What if you could wander the library stacks…online?

Open Library Explorer is an experimental new interface that allows patrons to search our shelves of 4+ million books.

Introducing the new Open Library Explorer

As a student at the University of Waterloo, whenever Drini Cami felt stressed, he’d head to the library. Wandering through the stacks, flipping through 600-page volumes about quantum mechanics or the properties of prime numbers never failed to calm him down. And the best thing? “I would always leave the library having discovered something new—usually a variety of new things,” Cami explained.  “This is something I haven’t been able to replicate at a digital library like Open Library.” What Drini longed for was the ability to discover new books serendipitously, browsing bookshelves organized by a century of librarians. But unlike most readers, Drini Cami wields a superpower: he is a designer and software developer at the Internet Archive.

Enter the Open Library Explorer, Cami’s new experiment for browsing more than 4 million books in the Internet Archive’s Open Library. Still in beta, Open Library Explorer is able to harness the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification systems to recreate virtually the experience of browsing the bookshelves at a physical library. Open Library Explorer enables readers to scan bookshelves left to right by subject, up and down for subclassifications. Switch a filter and suddenly the bookshelves are full of juvenile books. Type in “subject: biography” and you see nothing but biographies arranged by subject matter.

Why recreate a physical library experience in your browser?

Now that classrooms and libraries are once again shuttered, families are turning online for their educational and entertainment needs. With demand for digital books at an all-time high, the Open Library team was inspired to give readers something closer to what they enjoy in the physical world. Something that puts the power of discovery back into the hands of patrons.

Escaping the Algorithmic Bubble

One problem with online platforms is the way they guide you to new content. For music, movies, or books, Spotify, Netflix and Amazon use complicated recommendation algorithms to suggest what you should encounter next. But those algorithms are driven by the media you have already consumed. They put you into a “filter bubble” where you only see books similar to those you’ve already read. Cami and his team devised the Open Library Explorer as an alternative to recommendation engines. With the Open Library Explorer, you are free to dive deeper and deeper into the stacks. Where you go is driven by you, not by an algorithm..

Zoom out to get an ever expanding view of your library
Change the setting to make your books 3D, so you can see just how thick each volume is.

Cool New Features

By clicking on the Settings gear, you can customize the look and feel of your shelves. Hit the 3D options and you can pick out the 600-page books immediately, just by the thickness of the spine. When a title catches your eye, click on the book to see whether Open Library has an edition you can preview or borrow. For more than 4 million books, borrowing a copy in your browser is just a few clicks away.

Ready to enter the library? Click here, and be sure to share feedback so the Open Library team can make it even better. 

36 thoughts on “What if you could wander the library stacks…online?

    1. Louise Hopkins

      I love the idea of wandering through the stacks and then READING a book – but this ISN’T PRACTICAL for many of the books – the 1 hour loan and the poor quality browser reader makes it a NIGHTMARE !!!

  1. Mary Jean Klett

    I love this idea! Wandering through the book shelves is pure bliss. There’s nothing I’d rather do more on most days than spend it at a library. I’m looking forward to this!

  2. Stephen J Conn

    What library is offering this service? Is this a privately-funded library or public that is offering this service?

    1. mek

      Hi Pierre, that makes us sad too! But there’s hope:

      1. For books which are not yet available on the Internet Archive, Open Library often has links to nearby libraries, vendors, and bookstores where you may get the book
      2. The “Want to Read” button helps us learn which books the community wants us get for the library
      3. Open Library’s book sponsorship program (https://openlibrary.org/sponsorship) is one way the community may help ensure our collections are equitable and all the right resources may become available online.

      More than 4M books are already available through the library and this number grows each day. With the community’s wisdom and help, we hope we’ll have the rights books for everyone.

      Thank you!

  3. Lisa Humphries

    Browsing libraries has always been one of the most relaxing things ever for me. It was stressful when I first started at University because everyone would dive onto the books on our read-list, and if you didn’t get to the library in time you’d have to dip into your student loan and buy one, but it worked out in the end because when we left, we donated all of our books to the library for future students! Good times! This is an absolutely wonderful addition to this site, thank-you to everyone who’s worked on this x

  4. Linda Haering

    For me, this is a breakthrough development for re-gaining access to materials in my local public library during this shutdown. The importance of serendipity, of browsing the shelves has been downplayed during the pandemic. While some libraries do an extremely limited service via “curbside pickup” the patron has to know by title what he wants to first order it. How radical it would be if one of the filters would contain only the books in an individual’s local library – a comparative match on LC records or ISBNs? Minimally this allows me to get ideas for books I can order and then check those against my library’s on-line catalog. Minor suggestion: in choosing fiction I cast my eye on the publisher’s colophon on the spine or cover because there are 6 or so publishers with the standards and tastes I like – could there be a sort by publisher for adult fiction? Congrats and thanks!

  5. David Keene

    As a schoolboy growing up in London I used to love spending Saturday afternoons browsing in Foyles’ bookshop (known to all Londoners) especially the section dealing with obscure religions. Now I can browse comfortably at home. Thank you very much indeed.

  6. giso

    It was stressful when I first started at University because everyone would dive onto the books on our read-list, and if you didn’t get to the library in time you’d have to dip into your student loan and buy one, but it worked out in the end because when we left, we donated all of our books to the library for future students! Good times! This is an absolutely wonderful addition to this site, thank-you to everyone who’s worked on this x

  7. giso

    As a schoolboy growing up in London I used to love spending Saturday afternoons browsing in Foyles’ bookshop especially the section dealing with obscure religions. Now I can browse comfortably at home. Thank you very much indeed.

  8. David Ballard

    Hola! big problem – so much of one thing is a formidable pile – but I am gleaner – a phrase hear, and ideal there, some list of pointers – so need stimulus from unknown fields to trigger new searches. Why do so many despise generalists, when specialists are great at FUBAR everything in their purview?

    Keep it simple. keep it light. have fun right now

    AS the Dine say I’vayte’y . i don’t know how they say walk in beauty.

    Enjoy!

  9. giso

    As a schoolboy growing up in London I used to love spending Saturday afternoons browsing in Foyles’ bookshop (known to all Londoners) especially the section dealing with obscure religions. Now I can browse comfortably at home. Thank you very much indeed.

  10. Judy K Spradlin

    How I love browsing through libraries, finding treasures, shedding tears of excitement and joy because of the incredible information I’ve found.

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