PLEASE DO NOT POST TO THIS THREAD!

I'm starting this thread so that there is a central location for the missions that I've started. It will allow people who have not joined in before to read over the missions in one central location. It will also keep me from worrying about bumping the original threads.

If you want to comment on the particular missions, please go to the thread (linked in each post) and discuss there.

If you find an error in one of the posts, please PM me so I can make a correction.

Also, feel free to PM me with suggestions! And to those who have not seen their suggestions yet, hang in there! They're coming!

This may take a little while to compile, so please bear with me! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #1

OK, with all the fuss over the tags, it's time to tag enough books to make them useful. I'll post several little "missions" for people to do on 5 books (or more if you like!). Use your TBR or your BIR or your bookshelf. Whichever works for you.

Today's mission: Pick a favorite series of yours. Tag the books with the main character or characters who are central to the series.

For example: Elizabeth George's book tags might be:

• Lynley & Havers
• Inspector Lynley
• Barbara Havers

Sue Grafton's series would be Kinsey Millhone, etc.

Be sure to look for existing tags in the drop-down and use them if they're intuitive. Remember that it will take multiples of the same tag to push the personal tags further down the list. Post here what you've done! Perhaps some of us can take a moment to duplicate your tags as well! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #2

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Pick any 5 books (or more if you care to, LOL!) and add the location! If it's a large well-known city, use that as the tag. Otherwise use state, country, or other.

PLEASE check the spelling of any tags you create!

For example: Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries could be New Jersey. The Maggody mysteries could be Arkansas.

Post the tags you've done here if you like! :)

ETA: Also, remember that if you use a comma, you'll get separate tags. So if you typed "Paris, TX" you'll get two tags, one "Paris" and the other "TX". So we might want to choose Paris - TX format for city/state, perhaps?

Making Tags Useful - Mission #3

This mission: Time time time!

Add a timeframe to the books that you know. You can use "Victorian" or "Elizabethan" or "WWII" or "1970's" or "Great Depression" or "Civil War" or "20th Century"... Anything that's useful and descriptive. If you're unsure, check the current tags for the book, and see if we can increase the number of times some of those are used.

Good luck, and have fun! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #4

Abridged? or Unabridged? That is the question... :)

This is most helpful for audio books, but any book will do. If you know a book is abridged or unabridged, add that tag to the book.

Bonus: Add the narrator to the audio books. Suggestion: use the format: "Read by _____"

ETA: Another suggestion: Add "Unabridged" and "Unabridged Audio" to the audio books. The general tag can apply to both paper and audio. It would be easier for audio readers to find more unabridged audio if both were included.

Also, some have "Cassettes" or "CD" after the abridgement note. Those are helpful too! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #5

What's in a job?

Find five books and add the profession of the main character as a tag.

Examples: P.I., detective, book store owner, librarian, senator...  whatever fits!

Off to add some tags!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #6

It's a WINNER!

Tag books and authors with the awards they've won. Some are: Edgar Awards, Nobel Prize for Literature, Agatha Awards, Newbery.... OK I'll look up more in a minute, LOL! And you all can add posts with the various awards as well.

Also, feel free to add nominees as well, just be sure to name them as such.

Also valid: selected for national book reading promotions (eg Oprah Book Club).

Reference Links:

I've found various awards for mysteries listed at Stop! You're Killing Me!

Nobel Laureates are listed here.

Newbery Medals are listed here.

Caldecott Medals are listed here.

Various poetry prizes are listed here.

A copy of Oprah's Book Club list can be found here. (Click to open printable list.)

the hugo awards (for sf&f) are listed here: Link

Booker Prize

Whitbread Prize

Pulitzer Prize

Making Tags Useful - Mission #7

How about a bit of controversy?

Tag a few books as "ALA 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books". Here's a link to the ALA web site's list of the most frequently challenged books from 1990 to 2000. I've created this tag, so just type in ALA 100 and it should come up. There is also a "banned book" tag already, which can be used as well.

The purpose of this tag is not to cause controversy, but to add information regarding these books to their tags list. It will also help members who wish to participate in the ALA's Banned Books Week to easily find books that have been challenged.

Making Tags Useful - Mission #8

The Everyman's Library

Add "Everyman's Library Selection" to those books that are selected. (This is not just for the official EL books, this is to indicate their selection as a "classic" by the publishers.)

Note: Keep in mind that EL does not have access to all classics, they don't have rights to many books they'd like to publish. So don't get in a snit if one of your faves (particularly a recent one) isn't on the list, LOL!

Also, I think their poets selections are their own collections of the poems, not necessarily published collections of poems. Feel free to mark the poets as an Everyman's Poet Selection.

Links:

The Everyman's 100 (Can mark: Everyman's 100 Selection)

Children's Classics (Everyman's Children's Classics Selection)

Contemporary Classics (Everyman's Contemporary Classics Selection)

Pocket Poets (Everyman's Pocket Poets Selection)

Great Poets (Everyman's Great Poets)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #9

Just who is this guy?

Pseudonyms! We all know there are authors out there who use pseudonyms, so get in there and mark those authors' real names as tags. I recommend using "aka Author Name" as a format.

Here's a link to a site that lists some pseudonyms! Thanks to Michelle G. (mikeylou) who shared it and provided the suggestion!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #10

That WL book has another ISBN?

Tag wishlisted books that have different ISBN's. You can do this for a book you're posting or just books you've noticed.

If the book is available, you can tag it as: Copy available - ISBN xxxxxxxx

Or you can add tags: Other ISBN: xxxxxxxxxxx or Alternate ISBN xxxxxxxxxx

Thanks to Rory C. (bluestar) for the recommendation.

ETA: Since this has been suggested, I think it's unlikely that members will remember to remove their "copy available" tags, particularly on non-ISBN listings. So I'm recommending that only the Other ISBN or Alternate ISBN notation be used.

Making Tags Useful - Mission #11

Just who recommends this book, anyway?

Tag books with the names of critics or others who liked the book. They need to be general, but can be anything that would help someone decide whether the book might be right for them. For book critics/commentators, use the format:

Critic name recommendation

For example, I find myself adding books after I hear Nancy Pearl's recommendations on NPR. So I tag them: Nancy Pearl recommendation

Other ideas/suggestions you can mold where appropriate:

• Book club
• Bible study (can include affiliation, such as Presbyterian Bible Study)
• 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (or other lists)
• Seniors reading group
• Social justice reading group
• Cozy Mystery club
• Popular with singles

Hope this gives you some ideas! Have fun!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #12

Who's on First? What's on Second?

Mark the order on series books. You can include the name of the series in the marker, or just mark its place.

Include the series by marking: Series Name #X.

So for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Harry Potter #1

For just the number (without the series) I recommend using numbers: 1st in series, 2nd in series, 3rd in series, etc...

Some sources for book order: Fantastic Fiction, Stop, You're Killing Me!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #13

Double Up!

When you're browsing books, or looking at a book you're familiar with, tag the book with some existing tags. This will help to push the useful tags to the front of the list and push the personal ones further down on the display (or perhaps move incorrect ones down the list too, LOL!).

So, if you're browsing the Harry Potter books, tag them with the existing tags (Harry Potter, Fantasy, etc.). The more each tag is used on a book, the more the useful ones will be seen on the list.

A note, though: If you're not sure the tag is correct, then don't double-up the tag. Often, you'll find things in the description that will help, but tagging books incorrectly will cause more problems than it solves.

An additional note: Try to use the drop-down menu to double-up the tags. That way, there won't be additional extraneous tags if you have a typo. :)

So, get out there and start a' taggin'!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #14

Oops! Maybe I ought to fix that....  

So you went through and marked books that didn't have a picture. Well, now it has a picture but it also still has the "Needs an image" tag. When adding these tags for the editing/image group, please go back and check to see whether the image has been added! The editing/image groups CANNOT REMOVE YOUR TAGS! So be sure to return and remove those bad ones.

Another correction, I had a gaffe when I originally posted the Newbery awards with the incorrect spelling. D'OH! If you spelled it "NEWBERRY" when you tagged the books, please go back and add "NEWBERY Medal Winner" (the correct spelling) and delete the incorrectly-spelled tag. At the very least, add NEWBERY Medal Winner whenever you come across one with the misspelled tag.

Be sure to delete any incorrect or misspelled tags if you used them, please! (Note: This would not work for capitalization. The tags are not case-sensitive, and if the first tag entered was all lower-case, removing "france" and adding "France" won't make any difference.)

And if you later discovered that you goofed on the location, character, whatever, please go back and remove those tags. Also be sure to remove those personal tags that no longer apply for you.

Let's clean up those tags! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #15

What type of book is this exactly?

Add a book category or type, especially if the type is not something that would come up in a standard search.

Some suggestions:

Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Romance, Baseball, Politics, Autobiography, Memoirs, Historical Fiction, Diaries, Chick LIt, Military Strategy...

The list is endless! Add away!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #16

What age for this book?

It's time for those suggested reading lists for the summer to start heading home from schools. If you get one of these lists, please take a moment to tag them with the recommended reading level.

Examples:

• 4th Grade Reading List
• High School Reading List
• Jr. High Reading List

Also, if you have young children's books, mark them with recommended ages: Infant, Toddler, 0-3 Years, Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, etc.

Let's get some more info on these children's books! :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #17

Just when was this first published, anyway?

So we're looking at the various reprints of books and wondering... so when was this first published? Add its original publication date as a tag, using the format: Originally Published XXXX

So Janet Evanovich's One for the Money would be Originally Published 1994.

You can get these for mysteries at Stop! You're Killing Me!

Fantastic Fiction is also a good source.

Get out there and tag a few!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #18

What language was this written in?

If your book is either in a foreign language, or was originally published in a foreign language, add a tag for it!

If the book was orignally published in another language (but the version is in English), label it [Language] Literature. For example, if the book was orignally written in German, tag it German Literature.

If the book that is being posted is in a foreign language, tag it In [language]. So if the book is in Spanish, tag it In Spanish, or you could also add a tag Not translated from Spanish.

In cases where the language and country are different, you can tag them with both the country and language. For example, a book originally in Spanish written by a Colombian author could be tagged both Spanish Literature and Colombian Literature.

Get out there and get to tagging! Thanks to Coree B. for this suggestion!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #19

Domestic or Import?

Make a tag to indicate whether this is a foreign publication or domestic. For example, Harry Potter has a different print in the U.S. vs England, so the U.S. version would be marked U.S. Printing while the other can be marked Foreign Printing.

Have fun, folks!

Making Tags Useful - Mission #20

Is this tag a really useful tag?

Using the new "mark as inappropriate" feature, mark inappropriate tags.

Primary goal: Put in a tag with the correct spelling, and "report as inappropriate" the misspelled one.

Consider whether the tag is confusing or might be personally helpful for the person using it. (Yes, a date may not say much to you, but might mean a lot to the person using the tag.) If the tag is confusing to the general population, mark it inappropriate. Please be thoughtful about what you're marking as inappropriate.

Making Tags Useful - Mission #21

Well, it helps me, but not others....

Take the time to use the new notes feature and transfer your personal tags to notes instead. These notes are only visible to you, and you will see it as a post-it note graphic over the cover image of the book.

Yes, for some of us it will be a hassle, but consider whether your noting that you've read the book, or what your ranking on the WL is, or whether you want to send a book to a buddy is going to be very helpful to the general population.

So get out there and transfer those personal public tags to personal private notes and delete those old tags. :)

Making Tags Useful - Mission #22

NPR's You Must Read This

NPR is having a series where authors recommend their favorite books. Take a moment to mark a book with, "NPRs You Must Read This".

Here's a link to the front page of the series.

Making Tags Useful - Mission #23

'Tis the Season!

Is the book specific to a certain season of the year or a particular holiday? Tag the book with that time of year.

Suggestions:

• Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer
• January, February, etc.
• Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween, Channukah, etc.

Have fun!