christmas.

Ah excellent, I didn't see the second page.

The LT bookmarks are a fantastic idea...but I would want to make sure that the ink from the bookmark would not bleed onto a page if left in a book for a loooong time.

Does anyone know anything about how different types of ink/paper can keep from transferring onto a book page? (Other than using some type of plastic overlay?)

(Also, there's a discussion taking place in the Bookcases group about bookmarks, for those who might be interested.)

Laminating them would, obviously, keep the ink away from the book, although (if making them on one's own) jacking the price up quite a bit (about 12¢ per bookmark if you're getting laminating sheets 50/$19, using them both sides, and then getting 6 bookmarks per page). I don't know what it could cost to have 2-sided laminated sheets run at Kinko's, but I'm guessing it would be a good deal more.

#18 - I find old, old, old bookmarks in books returned to the public library I work at from programs that date about four years ago... and there's no bleeding. *shrug* Don't know if Nevada's-lack-of-moisture helps with that, for some reason, but that's another issue.

#19 - Hehehehe.. the other way you can go is book tape lamination. Often, if our department needs something laminated at my library, it takes up to three weeks for the Youth Services department (owner of the laminator) to get it done. Instead, we take a good durable book tape and layer. Works very nicely, and much cheaper.

So glad to see that my idea is generating such a brainstorming session!

I really like the idea of a competition (with some yearly subscriptions to LT as prizes... *whistle*). We could even have different genre-specific bookmarks. The sky would be the limit.

Oh, Tiiiiim.....

Oh, grand idea! Now I really have to start thinking about a slogan in German... - because "What's on your bookshelf?" sounds somewhat lame when translated. And to make a bookmark... - good thing that I have a few days off.

"'What's on your bookshelf?' sounds somewhat lame when translated"

Not to ruffle any feathers on the L.T. home team, but "What's on your bookshelf?" sounds somewhat lame in English to begin with!

Perhaps it's better in Ancient Greek, where "on your bookshelf" and "in your library" are the same.

Er, perhaps a bit too naughty, there could be one that states "how large is your bookmark?" and on the opposite side the obvious reply "never mind the length or width, as long as it sticks out a bit in one end or another!"

I was bored and felt like a bit of a fiddle, so here's something that might give others some ideas. I know it's not the right sizing or anything but I just felt like having a muck around with some covers.

Shrunken version, click the image for the other sizes (Flickr):

I did a bookmark page, but I have no idea how to show it here or put it on the web at all. Here is the text for it:

This site for book lovers:
1. Keep track of books.
2. Join easily.
All you need is a user name and a password, and you're done.
3. Easy to enter books.
Just enter some words from the title, the author or an ISBN.
4. Tag your books.
Tags are a simple way to categorize books according to how you think of them, not how some library official does.
5. Talk about books.
With your friends or just anyone.
6. And More...
Recommendations.
Blog widgets.
Mobile.
Check it out, try it out...
www.librarything.com

Note and Disclaimer: This bookmark has not been authorized by LibraryThing.

Thats it, it looks really good (to me) on paper. If any of you could tell me how to get the real thing up here that would be appreciated. Otherwise if you want to see it put a private comment on my profile with your e-mail.

> 26 : questeroftruth : when you say you 'did' a page, did you do it in Word or some software or other?? If you mail it to me at 'bob at bobjanes dot com' and I'll make it accessible somehow.
Later: Here's questeroftruth's bookmark as a pdf

Thanx GreyHead

Just thinking out loud: Maybe if Tim & Co. were to establish an "official" text for such a bookmark, people could be invited to design all different kinds and styles of bookmarks using the same official text (kind of like the CSS Zen Garden). Minimalist, floral, Old English, Modernist, ToGgLe CaSe, Cursive, etc.

I think we need a name for this group of subversive bookmark distributors. I propose The Association for Evangelistic Thingamabrarians (or The Thingamabrarians' Evangelistic Association).

(I still have thingamabrarians.org sitting out there.)

Just wondering if I can get an official response from Tim before I go printing things out. :p

Email him the link to this discussion - I doubt he has time to follow all talk threads ;-)

I don't know if Abe Books has put aside any money for promotion of L.T., but they could get some real snazzy 2x6" 4-color gloss front / black-on-white matte back bookmarks done with 1800postcards.com for about 3¢ a piece!

I've done a lot of printing with these guys over the years, and they're super easy to deal with and do good work.

Heck, Tim & Co. could sell 'em to us ... 100 bookmarks for $5.00? That should cover the printing, postage, envelope, and "shoe leather" to get those out. I'd buy a pack of 100 ... I'm sure a lot of us would!

Actually, my "ballparking" was pretty close ... 1st class postage on 100 2x6" bookmarks (with 6x9" clasp envelope) would be $2.31 ... the envelope would be about $0.08 and the 100 bookmarks would be somewhere upwards of $2.56 (that's the cost w/o shipping), so with a couple of cents for a label, some ink or toner costs, L.T. could sell "at cost" a pack of 100 4-color gloss bookmarks to us for $5.00 each.

Something to consider!

{edit - figured I'd not do a third post in a row}

The "If I were the Marketing Guy for L.T., I'd ..." scenario:

Design cards with the "color" logo (the tan gradient background) in full bleed on the 2x6" bookmark front, use something like the list in #26/#27 above for the back (in B&W).

Order 50,000 bookmarks for $1,279.00 ... maybe have somebody drive down to NYC to pick them up and not have to pay shipping (it would be 5 big heavy boxes).

Buy 500 6x9 envelopes. Put 100 bookmarks (or thereabouts ... much easier if done by thickness of stack) into each of the 500 envelopes.

Offer bookmarks to the L.T. community at $5.00 for 100 (for U.S. addresses, adjusted upwards where more postage is needed). As orders come in, print labels, add postage, and ship.

At the end of selling 500 sets of 100 bookmarks the project should be just about at "break even" (unless, of course, they actually had to pay a Marketing Guy, in which case it would be a few grand into Abe Books' promo budget).

I suggest this discussion can be continued in the LibraryThing Community Outreach group.

Recommended site improvements are, for me, meant as a way to tell the LT team about features you would like to see added to LT - whereas Community Outreach is a place to tell other LT users some ideas about how to promote LT.

So, in my opinion, the better solution would be to link from Community Outreach to here. ;-)

Ok, I'm putting bookmarks on my to-do list, since I'm the "Marketing Guy for LT" :)

BTRIPP, thanks for looking into all the pricing! Anyone else have suggestions for places to get them? We'll have to get them in bulk somewhere...

I recently got a stack of BookMooch bookmarks that are full-color and beautifully printed. John said he got them from postcardpress.com. They're a little wider and shorter than regular bookmarks, but I imagine there are other sizes available there. (I'm putting them in all my returned library books!)

Hate to sound like a stick in the mud, but I plan on advertising LT with a lot of these.

Can we have a printable option as well as one where you can purchase a bulk amount?

"They're a little wider and shorter than regular bookmarks, but I imagine there are other sizes available there."

Just looked at their site and they don't have anything specifically "bookmark" sized, which is odd, since they have 4x6" cards and 1800postcards' "bookmark" size is just half of that (at 2x6").

Suggestion. LT should really be listed as LibraryThing.com on promotional items, imo. I keep running into people who think my T-shirt is merely a pro-public library statement. By adding the .com, people will understand immediately that this is an online thing...and might think, when they get home, to google around for it.