Guide

Aim

The aim of this site is to facilitate the sharing of Christian books. Users list the books they own and link up with others at the same church so that members can search their network for books they want to read. An example of this kind of intra-church book-sharing can be found here for St Helen's Bishopsgate in London, UK.

Sign up

When you sign up, enter your name and email address - even quicker is to sign in with Facebook. Then, state the church to which you belong (each church on the site is a separate book-sharing network). If your church is not already listed on the sign-up page then you're the first in your church! Please add all the details. You might also be interested in the "Telling others" section at the bottom of this page.

Adding books

Once sign up is complete (which is quick and free), you'll want to start adding books you're willing to lend to other people. Straight away you'll be presented with the option of adding books from a suggestion list of popular titles. Alternatively, use the search box to find specific books by ISBN, title or author and add them to your list that way.

Clicking on Own beside a title adds it to your list and Wish adds it to your wishlist (i.e. the list of books you want to read). Note that users are notified when a book on their wishlist is added by another user so that they can get in touch with the owner.

Books can be added to your list but they can also be removed in the event of you giving it away, losing it or adding one by mistake. Simply use Remove beside the title on your "Own" list. Or if a book was on your wishlist but you want to remove it, click Un-wish

Browsing the books already known to belong to members of the church family is another good way to find books you yourself might own. Books you want to read can also be found here and added to your wishlist. The number of copies of each title is shown and clicking on the number takes you to a page with specific information about the book. Names of the owners (and those wishing to read it) are shown along with any reviews.

Profile pages

Profile pages contain some basic information. Your information is never sold or given away to a third party. Editing which church you go to, changing email preferences and passwords can be done via the profile page.

Church family

The list of members in your church who have joined this site can be browsed. A summary of the number of books they've listed and wished for is shown. Via this page you can browse a specific member's profile, their list of books and wishlist. A method of contacting the person via the site is there too.

Apps

There are also mobile apps for iOS and Android which use the camera as a barcode reader and can quickly scan in ISBNs and make the process much easier. Download links below:

Telling others

Twitter, Facebook, email and the church notice sheet are all good ways to get others in your church interested in sharing books. Here's a poster you can download, print and pin up in church.

That's pretty much all there is to it!

Sign up now