Internet users wanting to keep track of their book and CD collections, create a wish list for next Christmas, or find the best deals for purchasing games, music and movies online may want to check out GuruLib.com, an online organizational tool developed by a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
GuruLib (http://www.gurulib.com) is an online cataloging service created by Rana Basheer, a Ph.D. student in computer engineering at UMR, and his wife, Christina Leung. Built around a program that searches hundreds of online databases, the website helps people organize their personal libraries by retrieving information about their books, CDs, DVDs, video games or software. The “virtual bookshelf” uses more than 530 public and university libraries around the world as well as six Amazon.com servers to retrieve the information.
Using GuruLib’s search function, registered users of the free service may organize information based on author, actor, director, genre and other criteria, says Basheer. The service also connects users to other fans through social networking components that allow users to view other users’ libraries, lend and borrow books, and discuss their interests in online forums. In addition, GuruLib lets users create “widgets” that allow them to share their libraries on blogs, MySpace accounts and other online venues.
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With minimal publicity, GuruLib has grown to more than 1,000 users. “I have a couple of small public libraries using it, and a video rental business recently contacted me about using it to track its rentals,” Basheer says.
Recently, Basheer added a new component that should be of interest to college students. It allows users to upload and store their research papers.