Liber Astarte vel Berylli sub figura CLXXV as it appears in Equinox Vol I No vii has recently been added to the catalog at Goodreads, a “site for readers and book recommendations”. (ASTARTE vel Liber BERYLLI sub figurâ CLXXV is also available separately from the Equinox with the other Technical Libri along with so many other diverse works by Aleister Crowley at the library.)
The reason I mention this is several-fold. Primarily, it’s just kinda cool that the record was added, right? Also, having one of the Technical Libri cataloged is a very interesting development because this appears to be the very first item from the Hermetic Library added to the catalog at Goodreads. Further, because I was listed as an editor correcting and editing the text for presentation at the library, I have now ended up with an author profile at Goodreads. So, this now raises some interesting possibilities.
Let me be clear: I am not one to spend a lot of time asking people to promote the library by mostly meaningless shout-outs for more likes and clicks and followers who don’t actually use the site. Such activities that campaign for numbers are attention seeking distractions from the great materials on the site. Instead of seeking attention for having sought attention, I try to get attention that is focused on the actual materials being offered by the site. I do both very much welcome and rely on the organic development of support and word of mouth from people like you who actually use the site, people like you who find the materials useful, people like you who decide for yourselves that you want to tell other people about the Hermetic Library. I always value most the feedback of real people who actually use the site, and am constantly glad to be of service collecting, curating and creating materials for the site, but in doing that I just won’t get into some transparently shallow, and desperate for attention, game of numbers for the sake of numbers themselves. But, here is something very real: having a record for materials at the library appear in the catalog at Goodreads is a new opportunity for the Hermetic Library and for you, as someone who really uses the site, to help others find the fantastic and broad selection of materials available.
Perhaps you would consider, as you are gandering at something on the site you find valuable, adding an entry for that material as it appears at the Hermetic Library into the catalog at Goodreads? You can use the example provided by the entry for Liber Astarte vel Berylli to help know what to add. Do be sure you check if the work is already in the catalog, but you can add records by heading to the Add a New Book page.
For my part, I’m also considering ways that the new author profile I’ve ended up with might be used to help promote the materials at the library. If I can determine a good way, which for me means something that I feel is sensible, ethical and aesthetic, to use the author profile at Goodreads to promote the library then I’ll definitely do that. As I mentioned in a post previously, I try to engage on behalf of the Hermetic Library on social networks in ways that make sense to me and for me as long as they fit with the overall mission of the library and fit within my workflow. But, thanks to having an author profile at Goodreads, and thanks to the person who added the record for the material, a few new tools are open for my use that I otherwise wouldn’t have available.
After all, the mission of Goodreads “is to help people find and share books they love. Along the way, we plan to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world” [via]. So, why not help share the materials at the library so other people around the world can find them even easier than before?
By the by, while looking at the pages for this liber, as it appeared on the site, I also ended up making several corrections and updates. So, you may want to also take a gander at it if you haven’t done so in a while. I don’t normally post about the many little updates and corrections I end up making, but since these changes are related to this post I’m mentioning them now. However, I do want to point out that while I constantly do my own work at finding mistakes and correcting them on the site, I do appreciate it when someone is kind enough to send me an email pointing out something specific that is in need of my attention. So, in conclusion, I’ll just mention that if you ever do find something amiss on the site, feel free to contact me.
