upgrades effective 11/3/2009.

• Options Button to set custom WL defaults
• auto-request On/Off at top of the list allows multiple items to be set to AR at once
• Wish Expander to make your Wish work better for you to get the book you want
• Opt out of similar-item offers by clicking the link in the email offer
• Search and Sort are now at the top of the list (not on a popup)

Options button at top of Wish LIst: This allows you to set defaults for your Wish List.  Click the Options button at the top right of the Wish List to see the options menu drop down.  Currently two customizable defaults are available: (1) set wish to auto-request when you add a book to the Wish List; and (2) Use the Wish Expander when wishing for a book, to browse all alternate versions of a book and add any or all to your Wish LIst from the Expander page.   To hide the Options menu when you are finished making changes, just click the Options button again.

Auto-request On and Auto-Request Off are now buttons at the top of the Wish List.  This will allow you to set multiple items to AR at once: just click to place a checkmark next to the item(s) whose auto-request setting(s) you want to change, and click Auto-Request On or Auto-Request Off at the top of the list to change the settings on all of the checked items.

Wish Expander:  This feature will help you "expand" your wish for a book, so that you can easily add wishes for all versions you would want (and possibly get the book faster), or even find you an available copy of the book if there is one.  The Wish Expander is a page that comes up when you click +Wish on any currently-unavailable book.  You can also get to the Wish Expander by clicking the Expand button on any item on your Wish List.   This feature is intended to help members get the books they want more easily, and to make sure that all versions of a book are shown to a member who is seeking a particular title.

Things to know about the Wish Expander: 

• To activate the Wish Expander:  click Options at the top of your Wish List, and then check the second box (like this:  Show me alternate versions when I wish for a book. )  The next time you click +Wish on a book listing you will be taken to the expander page.
  • You can expand your wish for existing Wishes if you like, whether or not the expander has been activated in your account.  Just click the  "Expand Wish" button on the right of any item already on your Wish LIst.
  • If an item on your Wish List does not have an Expand button on it, that means that EITHER you have already expanded that wish to include all versions OR the book has no known alternate versions in our database.)

• On the Wish Expander page, you can filter by booktype: choose only audio, only Large Print, or exclude either or both of those.  You do not have to use these filters - the default is to show all versions.
  • If there is an AVAILABLE copy of the book it will show as available with the "Order this Book" button
  • items on the Expander page will display in decreasing order of likelihood that you will get the book (most-likely-to-get versions are shown at the top of the list).
• To leave the Expander page (when you're done choosing alternate versions to wish for), click the "I am done" button at the top right of the Expander page.  This will take you back to the page you were on before you went to the Expander page.
• To deactivate the Wish Expander - just click Options at the top of your Wish List and UNcheck the second box next to "Show me alternate versions when I wish for a book".

Wish List Similar-item email alerts: You have always been able to opt out of the entire category of these emails in your Account Settings > Email Settings.  Now you can opt out of email alerts about a specific item, from the email alert about a similar item being available: just click the link in the email, to tell us not to send alerts about that book again. 

• So if you want a particular book only in audio version, you can stop alerts about other available versions, by clicking the link in one of those email alerts, and doing this will NOT affect your similar-item alerts for any other book on your Wish List.  There is not yet a setting to do this in advance for particular books; it is available only from the email.  
• To re-activate any book's similar-item alert emails, go to your Account Settings >Email Settings; there will be a link there to the list of books you have previously blocked alerts for, and you can reactivate any or all from there.

Search and Sort: we also moved the Sort and Search from the popup to the top of the list, to make those options easier to access.  We've added new Sort terms also.

• To Search, enter search terms into the Search Wish List box and click Search. 
• To sort, click the menu to the right of Sort at the top right of the list and choose how you would like to sort (according to title, author, date you added the item to your wish list, estimate of when we think you might be offered the book, items on hold, active items only, items on auto-request)  and choose DESC (= descending, or decreasing in value) or ASC (= ascending, or increasing in value). 

See How the Wish List Works for the information about how the Wish List works.

The following changes were introduced on 10/6/2009:

• New feature!  You can sort your Wish List by author (alphabetically by author's last name), title (alphabetically), date (date you added it to your Wish List, position (your position in the lines for the books) and estimate (our estimate of when you might be offered the book).
• New feature! Putting your whole Wish List on hold:
  • To do this, you choose "check all" at the top of the list and then click "Hold checked"
    • this will preserve your "place in line" in the Wish List but your Wish will not be active
    • this hold will also make auto-requested wishes INACTIVE.
    • You can do this page by page or do the whole Wish List by checking the additional box that appears when you check the "check all" box
  • You may want to do this for example if you have no credits to accept Wish List books, but you still want your Bookshelf to be active
• New feature! You can also put individual items on hold if you are not ready to accept those items when they are offered to you
  • to do this, check the box to the left of the item and click Hold Checked. 
  • This will preserve your "place in line" for the book but make the wish INACTIVE
  • Note: items on hold still count toward the 200-item limit on the Wish List. 
• New feature!   Default auto-request option
  • You can now set the default at the top of the Wish List to choose auto-request for your future wishes - if you check this box, it will not affect any existing Wishes on your list, but all Wishes added while the box is checked will be set to auto-request by default.
  • Unchecking the box will not affect the settings on any items already on your list, but all wishes added to your list while the box is UNchecked will be added with the 48-hour offer option (NOT set to auto-request).
• New feature!  Auto-request options are now color-coded for at-a-glance list management
  • Items set to auto-request will be green
  • Items on hold will be red
  • Items not on hold and not set to auto-request will have no color applied.
  • If you put an auto-request item on hold, it will turn red.

Introduced July 14, 2009.

The Book Wiki is a feature on the Book Details page for each book that allows members to add information to the listing for the book.  The wiki is editable by any member (the changes you make are applied immediately).

Where to find it: on the Book Details page for most books (the page you are taken to when you click the book title on the site). If the book has a member-generated (short) ISBN or if our data provider does not link the ISBN to other versions of the book, then the Book Wiki will not appear for that listing.

What it is: There are several sections (for characters, locations, series, etc).  Hover over any section for a brief description of the section.  Note that some sections (like common title) will show only the most recent entry submitted by any member, while other sections (like characters) will show every entry by all members.

Why use it?  It's a cool way to cross-reference books in the system!  When enough data has been collected to make the Book Wiki searchable, all books set in Scotland (for example) can be found with one click.   It's a great way to find other books in a series, or all books with a particular character, or all books that share the same "important event" (a tidal wave, a blizzard, Christmas).  Bottom line, wiki info makes a great way for members to find books they are looking for!

How to use it: 

Note: During times of heavy site usage, there may be a delay of a few seconds before an added or edited entry appears in the displayed list.

• to edit an entry:
  • For sections that display a single value: click the Edit button to change or add something; the display will change to an editable box.  Make your changes in the edit box, and click the Save button to save.  Your changes will be saved and displayed as soon as you click Save.  If you remove text and then save, this deletes the entry.
  • For sections that display multiple values: click the Edit button to change an existing entry or the Add button to add something new; the display will change to editable boxes.  Make your changes in the edit boxes, and click the Save button to save.  Your changes will be saved as soon as you click Save, but you will remain in Add or Edit mode. To leave Add or Edit mode, click the same button (Add or Edit) again. You'll be returned to the non-editable display with your changes shown.
  • For all sections: If you remove text and then save, this deletes the entry.

• other cool stuff: clicking any entry runs a search for that term in the PBS library. After enough data has been collected, we will be able to make the wiki fully searchable. Then you'll be able to cross-reference books having similar entries.

Special notes about each section:

• Common title is filled in by default with the same title at the top of the page.  You can change common title, but you cannot remove it (editing it to blank will not remove it - refreshing the page will bring the default back).  This is unlike all other sections - editing any of those terms to blank will remove the terms.

•  Series  is for books that are part of a series; no entry necessary if a book is a standalone. You can optionally specify the number of the book in the series and the total number of books in the series.

• Original Publication Date is the pub date OF THE VERY FIRST PRINTING OF ANY EDTION.  It's okay to put in just the year if that's all you know.

• People/Characters   This section shows the first five entries, with a link to reveal all entries in the section.  When there are more than 5 characters, be sure to expand the list before adding to make sure the entry's not already there. If you try to add something already in the list, the system won't let you.   
  • Ranking of characters: this allows you to specify the relative "importance" of characters in the book.
  • When the page is reloaded (by any member), the characters will appear in order of ranking.
  • Characters with no rank will appear at the top (to inspire others to correctly rank them!)
  • All other multiple-value sections will display items in the order they were added
• Places   The first five entries will be shown, with a link to reveal all. 
  • Real Places - when adding a real place, use drop-down lists for country and state names. The text entry area is for anything else (city/town/county/etc.)
  • Fictional Places should be entered in their own section, not in the text field for real places
• Important events   The first five entries will be shown, with a link to reveal all.
   
• Awards/Honors   Select from the dropdown list whenever possible.
  
  • You can type awards that are not in the list into the text area, but any that you type in will not be added to the drop-down list of awards

Tips to use this feature well:

• Don't add extraneous comments (single words are best)
• when possible, select from provided list

For example, in the Location section, if you want to enter Rome, GA:

• good: Georgia selected from states list, United States selected from country list, Rome typed in text box
• bad:  "Rome, GA, USA" entered in text box

added 6/4/2009.

Now you can see all of your Kiosk transactions in one place - the Receipts link is at the top of your My Account main page!

Added 4/22/2009.

Now everyone who uses Requestor Conditions will see a checkbox on each request he or she submits (on the page that has the "Process My Order" button), that gives the option of NOT applying Requestor Conditions to the book being requested.  This saves time (you don't have to go to your Account Settings to turn off RCs before requesting the book), and we think it will be useful to those who use RCs on their accounts.

introduced 12/12/2008.

New Discussion Forum Search Options

You can now

• select a particular forum to search - the button to do this is at the top of any page in the Forums.
• search a particular topic to search - the button to do this is at the top of any topic in the Forums

We have been asked so many times for a way that members can "give back" to the club - so we made this feature available for members who want to donate to PBS.  

It really helps us to donate credits back to the club!   You can donate money too - who doesn't like money?  :)   Every bit helps!  And if you donate 3 credits or more, you get a nifty badge to wear on your profile and forum posts!

The "donation tiers" for the different Friends of PBS badges are:

• Up to 2  credits (or equivalent in Money)  =  Bronze friend - mentioned on the Friends of PBS page
• 3 - 20 credits (or equivalent in Money) = Silver friend - silver badge on forum posts/profile, your name on a book on the Friends of PBS bookshelf of friends.
• 21- 50 credits (or equivalent in Money) = Gold Friend - gold badge on forum posts/profile, your name on a book on the Friends of PBS bookshelf of friends.
• 51- 100 credits (or equivalent in Money) = Double Gold Friend - double-gold badge on forum posts/profile, your name on a book on the Friends of PBS bookshelf of friends.
• 101- 200 credits  (or equivalent in Money) = Triple Gold Friend - triple-gold badge on forum posts/profile, your name on a book on the Friends of PBS bookshelf of friends.
• 201 + (or equvalent in Money) = Diamond friend =  Diamond badge on forum posts/profile, your name on a book on the Friends of PBS bookshelf of friends.

Donations are cumulative, so if you donate now and then again later, your separate donations will collect together to determine the type of badge you display on your forum posts and profile.

There is an option to remain anonymous, so that your name is not shown on any roster of donors.  You can choose this option when you go to donate.

How to donate:

Go to this page (opens in a new window, close it to return here)  (also accessible from the link at the bottom of any page on the site)

• Click to donate credits  and the number of credits you choose will be removed from your account.
• Click to donate Money and the amount of Money you choose will be removed from your PBS Money account.

 Note: If you try to donate more Money than the current balance of your PBS Money account, your donation will be canceled and you will be taken to the Kiosk to purchase more PBS Money. No credits or money will be removed from your account until you repeat the donation.

Introduced 10/27/2008.

This feature allows you to ignore a member (or members) whose topics bother you, bore you, etc.  When you have ignored a member, you will be able to go anywhere in forums and never "hear" from the member again, while seeing all the rest of the posts in topics.

How to use it:

• Go to the Post of a member you want to ignore and Click the link "ignore this member" (the link on the bottom right of each post, after the text of the post)
  • This will work from ANY post made by the member.
• Abracadabra!  All of his or her posts (past and future) will not show when you look at the forums. 
• You can "un-ignore" a member from an ignored post as follows:
  • Click Show Post Anyway on an ignored post
  • Click "stop ignoring this member" (the link on the bottom right of the revealed post)

Other info:

• The ignored person will not "know" or be told that she or he is being ignored
• You will not be able to "know" if you are being ignored by anybody
• You cannot "ignore" for anyone else - just for yourself
• The only place to ignore is on a post by that person -- the link is below the text she or he Posted
• You can ignore as many people as you like
• If you ignore a member and she or he then starts a forum topic, you WILL see the topic title in the forum list.

We think this is a great way to shut out any forum voices that may get on your nerves and spoil your day, while letting the other voices come through loud and clear.  We do have plans to expand this "self-moderation" aspect of the forums soon, but we think this is a good place to start!

Please note that the thinking "they can just ignore me if they don't like it" is not a license to post anything you like, and it will not serve as an excuse for bad behavior in forums - we will still see everything of course and we will act appropriately on any Policy violations that are reported to us.  

Introduced 9/3/2008.

The Bookshelf Header allows you to add a custom, publicly-viewable message at the top of your PBS Bookshelf.  You can introduce yourself - give an overview of the types of books you have -  comment about a specific book you have Posted - invite members to join your Game in the Games Forum - or just say Hello! 

How to add a Header to your Bookshelf:

• Go to My Bookshelf in My Account
• Click at the top left of your Bookshelf.
• Type in the text you want everyone to see when they look at your bookshelf. There is a limit of 500 characters.
• Click Save.

To see your own header on your Bookshelf:

• Click at the top of your Bookshelf.
• This will show you your bookshelf with the header on it.

How other members will see your header:

• When they view your Bookshelf from your profile or a forum Post of yours
• When they click Order More from Member after requesting a book from you

How to edit your Bookshelf Header:

• Go to My Bookshelf in My Account
• Click at the top left of your Bookshelf.
• Edit the text. There is a limit of 500 characters.
• Click Save.

How to delete/remove your Bookshelf Header:

• Go to My Bookshelf in My Account
• Click at the top left of your Bookshelf.
• Edit the text to be empty.
• Click Save.

What can you use the Header for?  Some examples:

• Introduce yourself!
• Introduce your books!  ("I have a lot of cozy mysteries" or  "I have lots of audio books!  Filter my bookshelf by audio to see them all!")
• You can also advertise a "deal" you may be offering - such as a list of "unpostable" books you are offering free with an order --but if you do this, you MUST keep the message up-to-date, and you CANNOT decline or ignore requests from other members.  It is safest if you want to offer a deal in your Header to include the message "Be sure to send me a Personal Message after submitting your request, so we are both sure the deal goes through properly."  Members who offer deals and then ignore or decline requests will pass those requests on to bookshelves that are NOT offering deals, and this disappoints requestors.

What should you NOT use the Header for?

• You should not use the Header to describe unpostable books on your bookshelf.  Unpostable books should NOT be posted to your bookshelf.  See Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS and What can be posted for swapping here? for the minimum book posting criteria.
• You should not use the Header to describe books you have posted incorrectly (ie, with the wrong booktype).   Books MUST be posted correctly so that ISBN, title, author and booktype on the listing all match your book.
• Nasty or unpleasant messages, obscenity or anything we judge to be vulgar or inappropriate, advertising, or anything that violates the Terms of Use.  Duh. :)

Introduced 9/3/2008.

Book Notes allow you to write a private (only you can see it) note on any book in the database.  No matter where you are on the site when you apply the note, you will see the note everywhere you see the book.

To apply a note to a book:

• Click the button.  This appears
  • on the right of any book on any of your Lists in your account
  • on the right of any book on the Book Browser
  • on the right of the Book Details page for that book

• Type the text of your note (limited to 500 characters). 
• Click Save.

To read your note:

• Place your cursor over the yellow "sticky note" icon on the book cover.
• The text will pop up in a little box.

To edit your note:

• Click the yellow "sticky note" icon to bring up the edit box
• Edit your text
• Click Save.
• You must refresh the page after saving a note in order to open and edit it again.

To remove/delete a note:

• Click the yellow "sticky note" icon to bring up the edit box
• Edit your text
• Click Save.

What can the notes be used for?  Whatever you like.  No one else can see them.

• Mark a book on your Wish List "Aunt Sally wants this"
• Mark a book on your bookshelf "This is in the living room bookshelf"
• Mark a book on your Reminder List "Move to Wish List next when I have room"
• Mark a book en route to you "Here it comes!"
• Mark a book you have mailed "There it goes!"

You get the idea.

Note: Book Notes are not searchable.

We've increased the width of all PaperBackSwap.com pages by 20% on 8/14/2008 in order to bring you more cool features now and in the future! The new wider layout also means you'll be doing less scrolling to get to more information.

To take advantage of the new layout, you'll want to be sure that your screen resolution is set to at least 1024x768. Unless your computer is more than five years old, you probably won't have to change anything.

If you do need to increase your resolution, here's how:

For PC users:

1. Right-click on an open area of your Desktop (open area = not on an icon).
2. Left-click on the Properties option at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
3. The Display Properties box will appear. Click the Settings tab (far right).
4. Click and drag the Screen Resolution slider towards the right until you see 1024x768 under the slider.
5. Click the OK button. Your screen will go black for a second or two and then return in the new, higher resolution.

For Mac users:

1. Go to System Preferences (under the Apple menu at the top left of your screen or in your Dock)
2. Choose Displays.
3. Choose 1024 x 768 from the list
4. Close the box.  Your screen will go black for a second or two and then return in the new, higher resolution.

On some systems, you'll be asked to confirm the new resolution setting. If this prompt appears, you'll need to confirm by clicking the "Yes" button within a certain number of seconds. If you do not confirm when asked, the resolution will automatically revert to your previous setting and you'll need to repeat these steps.

Now that you know how, feel free to set your resolution higher than 1024x768 if your computer has the capability. The trade-off is: higher resolutions give you more screen space but also make items on your screen appear smaller.

introduced August, 2008.

The Member Homepage is the page you will see if you click Home in the top toolbar of any page on the site when you are logged into your account.  It is different from the Homepage that shows when you are not logged in.

What to do on the Member Homepage?

• Choose your favorite book genres.
  • These can be edited at any time from the Edit Book Genres button on the Homepage, or from within your Account Settings.
  • After you have done this, the display at the top of your Member Homepage will show you recently-Posted, available books in your selected genres.  Click the buttons on left or right to "slide" the books in and out of view.  This will automatically refresh as books are posted. 
  • Choosing favorite genres will also make your Buddy Similarity Index more accurate (read more about this in Similarity Index). 
• Browse (and order) newly-posted available books in all genres.
  • Click the buttons on left or right to "slide" the books in and out of view.  This will automatically refresh as books are posted.
• Read recent book reviews on the lower left--these also update automatically.
• Check the New Member Spotlight on the lower right, to "meet" a new member who has posted books.

Your transactions and all your account activities are still on your My Account page, accessible from the top of any page on the site: Click My Account in the grey bar at the top of the site to be taken directly to your My Account main page.

Introduced August 2008.

The Suggest feature allows you to send a PM to a Buddy suggesting a book he or she might want to read, right from the book listing.

• The PM will contain the book cover image, and also an Order This Book button!
• If your Buddy clicks Order This Book right from the PM, this will order the book right from you (if the book is on your bookshelf).  Clicking "Order This Book" anywhere BUT this PM (or your bookshelf or the Suggested Books list in My Account> My Lists) will not necessarily direct the request to you.
• There is no need to respond to a Suggest PM right away!  Books that have been suggested to you will be listed under My Lists in My Account, and they can be requested from there.  They can also be removed from there by clicking "Not Interested".

To suggest a book:

• Go to the Book Details page for the book by clicking the book title on the listing for the book wherever it appears on the site.
• Choose Suggest This Book from the menu that drops down under More Options on the top right of the listing
• Choose the Buddy to Suggest to.
• The book does NOT have to be one on your own bookshelf.
  • If the book IS on your own bookshelf, and the Buddy requests it from the Suggest PM you send, the request will go directly to you.
• You can suggest a book to each person only once for each book.
• You cannot "Blast" suggestions to your whole Buddy List--you can suggest to one Buddy at a time.
  • This is so that members don't abuse this feature.  Suggestions are supposed to be used for real suggestions, not to advertise your bookshelf.
  • For the same reason, once you have suggested a book to a Buddy, you cannot suggest the same book to that Buddy again.

When you get a suggestion:

• This will appear in your Personal Message Center, accessible from your My Account page
• Click the title of the PM to read it. 
• The PM will show you the book image and ISBN, and also who Suggested it.  There will be an Order This Book button on the right of the PM--clicking this will request the book.  If the book is currently on the Suggester's bookshelf when you click Order This Book on the PM, the request will go directly to him or her!
• There is no need to respond right away; you can delete the PM and Review the Books Suggested to Me from My Account > My Lists
• The Books Suggested to Me page will show all book suggestions you have gotten, who suggested each book, and will also have an Order button and a Not interested button.
  • Clicking the Not Interested button will remove the book from the list permanently.
• You can click the book title to go to the Book Details page, but if you want to direct your request to the Buddy who suggested it, you must go BACK to the suggestion to click "Order this Book" there.
  • If you click the Order This Book button on the Book Details page, this will not necessarily direct the request to the Suggesting Buddy.
  • If someone else has already requested the book from your Buddy, your request will be submitted according to FIFO order, to the member who has the earliest-Posted copy of this book on his or her bookshelf.

Introduced 9/27/2007. Improved August 2008.

What are they?

Book tags are words and short phrases that describe a book.  When used cooperatively (in a club-useful fashion) by  members, tags provide a wonderful method of discovery for books.   Tags can also be used personally, in a way that is useful to only one (or a few) members.  Sometimes members use tags inappropriately, and inappropriate tags should be removed.  Read on to learn what makes a tag inappropriate and how you can help eliminate inappropriate tags.

PBS plans to make club-useful tags searchable when most of the existing inappropriate tags have been removed.

What kind of words should I use as tags?

You can make Personal Tags or Club-Useful tags.

• A Club-Useful tag uses words and phrases that describe the content of the book. See examples of Club-Useful tags below.
  • When coming up with a Useful tag, ask yourself "What words will other members search for to find books like this?"

• A Personal tag has meaning only for the tagger.  See examples of Personal tags.
  • Members can use these, but there is almost always a better way to do what you're trying to accomplish.

• An Inappropriate tag is one that describes a particular copy of a book, or that is scatalogical (these are never appropriate!), or that actually impedes other members' use of the club.  See examples of Inappropriate tags.

    Examples of Useful Tags:

Historical Fiction, Newbery Medal Winner, Nobel prize-winning author, Set in Spain, Catholicism, Baseball History

    Examples of Personal Tags:

pjfb, 11/13 on 0708,  15 36, hmmm, 11/13, etc.

These have meaning only for the tagger.  They will not be useful to the other members of the club.

Done, Wish List, TBR, RL, BIR, JohnRL, MarysTBR, Traded, My TBR, John-bookshelf, Sent, etc.

        Note that many of these tags are redundant.  The On My:  section of search listings and My Lists serve the purpose of most of them. 

    Examples of Inappropriate Tags:

cover has small tear, No Dust Jacket, some yellowed pages, autographed, etc.

       These tags apply do not apply to EVERY copy of the book, only one.  

Do not order

     Put yourself in the shoes of a new member who finds a book she'd like to order bearing this tag!      

Posted for John S. only - all other requests will be canceled!

       Egregious inappropriate use of tags (and of the site)! This tag appears to apply to every copy of the book, so no one will request it. A tag like this will also likely get your account suspended for Terms of Use violations.

If you have created any inappropriate tags, you should delete them. Otherwise, they will start to disappear without warning as other members report them as inappropriate! See below for more information about reporting tags as inappropriate.

How do tags work?

• You can apply any number of tags to the same book. To enter them at the same time, separate them with commas.
• You can view all the items in the database bearing a particular tag by clicking on the tag wherever it appears on a search listing.
• You can view all the books that you have applied the tag to from your My Tags page.
• Others can see your tags--if they are among the 15 most-commonly applied tags to that book listing.
• When you view a book you will see ALL of the tags you have applied to it, as well as the 15 tags that have been most commonly applied to that book by all members.  Less-commonly applied tags will not necessarily show, especially if a book has had many different tags applied to it.

How do I use the tags feature?

To add a tag to a book:

• Look for the button on the book listing (in a search result, on your Bookshelf, Wish List, TBR PIle, BIR list, Reminder List, etc.)
• Click the button and type your tag in the box that pops up.
  • As you type the tag name, the most commonly used matching tags will be suggested to you in a dropdown from the space in which you are typing. It's important to select an existing tag, if possible.  This will give the tag "power" in the Tag Cloud and the coming Tag Search.  If no existing tag matches what you've typed, a new one will be created.
  • To apply multiple tags at once, type them all separated by commas. Example: humor, good for teens. However, you will only see tag suggestions for the first tag that you type.
  • Press Enter or click
• On Book Details pages, tags are applied in a slightly different manner. The box to type in your tag is always there and you'll click the button AFTER typing your tag.

To remove a tag you have placed on a book:

• Just click the icon next to that tag name (on the Book Details page, your Bookshelf, etc.)
• This will remove YOUR TAG from the book.  If others have tagged the book with that tag, it will NOT remove the tag entirely.
• A tag will disappear from a book only if there are no members using that tag on the book, OR if there are many tags applied to the book and that tag is not among the 15 most-commonly applied tags. A tag can also be "voted" off by other members, as described below.

To see the tags that have been applied to a book:

• Search for the book using any search method.  Your own tags and the 15 most popular tags that have been applied to the book will appear below the general information about the book.
  • The tags with the beside them are YOUR tags.

• Look at the Details page for a book.  Your own tags for the book and popular tags will be shown separately.
• Look at your Bookshelf, Wish List, TBR PIle, BIR list, Reminder List, etc. pages to see only your tags.
• Look at your My Tags page, found under My Lists. You'll find every tag you've created along with usage information.
  • Place your cursor over a tag name to see how many books you've used it on.
  • Clicking the tag names FROM THIS PAGE will show you only the books to which YOU'VE applied the tag. Normally, clicking on a tag name shows you the list of books that any members have tagged.

You can also view the 'Tag Cloud' for the club or 'My Tag Cloud'.

The Tag Cloud is a page of the 250 most commonly-used tags in the club.  The number of members using a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on the Tag Cloud corresponds to the number of times that tag has been used by all members.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of all books bearing that tag.

You can get to the Tag Cloud page under Community in the top menu of any page on the site.  Click here to go directly to the Tag Cloud.

My Tag Cloud is a page of YOUR 100 most often-used tags.  The number of times you have used a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on My Tag Cloud corresponds to the number of times that YOU have used the tag.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of  books to which YOU have applied that tag.

You can get to My Tag Cloud from the My Tags page.  Click here to go directly to the My Tag Cloud page.

Other information found on the My Tags page

 Besides the previously mentioned list of your own tags, you will find the following usage information on your My Tags page:

• Under the Uses column you'll see two numbers. The top number tells you how many times the tag has been used across the site and the bottom number tells you how many members have used that tag.
• Under the Uses column, clicking the top number shows all books bearing that tag and clicking the bottom number shows you all members that have applied that tag. The font size corresponds to the number of times a member has used the tag.
• The Most Recently Tagged column shows the last book to receive that tag from any member.
• You can use the button to order your tags by their name or by the number of times YOU'VE used the tag.
• You can use the button to quickly locate one or more of your tags. Typing just the first few letters then clicking Search will locate all tags that begin with those letters.
• After searching for tags, you can click "Clear your search" to bring back all of your tags.

Click here to go directly to the My Tags page.

How do I report other members' tags as inappropriate ?

• Every tag that wasn't created by you will have an  symbol at the end of the tag. Clicking this symbol will report the tag as inappropriate.
• After a certain number of members have reported the tag for that particular book, it will be automatically deleted from that book only. This allows members to get rid of tags that are inappropriate for a certain book without removing it from other books where it may be appropriate.

• You will only be able to report a particular tag as inappropriate once per book.

• Please use good judgment when reporting tags. Abuse of this feature may result in losing your ability to use or even see tags. Repeated abuse can result in your account being suspended.

Is there anything else I should know about tags?  Gimme the short version.

• Remember that when you view a book in the search results, you will see many tags that have been applied to that book, by any member. 
  • Those tags you see may be completely irrelevant to the particular copy of the book YOU will be requesting if you click "Order This Book". Tags about book condition are the classic example of an inappropriate tag.  In such cases, you should use the "Report as Inappropriate" feature to report the tag.
• You can remove only your OWN tags. You can't directly remove other members' tags from a book.  You can, however, report a tag as inappropriate. When enough members have reported a particular use of a tag as inappropriate, it will automatically disappear.
• You have a new "My Tags" page under My Lists, and a new "My Tag Cloud".
• When the inappropriate tags have largely been eliminated from the database, we will be able to implement the Tag Search, which we know many of our members are eager to have available. 

 Related items:

Tag Cloud

Introduced August, 2008.

The Similarity Index shows how "alike" you and your Buddy are.  it is determined based on the information you provide to the club through your participation.  So when you apply star ratings to a book, add an item to your Wish List, or tell us what your favorite genres are, we're more able to come up with a profile of you as a reader.  And as others do the same, we can start matching up people who have similar tastes and habits.

Right now, the Similarity Index is visible only on your Buddy List and on another member's Profile, but we do anticipate expanding this in many fun ways in the future. 

To check your Similarity to a Buddy, go to your Buddy List (in the menu under My Account at the top of any page on the site, or from the Buddy List tab on the My Account main page).  You will see a notation --  Similarity: xx% -- to the right of each Buddy's name.    The range of similarity is from 0% to 100%. 

Right now, most scores will be seem low.  This is because the Similarity Index is based on some club features that are still pretty young or under-used.  You can make your Similarity Index more powerful and accurate by applying Star ratings to every book you have read, and also choosing your favorite genres on the Member Homepage.   

When you find a highly similar Buddy, you can

• check her bookshelf for books she has that you might be interested in
• check her Wish list for books she is interested in that you may want to Wish List too
• revel in the glorious feeling of not being alone...you are not the only one with your weirdo taste in books! :)

This is a fun feature whose results may surprise you! 

Related items:

BIR list conversion page
How to Use the Buddy List

Introduced August, 2008.

The Book Browser is a new way to find books to request!  It is accessible from the dropdown menu under Search at the top of the site.

How to use it:

• You can check off what you are interested in on the left of the Book Browser page
  • you have Types, Terms, Filters and Sorts to specify--use any combination of these, or leave any of these blank--see below
• The results will come up on the right of the page after you click Update Results

What's new about it:

• The layout is more user-friendly than the Advanced Search: the search and the books are right on the same page so you can refine your browsing with minimal clicking and no going "back"
• There is now a way to select only highly-rated (4 and 5 star rated) books that match your other search criteria and show those first in the search results.
• You can change your choices on the left, click Update Results, and have the search results "refresh" on the right side of the page.

The "types", "terms", "filters" and "sorts" on the Browser

• Types: This means the database you want to browse, Posted or UnPosted or Wished-for or All books.  Choosing (for example) All Books here says "Show me All books (whether currently available or unavailable) that match the search terms below".  The default will be Posted (available) books when you first go to the Browser.  You can change this choice and leave the rest of your search terms below intact, and the search results will change accordingly on the right of the page.

• Terms are search terms.  Meaning, text you type in to tell the browser to "show me books that have this term associated with them".
  • The terms are: Keyword (this word can appear in any part of the book information, including the description; ISBN if you have it should be put into the Keyword field), Title, author, genre (and subgenre if you want)

• Filters are limiting aspects.  Meaning, "Show me only Large Print books" or "Show me only Large Print and audio books" or "Show me only books whose titles begin with the letter P." " or "Show me only books published after 2004". If you choose all of these filters when you browse, you would be asking "Show me only Large Print or Audio books with titles beginning with the letter P that were published after 2004."
  
  • The filters are: Binding type/format (paperback, hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD, Large Print), Publication date (you can choose an exact date or a "before this year" or "after this year" or "NOT this year"),  Recently Posted (use this to show recently-added books that match these search terms), and Title (you can confine all search results to one letter of the alphabet so that only books whose titles begin with that letter will be shown).
• Sorts determine how the search results are displayed on the right side of the page.  The sort defaults to  "descending"  but you can select ascending also.  Example: "sort by relevance -descending" means "Show me the items that most closely match my choices for this search at the top of the page so I see them first".
  • Sorts are: relevance, title (alphabetically), author (alphabetically), Rating (star-rating average), date posted (into the club), publication date.

You can choose any combination of the above to browse books quickly and find books that you want to request!  Your choices will "stick" unless/until you change them, or you can click Clear at the top left of the page to clear all fields and make all-new choices.

You can save any search by naming it at the bottom left of the Book Browser. That means you can run a particular browsing session again at any time, without having to make all the choices again. You can get to your Saved Searches from the dropdown menu under Search at the top of the site.

Implemented August, 2008

The BIR (Books I've Read) List conversion page is a one-time conversion of all the books you have read from "unstarred" to "starred".  This is the easiest way to rate all the books you have read by applying star ratings to them, from 1 star (hated it) to 5 stars (loved it!!).

Why do you have to do this?

• Well, you don't have to, but...you won't be able to see your BIR list until all of the unrated books on the Conversion page have been rated (or marked Not Read, if you never did read them).
• Once you have applied Star Ratings to the books you have read, this will not only help other members to have an at-a-glance notion of whether or not they might like a book, but will also
  • help your Similarity Index (read more about this in Bookshelf Upgrade) and
  • make the Book Browser ability to search for highly-rated books more useful and more accurate!

To use the BIR Conversion page to convert your BIR list to all rated books:

• go to your Books I've Read list, under My Lists in My Account
• The books currently on your BIR list that have not been rated by you will appear on the page.
• Choose the number of stars under each book shown, or click  on the right if you didn't read-- or don't remember how much you liked-- the book. Clicking the NR button will delete the book from your BIR list, and this cannot be undone.
  
  • To choose stars, just drag left to right, or click the rightmost star of your rating.  For example, if a book is 4 stars, click the 4th star from the left, and all of those 4 stars will fill in with gold to show you have rated the book 4 stars.
• Your rating will be shown in gold stars (replacing the blue "club rating" stars).
• To clear your star rating, click to the right of your rating.
• When you have rated the books on the list, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Done.
  • You can of course do this in several 'sessions' if you have a lot of books to rate
  • Remember to scroll down and click Done before leaving the page, to apply the ratings you have set.
• When you have rated or removed all books on your BIR list, from then on you will not see the BIR Conversion page.  Going to the Books I've Read page will show you the list of books you have read.

Note that whenever you have an opportunity to add a book to your BIR list, you will be asked to star-rate it.  In fact, this will be required in order to add a book to your BIR list. 

Star ratings that appear on book listings will also now show how many members contributed to the rating.  This will help browsers know how "solid" a rating is!

Introduced on 5/6/2008. Location changed 4/22/2009.

PBS Widgets--What are they?

PBS Widgets allow you to display a PBS Book List (Bookshelf, TBR Pile, Wish  List, Books I've Read List)  or a list of books Recently Posted at PBS and Recently Swapped at PBS, right on your own webpage, social-networking site, or blog!  They update automatically.  Your site does need to allow javascript (most do).

They will look like this:

And we will be upgrading them soon, to make them even niftier!

How do I use them?

Just click the APIs/Widgets link at the bottom of any page on the site, and copy the code in the box for the list you want to display.  Paste the code where you would like the widget to appear on your site.   You can use only one widget on a webpage.

You do need to have a PBS Profile to use one of the personal book-list widgets.  You can make a profile in your Account Settings  if you haven't already done this.  You can use either of the community-list widgets (Recently Posted at PBS and Recently Swapped at PBS) even if you don't have a PBS profile.

But I am not a high-tech person!  I am not a Developer!

Why, yes you are, if you have a blog, personal website, or social-networking page.  You are the coolest of the cool.  If you have a site like this, it's easy to copy-paste the code into the code for your site.   Make your site cutting-edge with one of these, and show off your books! 

I AM a high-tech person! I am a Developer!

Well, all righty, then.  You can download the API and make your own applications.  We have two versions (XML and JSON).  Go nuts!

added 3/13/2008

If you as the requestor marked a book received with a problem, you can now provide follow-up on the situation from your Transaction Archive.   

• This will allow us to screen more effectively for those accounts that are sending problem books and NOT resolving the problems, and also allow us to avoid excessively penalizing senders who might make a mistake, but who do resolve the problem.

• Senders who send problem books and do not resolve the problem will have their accounts double-marked "behind the scenes"; if a pattern of this emerges on a sender's account, it will jeopardize membership .

Before submitting follow-up on a problem swap:

• You must have sent a PM to the sender, clearly asking for a response (and a credit refund if that is desired)
  • You can send the PM during the process of marking the book received, OR using the PM button on the swap in your transaction archive as described in How do I contact another member?.
• You should allow the sender a week at least to respond to your PM and resolve the swap.
• You should check the member's bookshelf (by clicking his or her highlighted name on the swap, which will take you to his or her bookshelf or profile, where you can click the Books button) to see if his or her account is on vacation.  If the account continues to be on vacation for more than a week, you can contact us to find out when you might expect a response from the requestor.

To give follow-up on a Problem Swap:

• Find the problem transaction in your Transaction Archive (linked from the top of your My Account main page)

• Click
  • this button appears only on the requestor's account
• Choose one of the options given in the menu next to Update Status
  • Sender resolved the problem
  • Sender did NOT resolve the problem
  • Sender did not respond to PM asking to discuss the problem
  • Marked problem swap in error
• Click Submit to submit the follow-up information

What the options mean

• Sender resolved the problem means the swap does not need to be resolved further
  • the resolution could have been that the sender refunded the credit
  • the resolution could have been that the sender sent another book as replacement
  • the resolution could have been that the sender offered resolution, but you declined

• Sender did NOT resolve the problem means that the sender responded to your PM, but did not settle this swap to your satisfaction, and there is no further negotiation happening
  • this could be because you disagreed about a book's condition
  • this could be because you did not like the resolution that she or he offered
  • this could be because the sender refused to refund credit or replace the book (or promised to replace the book or refund the credit, but book/refund was not received)

• Sender did not respond to PM means that your PM asked for a response, but the sender did not respond
  • You should not choose this option if the sender responded (even if you don't agree with what the sender said)
  • You should not choose this option if your PM did not ask for a response
  • You should not choose this option if you never sent the sender a PM at all

• Marked as problem swap in error means that you made a mistake when you marked it as a problem swap
  • Choose this option if there was actually no problem with the transaction

What happens when you submit follow-up

• Sender resolved the problem
  • this removes the "Was Problem Resolved?" button from the transaction
  • this does NOT change the problem icon in the Transaction Archive
  • Adds the notation that the problem was resolved to the Transaction Archive
    • this text appears on both sender 's and requestor's transaction archives
      
  • Changes the swap status "behind-the-scenes" so that this problem swap does not count as heavily against the sender as an unresolved problem

• Sender did NOT resolve the problem
  • this removes the "Was Problem Resolved?" button from the transaction
  • does NOT change the problem icon in the Transaction Archive
  • Adds the notation that the problem was NOT resolved to the Transaction Archive
    • this text appears on both sender 's and requestor's transaction archives
  • Adds a "double mark" against the sender in his or her account record "behind the scenes"

• Sender did not respond to PM
  • this sends an email to the sender, notifying him or her that his or her account has been marked as nonresponsive in a problem swap
  • the email refers the member to the Help Center information about problem swaps, and tells the sender that he or she needs to resolve this problem
  • this does NOT change the problem icon in the Transaction Archive
  • this does NOT remove the "Was Problem Resolved?" button from the Transaction Archive (so that further follow-up can be given when/if the sender responds about this swap)

• Marked received with a problem in error
  • this removes the "Was Problem Resolved?" button from the transaction
  • this changes the status of the transaction to "Completed Successfully" on both sender and requestor's transaction archives

Note that once follow-up is submitted, it can't be changed.  The only follow-up option which allows further follow-up to be submitted is "Sender did not respond to PM".

Expanded Privacy Controls

upgraded on 2/1/2008

You can now adjust the privacy controls on your account from the link Privacy Controls at the top of the Settings page in My Account.

• You can decide who sees what in your account:
  • Profile
  • Last login
  • personal info (age, city/state, email address, telephone number, mailing address)
  • Lists (Bookshelf, Wish List, Buddy List, Reviews, transactions)
  • Online status
• Each of the above will have a setting:
  • Public (any member can see)
  • All Buddies (Full and Lite Buddies can see)
  • Full Buddies (only Full Buddies can see)
  • Private (nobody can see)
• You can assign Full Buddy/Lite Buddy status from the bottom of the Privacy Controls page.

You can also click to reset to default settings.

You can also choose "accept all buddy list invitations" in your Privacy Controls

• Choosing Yes here means any member who clicks +Buddy will be Full Buddies with you  (the default choice is No). 
• You can adjust any Buddies to Lite Buddies (they will not be notified/aware of that change), or delete them from your Buddy List (this will remove you from their Buddy List also without notification) after they are on your Buddy List if you like.

Note: when you view your own profile, you will see ALL information. This will NOT be what is shown to other members.  What is shown to others will be what you have set in your privacy controls.

Upgrade went live on 2/1/2008.

The Buddy List now offers more options! 

What's new:

• Blast PMs: You can send the same PM to multiple Buddies at a time, by taglist or using the checkboxes and clicking PM at the top of the list
• Privacy: You can set levels of privacy for Buddies--Full Buddies or Lite Buddies--in your Account Settings. See below
• Approval process for Buddies:
  • Adding a member to your Buddy list will need approval from the other member now
    • click +Buddy to send an invitation to a member by email to become buddies
  • Accepting another member's offer to add you to their Buddy List (this invitation will come by email) will automatically add them to your Buddy List also
    • You can accept (or ignore and remove) other members' invitations to be Buddies from your Buddy List, by clicking the link Buddy List invitations at the top of the Buddy List.
    • You can see if you have any pending Buddy List invitations from your My Account page by clicking the checkmark on the upper right of the toolbar.
  • Removing a Buddy from your list will now also remove you from that member's Buddy List--in other words, mutual consent is required to become and remain Buddies.
    • There are NO notifications sent when a buddy is removed
  • Tags on the Buddy list will not be viewable to any other members.
  • When two members become Buddies, they are Full Buddies by default. 
    • You can adjust any Buddy to a Lite Buddy on the Privacy Controls page in your Account Settings.  See below for more information about the Lite Buddy option.
    • Your Buddies will not know if they are Full or Lite Buddies on your Buddy List.

• You can also set your account to auto-accept all Buddy List invitations in your Privacy Controls in the Account Settings. See below for more information about the Privacy Controls.

Converting your Buddy List begins on 2/1/2008.

For members who already have a Buddy List created before that date:

• You will see the page of 50 buddies at a time when you go to your Buddy List
• You have to invite or delete your Buddies
• Your tags will be removed by the invite/accept process--you will have to reapply them (sorry!)
• There is no limit to the number of Buddies you can have
• You can accept/ignore invites from the link at the top of your Buddy List
• There is NO email notification when Buddy Invitation is ignored, or when Buddy is deleted.
• Buddies you invite/accept will be Full Buddies by default--you can adjust them to Lite Buddies if you want (and also adjust the privacy options for Full Buddies) in your Account Settings. See Below.
• You can also choose "accept all buddy list invitations" in your Privacy Controls (linked from the top of your Account Settings)--any member who clicks +Buddy will be Full Buddies with you if you choose this option (the default is No).  You can adjust any of them to Lite Buddies (they will not be notified/aware of that change), or delete them from your Buddy List (this will remove you from their Buddy List also without notification) after they are on your Buddy List if you like.

New Privacy Settings:

These privacy options are available from the link Privacy Controls at the top of the Settings page in My Account.

• You can decide who sees what in your account, including information about your:
  • Profile
  • Last login
  • personal info (age, city/state, email address, telephone number, mailing address)
  • Lists (Bookshelf, Wish List, Buddy List, Reviews, transactions)
  • Online status

• Each of the above will have a setting you can assign:
  • Public (any member can see)
  • All Buddies (Full and Lite Buddies can see)
  • Full Buddies (only Full Buddies can see)
  • Private (nobody can see)

You can assign Full Buddy/Lite Buddy status from the bottom of the Privacy Controls page.  Your Buddies will not know if they are Full or Lite Buddies on your Buddy List.  No Buddies will be able to see your Buddy List tags.  You can also set your account to auto-accept all Buddy invitations (all auto-accepted Buddies will be Full Buddies until/unless you change the setting after the buddy is added). 

This change to the Buddy List was made in direct response to member feedback.  In order to permit changes that many members have told us that they really want, some things about the Buddy List had to change.  Some of the member-requested features are now available, and some will be coming in the future.

released 1/25/2008.

The Bookshelf now shows the books that you have received from PBS (those marked received without a problem), so that they are easy to repost when you have finished reading them.

• The symbol appears to the left of items on hold.  Items on hold cannot be seen by other members looking at your bookshelf.
• The symbol appears to the left of items that are listed as available for swapping.  These items can be viewed by others looking at your bookshelf.

You can choose how you view the list, by choosing from the dropdown View menu at the top of your Bookshelf.

• Choosing "All Books" (default view) will show all items
• Choosing "Posted Books" will show only active items
• Choosing "Hold" will show only those items on hold

You can Post any item(s) on Hold easily by checking the box to the right of any item on Hold that you want to repost, and clicking Post.  You can do this for multiple items at a time.

You can delete any item (on Hold or active) easily by checking the box to the right of any items you want to delete, and clicking Delete.  You can do this for multiple items at a time.

At the time you mark each book received, you will have the option to choose whether or not it will go onto your Bookshelf on Hold.  Books marked received "with a problem" will not go onto your Bookshelf.

This change does not affect the TBR pile or any other of your lists.  Only the Bookshelf has been changed, to contain the Books to Repost list.  This has been done to minimize redundancy and make it easier to manage your books.

Tag Cloud added 1/23/2008. My Tag Cloud added August 2008.

The Tag Cloud is a page of the 250 most commonly-used tags in the club.  The number of members using  a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on the tag cloud corresponds to the number of times that tag has been used by all members.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of all books bearing that tag.

You can get to the Tag Cloud page under Community in the top menu of any page on the site.  Click here to go directly to the Tag Cloud.

My Tag Cloud is a page of YOUR 100 most often-used tags.  The number of times you have used a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on My Tag Cloud corresponds to the number of times that YOU have used the tag.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of  books to which YOU have applied that tag.

You can get to My Tag Cloud from the My Tags page.  Click here to go directly to the My Tag Cloud page.

Book Tags

The Approve Book Authors link is on the Member Tools page, which is linked from the bottom of any page on the site.  It allows the members to submit a "uniform" version of an author name to be applied to all items in the database that include that author in the author list. 

Our database is compiled elsewhere, and it has various spellings of an author name.  We would prefer that an author's name appear in its full version (without leading first initials, unless that is the only way that an author publishes).  The Search and Book Recommendations both rely on matching spelling of author names, and so these various spellings impede these features.

To use the Author Cleanup feature:

• Click Member Tools at the bottom of the site (you have to be logged in to see this)
• Click Approve Book Authors on the next page
• A screen appears for a specific author, with all the books in the database that include that author in their author lists
• Enter the author's full name (first - middle [if there is one] - last) in the appropriate spaces
• Click Save Author

This will submit that spelling of the author's name to an archive, and when we have enough of these changes, we will implement them in the database.

If a mistake is made, don't worry!  Submissions must be approved by another member independently in order to go into the archive.

If you don't know what to enter (if the author is not familiar to you) you can click Refresh on your browser and a different author screen will come up.

Introduced 9/27/2007. Improved August 2008.

What are they?

Book tags are words and short phrases that describe a book.  When used cooperatively (in a club-useful fashion) by  members, tags provide a wonderful method of discovery for books.   Tags can also be used personally, in a way that is useful to only one (or a few) members.  Sometimes members use tags inappropriately, and inappropriate tags should be removed.  Read on to learn what makes a tag inappropriate and how you can help eliminate inappropriate tags.

PBS plans to make club-useful tags searchable when most of the existing inappropriate tags have been removed.

What kind of words should I use as tags?

You can make Personal Tags or Club-Useful tags.

• A Club-Useful tag uses words and phrases that describe the content of the book. See examples of Club-Useful tags below.
  • When coming up with a Useful tag, ask yourself "What words will other members search for to find books like this?"

• A Personal tag has meaning only for the tagger.  See examples of Personal tags.
  • Members can use these, but there is almost always a better way to do what you're trying to accomplish.

• An Inappropriate tag is one that describes a particular copy of a book, or that is scatalogical (these are never appropriate!), or that actually impedes other members' use of the club.  See examples of Inappropriate tags.

    Examples of Useful Tags:

Historical Fiction, Newbery Medal Winner, Nobel prize-winning author, Set in Spain, Catholicism, Baseball History

    Examples of Personal Tags:

pjfb, 11/13 on 0708,  15 36, hmmm, 11/13, etc.

These have meaning only for the tagger.  They will not be useful to the other members of the club.

Done, Wish List, TBR, RL, BIR, JohnRL, MarysTBR, Traded, My TBR, John-bookshelf, Sent, etc.

        Note that many of these tags are redundant.  The On My:  section of search listings and My Lists serve the purpose of most of them. 

    Examples of Inappropriate Tags:

cover has small tear, No Dust Jacket, some yellowed pages, autographed, etc.

       These tags apply do not apply to EVERY copy of the book, only one.  

Do not order

     Put yourself in the shoes of a new member who finds a book she'd like to order bearing this tag!      

Posted for John S. only - all other requests will be canceled!

       Egregious inappropriate use of tags (and of the site)! This tag appears to apply to every copy of the book, so no one will request it. A tag like this will also likely get your account suspended for Terms of Use violations.

If you have created any inappropriate tags, you should delete them. Otherwise, they will start to disappear without warning as other members report them as inappropriate! See below for more information about reporting tags as inappropriate.

How do tags work?

• You can apply any number of tags to the same book. To enter them at the same time, separate them with commas.
• You can view all the items in the database bearing a particular tag by clicking on the tag wherever it appears on a search listing.
• You can view all the books that you have applied the tag to from your My Tags page.
• Others can see your tags--if they are among the 15 most-commonly applied tags to that book listing.
• When you view a book you will see ALL of the tags you have applied to it, as well as the 15 tags that have been most commonly applied to that book by all members.  Less-commonly applied tags will not necessarily show, especially if a book has had many different tags applied to it.

How do I use the tags feature?

To add a tag to a book:

• Look for the button on the book listing (in a search result, on your Bookshelf, Wish List, TBR PIle, BIR list, Reminder List, etc.)
• Click the button and type your tag in the box that pops up.
  • As you type the tag name, the most commonly used matching tags will be suggested to you in a dropdown from the space in which you are typing. It's important to select an existing tag, if possible.  This will give the tag "power" in the Tag Cloud and the coming Tag Search.  If no existing tag matches what you've typed, a new one will be created.
  • To apply multiple tags at once, type them all separated by commas. Example: humor, good for teens. However, you will only see tag suggestions for the first tag that you type.
  • Press Enter or click
• On Book Details pages, tags are applied in a slightly different manner. The box to type in your tag is always there and you'll click the button AFTER typing your tag.

To remove a tag you have placed on a book:

• Just click the icon next to that tag name (on the Book Details page, your Bookshelf, etc.)
• This will remove YOUR TAG from the book.  If others have tagged the book with that tag, it will NOT remove the tag entirely.
• A tag will disappear from a book only if there are no members using that tag on the book, OR if there are many tags applied to the book and that tag is not among the 15 most-commonly applied tags. A tag can also be "voted" off by other members, as described below.

To see the tags that have been applied to a book:

• Search for the book using any search method.  Your own tags and the 15 most popular tags that have been applied to the book will appear below the general information about the book.
  • The tags with the beside them are YOUR tags.

• Look at the Details page for a book.  Your own tags for the book and popular tags will be shown separately.
• Look at your Bookshelf, Wish List, TBR PIle, BIR list, Reminder List, etc. pages to see only your tags.
• Look at your My Tags page, found under My Lists. You'll find every tag you've created along with usage information.
  • Place your cursor over a tag name to see how many books you've used it on.
  • Clicking the tag names FROM THIS PAGE will show you only the books to which YOU'VE applied the tag. Normally, clicking on a tag name shows you the list of books that any members have tagged.

You can also view the 'Tag Cloud' for the club or 'My Tag Cloud'.

The Tag Cloud is a page of the 250 most commonly-used tags in the club.  The number of members using a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on the Tag Cloud corresponds to the number of times that tag has been used by all members.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of all books bearing that tag.

You can get to the Tag Cloud page under Community in the top menu of any page on the site.  Click here to go directly to the Tag Cloud.

My Tag Cloud is a page of YOUR 100 most often-used tags.  The number of times you have used a tag appears as a superscript to the right of the tag name.

• The font size on My Tag Cloud corresponds to the number of times that YOU have used the tag.
• Clicking any tag will take you to the list of  books to which YOU have applied that tag.

You can get to My Tag Cloud from the My Tags page.  Click here to go directly to the My Tag Cloud page.

Other information found on the My Tags page

 Besides the previously mentioned list of your own tags, you will find the following usage information on your My Tags page:

• Under the Uses column you'll see two numbers. The top number tells you how many times the tag has been used across the site and the bottom number tells you how many members have used that tag.
• Under the Uses column, clicking the top number shows all books bearing that tag and clicking the bottom number shows you all members that have applied that tag. The font size corresponds to the number of times a member has used the tag.
• The Most Recently Tagged column shows the last book to receive that tag from any member.
• You can use the button to order your tags by their name or by the number of times YOU'VE used the tag.
• You can use the button to quickly locate one or more of your tags. Typing just the first few letters then clicking Search will locate all tags that begin with those letters.
• After searching for tags, you can click "Clear your search" to bring back all of your tags.

Click here to go directly to the My Tags page.

How do I report other members' tags as inappropriate ?

• Every tag that wasn't created by you will have an  symbol at the end of the tag. Clicking this symbol will report the tag as inappropriate.
• After a certain number of members have reported the tag for that particular book, it will be automatically deleted from that book only. This allows members to get rid of tags that are inappropriate for a certain book without removing it from other books where it may be appropriate.

• You will only be able to report a particular tag as inappropriate once per book.

• Please use good judgment when reporting tags. Abuse of this feature may result in losing your ability to use or even see tags. Repeated abuse can result in your account being suspended.

Is there anything else I should know about tags?  Gimme the short version.

• Remember that when you view a book in the search results, you will see many tags that have been applied to that book, by any member. 
  • Those tags you see may be completely irrelevant to the particular copy of the book YOU will be requesting if you click "Order This Book". Tags about book condition are the classic example of an inappropriate tag.  In such cases, you should use the "Report as Inappropriate" feature to report the tag.
• You can remove only your OWN tags. You can't directly remove other members' tags from a book.  You can, however, report a tag as inappropriate. When enough members have reported a particular use of a tag as inappropriate, it will automatically disappear.
• You have a new "My Tags" page under My Lists, and a new "My Tag Cloud".
• When the inappropriate tags have largely been eliminated from the database, we will be able to implement the Tag Search, which we know many of our members are eager to have available. 

 Related items:

Tag Cloud

introduced 10/9/2007.

Click the Under the Hood link at the bottom of any page on the site to see the activity on the site, updating in real time.  The page will refresh to show new activity every 15 seconds. 

• You can see new members joining
• You can see books being Posted, mailed, requested, received
• It's a great way to see "what's going on" all over the site.

introduced 10/8/2007.

The Book Passport allows you to see the swapping history of any book on your Bookshelf, Transaction Archive or TBR Pile. 

• Just click the   ("footprint") symbol on the listing for the book to see the information.
• Each time a book is marked received, it counts as a "passport stamp" for the book.
• The total number of miles a book has traveled appears at the top of the Passport Screen.

The credit and Money Registries are two links at the top of your My Account page, which allow you to see your credit and PBS Money activity for the last 2 months.  You can see which books are involved on most entries. 

This feature became available at PBS on 9/5/2007.

Common notations (and their meaning) include:

Requested a Book = you requested a book

Mailed a Book = a book you mailed was received by another member OR Quick Credit was granted when the DC barcode scan information was uploaded to PBS.

Canceled Request = a book request was canceled, either by sender or requestor

Referred a New Member = you got credit for referring someone who Posted at least 10 books

Buddy List Credit Transfer = someone gave you credits; or you gave credits to someone else

Canceled Book Received = you marked a canceled book received from your Transaction Archive

lost in mail Book Received = you marked a lost book received from your Transaction Archive

Initial credit = one of the two "startup" credits given by PBS for posting books

Bought Credits = you purchased Book Credits in the Kiosk (or by sending in a snail-mail check or money order)

Bought PBS Money = you purchased PBS Money in the Kiosk (or by sending in a snail-mail check or money order)

postage = postage was printed out onto a wrapper

Postage Printing fee = the postage fee for using Printed Postage was charged

Purchased DC for a BoB = You printed a Box-O-Books wrapper with PBS Delivery Confirmation

Request Refund = a sender refunded your credit from a swap

Request Canceled - No response from Sender = this means the sender didn't mark the book mailed, and the request was canceled.  This is accompanied by a green 1, indicating that the credit was taken back from this request.

Passed on Request = this means that a canceled request has been passed to a new sender.  This is accompanied by the notation above, and also by a red -1, meaning the credit was moved to the new request so the new sender will get your credit when you mark the book received from him or her.  This does not mean you will end up paying double credit for the book; this negative credit is always balanced by the positive credit associated with the Request Canceled notation described above. 

Related items:

What is PBS Money?
What is PBS Delivery Confirmation?
FAQs about Printable Postage

printable postage became available at PBS on 9/4/2007.

• Why use it?
• How do I use it?
• How much does it cost?
• Is there a monthly charge to use this option?
• How is the postage estimated?
• Is the postage estimate always correct?
• Does the least expensive postal rate always print automatically?
• What about packaging materials?  Does the database estimate of the package weight include the added weight for those?
• What if I just want to use Printed Postage, and not the Delivery Confirmation?
• When will I get my credit if I use Printed Postage?
• How will I know I have gotten my credit for using Printed Postage?
• How does Printed Postage differ from the PBS Delivery Confirmation feature?
• What if I decide to "throw in" an extra book with the one requested (if I am doing a "deal" in the Book Bazaar, for example)?
• Is there anything different about the printing process now?
• What is the significance of the postmark date on the wrapper Settings page?  Does it matter what date I choose there?
• I am getting the message "electronic postage cannot be used for this address".  What does this mean?
• What is the black box next to the postage square on the wrapper?  Can I choose NOT to print that?
• Can I make the font bigger on the printed wrapper?
• Is there anything special about Wrapping my book with printed postage?
• Can I tape over the printed postage?  How about over the DC barcode?
• What if I make a mistake (like I entered the wrong weight or didn't correct the estimated weight) and the wrong postage prints out?
• Can I reprint the wrapper?  Will I be charged again?
• What if I print with postage and then can't send the book, or my printer malfunctions?
• I printed with postage and didn't get my Instant Credit! What went wrong?
• What if I send multiple books?  How does that work?
• Do I still have to mark the book mailed if I use printed postage?
• Can we use this for Box-O-Books and Custom DC?
• Sounds great!  Where do I sign up?

Why use it?

• Printed postage means you can mail your package as you like.  The USPS regulations that require packages over 13 ounces to be handed to a postal worker in a Post Office do not apply.
• Printed postage means no fussing with stamps, no standing in line at the Post Office.
• You will also get INSTANT CREDIT if you print your postage through PBS--you will get your credit when you mark the book mailed by clicking the "Book Has Been Mailed" button on the request.

How do I use it?

• Just click Print Wrapper on a request, and the Wrapper Settings page will come up.  You can choose the Print Postage option on that page
• You need to have PBS Money in your account to use printable postage.  You can add PBS Money to your account in the Kiosk (using PayPal or a credit/debit card).

How much does it cost?

• The Printable Postage fee is 43 cents.
  • This includes the Instant Credit fee paid to PBS plus the fee paid to Endicia, our online postage provider.
• The fee to USPS is 19 cents (for the electronic DC). 
  • Delivery Confirmation is required by USPS for all printable postage, so the option to print postage without DC is not available.

Is there a monthly charge to use this option?

• No.

How is the postage estimated?

• According to the dimensions of the book, which are provided to us in our database for books listed with an ISBN, and which the posting member enters when posting an item without an ISBN.
• The PBS system will automatically choose the best  rate to send your package: packages up to 7 ounces will be printed with First Class Postal Rate, and packages over 7 ounces will be printed with Media Mail rate.

Is the postage estimate always correct?

• Usually, but not always.  Database inaccuracies can cause some errors.
• It is wise to have a postal scale to check the package weight.  You can correct the weight estimate on the Wrapper Settings page, and this will adjust the postage that prints out.

Does the least expensive postal rate always print automatically?

• Yes.
• If a package is estimated to weigh up to (and including) 7 ounces the wrapper will print out with First-Class rate because that is less expensive than Media Mail for that package weight.  Media Mail rate and postage will print out for all packages estimated to weigh over 7 ounces.

What about packaging materials?  Does the database estimate of the package weight include the added weight for those?

• Yes.  A small amount (0.6 ounces) for packaging materials is included in the estimate of the package weight automatically.  As long as you don't package your books in heavy cardboard or put rocks in the box with the books, this extra allowance should cover normal packaging materials.  Note: rocks and other non-Media items are not permitted in packages sent Media Mail.
  

What if I just want to use Printed Postage, and not the Delivery Confirmation?

• Unfortunately, this is not an option.  USPS regulations require DC with all forms of printable postage.

When will I get my credit if I use Printed Postage?

• You will get your credit instantly, as soon as you click the Book Has Been Mailed button.
• You will get an email telling you that you have gotten credit
  • You will also get an email telling you when the book has been marked received; you will not get a second credit when that happens.
• If your book is declared lost in the Mail at PBS or is returned to you by USPS for some reason, you get to keep the Instant Credit.

How will I know I have gotten my credit for using Printed Postage?

• You will get an email from PBS telling you that you have gotten credit
  • You will also get an email telling you when the book has been marked received; you will not get a second credit when that happens.
• You will be able to see the credit in your Credit Registry, linked from the top of your My Account page.

How does Printed Postage differ from the PBS Delivery Confirmation feature?

• With PBS DC, the postage is NOT printed on the wrapper--you need to add the postage yourself.
• With Printed Postage, the postage IS printed on the wrapper.

• With PBS DC, you get your credit for sending a book as Quick Credit--when the DC barcode is scanned by USPS and the information is transmitted to the PBS site.
• With Printed Postage, you get your credit instantly, as soon as you mark the book mailed.

• With PBS DC, you pay 27 cents (to PBS, from your PBS Money) + 19 cents (in postage on the package) = 46 cents over postage cost.
• With PBS Printed Postage, you pay 43 cents (includes Instant credit fee paid to PBS plus the fee paid to Endicia, the online postage provider)  from your PBS Money  + 19 cents (to USPS, from your PBS Money) + postage (from your PBS Money) = 62 cents over postage cost

• With PBS DC you must mail packages over 13 ounces by handing them to a postal employee.  This is a USPS National Security regulation.
• With PBS Printed Postage, you can mail packages over 13 ounces from dropboxes and your outgoing mailbox--the printed postage is trackable, so the USPS regulation does not apply.

• With both features:
  • you need to have PBS Money in your PBS Money account
  • you can track your shipment from your My Account page
  • you get Guaranteed Credit (if your book is lost in the mail or damaged, you still get credit for sending the book).
  • you still need to mark your book mailed before the deadline to prevent the transaction from cancelling.
  • Both PBS DC and PBS Printed Postage are optional features.  You do not need to use them to send a book.

What if I decide to "throw in" an extra book with the one requested (if I am doing a "deal" in the Book Bazaar, for example)?  How can I print the correct postage for the package?

• Nothing could be easier!  Just weigh the books together and enter THAT weight onto the Wrapper Settings page.  Then the postage that prints out will be enough to mail the multiple-book shipment.

What if I print with postage and the wrapper file doesn't download?

• If your browser won't download the .pdf file, and you are using Internet Explorer, check the top of the browser for an alert bar that will tell you a download is being prevented.  You can okay the download by clicking on that bar.  You can also change your Internet Explorer settings to allow downloads under Tools> Internet Options> Security.  Choose Custom Level and then choose Enable under "Automatic prompting for File Downloads".
• You can also just avoid downloading the file, by clicking the "backup wrapper" link on the Wrapper Settings page, which will show the wrapper in a webpage that you can print.

What is the significance of the postmark date on the Wrapper Settings page?  Does it matter what date I choose there?

• Yes, it is important to choose the date properly--you need to mail the book by that date.
• You cannot change the postmark date after you have downloaded/printed the wrapper.
• If you mail AFTER that date, you can go to the PO and have a new metered $0.00 strip with that day's date applied to the package.
• It is okay to mail it earlier than the date; your package may be returned to you if you mail it after that date.
  • If you put it into a collection box after the last day's scheduled collection, then the package will be accepted with the previous day's date when the next collection happens on the next day.
• If you are into legalese, here are the USPS regulations on this ("indicia" = postmark):
  • Mailpieces bearing a complete date in the indicia must be deposited or presented on that date, except that pieces entered after the day's last scheduled collection from the post office or collection box may bear the actual date of entry or the date of the next scheduled collection from the post office or collection box. When authorized by USPS, presort mail accepted after midnight may bear the previous day's date. If the mailer knows that the mail is not to be deposited or presented on the date in the indicia, the mailer must use a date correction indicium under 4.4.1. (from DMM, 4.5.2 Mailing Date Accuracy and Mailing Periods)

Will the PBS-DC included with Printed Postage give me QuickCredit and CreditAssurance?

• Well, it WOULD, but if you use Printed Postage at PBS, you will get Instant Credit!  When you mark your book mailed you will get credit immediately. 
• If you mark the book mailed and then decide to print with postage, the Instant Credit can't be generated (you have already clicked the Book Mailed button), so the DC barcode will earn Quick Credit when it is scanned and the information transmitted to PBS.
• You will be able to track your package sent with PBS Printed Postage from your account page, just as you are able to do for  packages sent with PBS-DC alone.  

I am getting the message "electronic postage cannot be used for this address".  What does this mean?

• This message "electronic postage is currently not available for this address" is an error message from endicia.com, our online postage provider, and often it just goes away if the sender tries again to print after a few minutes.  

• If the address is not validated by USPS,  you will also see the above message.  In the case of an invalid address, the requestor can go to this site  to try to find the "validated" form of his or her address.  Printed postage can't be used to send a package to an address that has not been validated by USPS. 

What is the black box next to the postage square on the wrapper?  Can I choose NOT to print that?

• The black box indicates non-First Class Mail rate, and is also required by USPS.  There is no option not to print it on the wrapper if you are sending a package by Media Mail rate.
• If you are concerned about the amount of ink the black box uses, you should print your wrappers with Draft Quality, which uses less ink.
• First-Class wrappers will print without the black box.

Can I make the font bigger on the printed wrapper?

• No, unfortunately.  USPS guidelines govern the exact appearance of the printed wrapper and we cannot change anything, including the font size.

Is there anything special about wrapping my book with printed postage?

• Nope. Same old same old.  See the Help information on wrapping books for a discussion of this.

Can I tape over the printed postage?  How about over the DC barcode?

• Yes, you can apply tape over the printed postage square.  Obviously it should be clear (transparent) tape.
• The DC barcode will be scannable with a single layer of transparent tape over it.  Wrinkles in the wrapper much more commonly interfere with the barcode scannability--tape is not usually a problem.

What if I make a mistake (like I entered the wrong weight or didn't correct the estimated weight) and the wrong postage prints out?

• When you click Print Wrapper Now, you will see the weight of the package and the postage that is about to print out.  PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS, and ONLY click to print if the information is correct.
• If it is not correct, you should cancel and go back and adjust the weight to be correct, then print again.
• Once a wrapper has been printed with postage, you can't "go back" and change the postage amount, and the PBS money can't be refunded.

Can I reprint the wrapper?  Will I be charged again?

• Yes you can reprint the wrapper.  No, you won't be charged again.
• To reprint, just click Print Wrapper (or RePrint Wrapper, if you have marked the book mailed already) on the request, and reprint from the Wrapper Settings page that comes up.
• Of course each wrapper can be used only once, to send one shipment.

What if I print with postage and then can't send the book, or my printer malfunctions?

• If you cancel a transaction (or the system cancels the transaction if you did not mark the book mailed in time) after printing with postage, the postage and fees can't be refunded by PBS.  The funds are transmitted to USPS when you download the wrapper with the postage on it.  You could try taking the printed, unused wrapper to the PO and discussing this with them.    We have no mechanism to recover these funds from USPS ourselves, but individuals may be able to do so.
• If you download a wrapper with postage and then your printer malfunctions, remember that you can reprint the wrapper (you can download it again) using the RePrint Wrapper button without being charged.  This can be done from any computer that has a working printer attached.   You should try this option if it is at all possible before cancelling--once canceled, the postage cannot be refunded.

Do I still have to mark the book mailed if I use printed postage?

• Yes.  You need to mark the book mailed before the deadline to do so, to prevent the transaction from cancelling.
• When you mark your book mailed after printing the postage, you will get your credit instantly!

I printed with postage and didn't get my Instant Credit! What went wrong?

• You must have marked the book mailed before choosing to REprint with Postage.
• Clicking the Book Has Been Mailed button triggers instant credit.  If you have already done this before printing with postage, and then reprint with postage, there is no way to mark the book mailed again.
• In this case you will get Quick Credit when the barcode is scanned by USPS and the information is transmitted to us, or when the book is marked received by the requestor.

What if I send multiple books?  How does that work?

• If more than one book is requested at once in the form of a bulk request, the Wrapper Settings page will have the database estimate for all of the books in the shipment.  (As always, you can adjust this weight estimate, and thereby adjust the postage that will print out.)
  • You will get Instant credits for all books in a bulk shipment if the bulk shipment is sent with Printed Postage--as soon as you mark the shipment mailed, you will get the credits for all the books.
• If you get multiple individual requests from the same member (not submitted as a bulk request), you can always adjust the weight of the package on one Wrapper Settings page from one of the requests to get proper postage to send all of the books using that wrapper, but of course, you will get Instant Credit ONLY for the book(s) listed on the wrapper you print out.  You will get credit for any other books in the shipment when they are marked received by the requestor. 
  • Because individual requests cannot be combined after the fact into a bulk shipment by the sender, we recommend that if you receive multiple individual requests at once and intend to use printed postage, to "peek" at the address before printing with postage. 
    • To do that, just choose "no extra services" and click "click Here" at the bottom of the page. This will show you the address information on a separate web page, without printing the postage.  If two or more books are going to the same place, you can follow the instructions above to change the weight on one wrapper to print postage only once for that shipment.  If you print postage for individual shipments, they cannot be combined and the postage cannot be refunded after printing.

Can we use this for Box-O-Books?

• Yes indeed!

Sounds great!  Where do I sign up?

• Just purchase PBS Money in the Kiosk, and you will be able to print your postage!

Introduced July, 2007

Now you can take PBS with you, wherever you go.

If you have a web-capable mobile phone, just bookmark this site on your phone's Web browser, and you can access a streamlined version of the site from anywhere!  See your bookshelf, your Wish and Reminder Lists, and search the site by ISBN, title or author.

Why use PBS Mobile?

• Check the Club Wish LIst when you are at a book sale.  See if the ISBN on that book for 50 cents is wished for in the club! 

• Check the Posted (available) books when you see a book you are considering buying

How to Use PBS Mobile:

• Use the Web browser on your phone to access the site http://www.paperbackswap.com/mobile/index.php
  • Bookmark that page
  • Now whenever you go to that page, you will have access to the PBS database and your account.
• To see if a book you are looking at is Wish Listed in the club:
  • Go to the PBS Mobile site, choose "Wish List books" from the dropdown menu at the top of the page
  • Enter the ISBN below that and click Search.
  • You will see a listing of the book if it is Wish Listed, and how many wishers there are.
• To see if a book you are looking at is available in the club:
  • Go to the PBS Mobile site, choose "Posted books" from the dropdown menu at the top of the page
  • Enter the ISBN (or title or author) below that and click Search.
  • You will see a listing of the book if it is available

FABIL (Find a Book I'll Like)

introduced May, 2007

What is it?

• FABIL will recommend books to you based on:

  • Books you have rated highly at PBS
  • Books you have indicated interest in by placing them on your Wish List
  • Books your Buddies have rated highly

Why use it?

• You can discover authors and/or books you are likely to enjoy

How to use it:

• Place your cursor over My Account in the toolbar at the top of any page on the site.
  • Move your cursor down to My Lists > in the  menu that drops down
  • Click Book Recommendations in the menu that appears to the right
• On the FABIL page, you will see a list of books that have been recommended to you:
  • They are separated by basis for recommendation: highly-rated books, then WIsh Listed books, then Buddy books
    • You can adjust FABIL's ratings-sensitivity using the dropdown menu below the first recommndations:
    • For example, tell FABIL to recommend only books similar to those you have given 5 stars, or 4 stars, etc.
• Browse the recommended books:
  • Click the book title to learn more about the book if you like
    • Click "Back" in your browser to go back to FABIL from the Book Details page
  • Click if you have already read a recommended book
    • The book will be added to your Books I've Read List
    • It should not be recommended to you again
  • Click to request a recommended book
    • You will be taken to the regular request screens, and will return to FABIL when you are done
  • Click to add a recommended book to your Wish List
    • The book will be added to your Wish List without leaving the page
  • Click if you are not interested in a recommended book
    • this book should not be recommended to you again
  • Rate any recommended book using the "star" rating system
    • Stars are blue to indicate the general Club rating of the book
    • Stars turn yellow when you place your cursor over them; drag and click to apply the number of stars
    • Stars for books you have rated will appear yellow from then on
    • Click the to clear your rating
    • To adjust your star rating, just drag to adjust the number of stars, then click
• You can see all current recommendations by clicking at the bottom of the page
• Each time you visit FABIL, there will be new recommendations for you!

To generate more recommendations, rate more books in the database, or add more books to your Wish List.

Related Links:

How to use the stars rating system
How do I provide/edit my review of a book?

Book List Import Bookmark

introduced May 2007. Location changed 4/22/2009.

What is it?

• A bookmark that you can click to import ISBNs from any Webpage you are on (PBS or non-PBS)
• If you are on a webpage that contains ISBNs, click the Book List Import Bookmark in your browser and you can choose from the list of available ISBNs on that page, and choose which PBS list in your account to which to import them
  • You can import to your Bookshelf, Wish List, Reminder List, Books I've Read List, and TBR Pile.
  • You can import one ISBN or many at a time.

Why use it?

• It makes adding a book to a PBS list much easier!
• For example, if you are on a site and you see that there is a book you would like to put on your Wish List, you can simply click the Book List Import bookmark and you can choose that book, then choose to place it on your Wish List.
  • You do not have to copy-paste the book information and go back to the PBS site to paste it into the Search there
  • You can import whole lists-- add multiple items to your PBS lists from other sites (ie, your Amazon Wish List) with just a few clicks!

How to Use it:

• Click the Member Tools link at the bottom of any page on the site.
• Click the Book List Import Bookmark, and then
  
  • For Firefox - Right click on the link - PaperBackSwap List Import
    • Choose "Bookmark This Link..."
    • Mac/one-button mouse: control-click
  • For Internet Explorer - Right click on the link - PaperBackSwap List Import
  • Choose "Add to Favorites..."
  • If you receive a warning stating "You are adding a favorite that may not be safe. Do you want to continue?" click "Yes". This favorite is safe to use.
  • You can also click and drag the links onto your favorites/bookmarks toolbar to add them there.

• After you have done this, if you are on another site and see a book you want to add to a list in your PBS account:
  • Click the Book List Import bookmark in your browser
  • A list of available ISBNs and book titles from that page information will show
  • Click to place a checkmark beside any item you would like to import
  • The next screen will ask you into which list you would like to import the items--choose the list
  • You are done!  The items will have been imported to the PBS List you chose.

Note: if you use this to import books into your Bookshelf, please be SURE that the book information on each listing matches the book you have.  The author, title, ISBN and booktype must ALL match.  cover image and other information do NOT have to match.

PaperBackSwap Browser Search Plugins

introduced May 2007. Location changed 4/22/2009.

What are they?

• They are bits of programming that work with your browser (Firefox or Internet Explorer) to provide a PBS Search that you can use when you are NOT on the PBS site. 

Why use them?

• They allow you to be on another website and do a search of the PBS database without going to the PBS site to do it.
• For example: if you are reading an online newspaper or blog, and you see a Review for a book you might be interested in, you can simply copy-paste the title or author or ISBN into the PBS Search field at the top right of your browser, and search PBS to request the book, or add it to your Wish List.
• You don't have to go to PBS and enter the information in the Search there; you can do it from the window you are on!

How to Use them:

• Go to the Member Tools link at the bottom of any page on the site (you must be logged in to see this link).
• Click the Browser Plugin link on the Member Tools page
  • Click to install the plugin for the browser you use
• After you have done this, there will be a dropdown menu in the Search field on your browser (at the top of your browser window, to the right of the space for the URL/web address)
  • When you are on any site, you can click the "down triangle" in that Search field and choose PBS from the list of Search engines to use
  • When the PBS logo appears in that Browser Search field, anything you type in there will search PBS automatically.
  • You can leave PBS as the default search engine in that field, or choose it each time from the list.

Related items:

How to find books to request
Tips to find the book you are looking for!