LibraryThing vs ALA Booklist Publications
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LibraryThing
Catalog your personal book, DVD, and CD collections. Easily add items by searching or scanning barcodes. Enhance your catalog with high-resolution cover photos and browse your collection visually.
- Catalog books, DVDs, and CDs
- Search for media items
- Scan ISBN barcodes
- Add high-resolution cover photos
- Browse collection by cover type
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The LibraryThing app allows LibraryThing members to catalog and browse their collections. LibraryThing is focused on books, but you can add most media, including books, DVDs and CDs. LibraryThing relies on data from Amazon, and over 65 million library records. Add books by searching for them or scanning their ISBN barcode with the camera. Add high-resolution cover photos of your books with the cover editor and browse your books by cover type to find copies that need better covers.
ALA Booklist Publications
This app provides access to thousands of book and media reviews for children, teens, and adults. It's a valuable resource for librarians, teachers, and book lovers seeking recommendations and collection development tools. Features include curated lists, author interviews, and classroom resources.
- Thousands of annual book and media reviews
- Collection development tools
- Readers' advisory resources
- Top 10 and core collection lists
- Author interviews
- Classroom resources and activities
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Since 1905, Booklist, the book review magazine of the American Library Association, has been the go-to source for librarians, teachers, and bibliophiles. With more than 8,000 annual reviews of children, teen, and adult books and media, Booklist is a key resource for collection development and readers’ advisory. Top 10 lists, core collection and read-alike lists, author interviews, classroom resources and activities, trend alerts, and more make Booklist indispensable to library professionals and teachers. Book Links, is a quarterly supplement, providing literature-based resources for K-8 educators. Privacy Policy: http://www.ala.org/privacypolicy Terms and Conditions: http://www.ala.org/user-guidelines
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: LibraryThing at 47% against ALA Booklist Publications's 0%. LibraryThing also leads on rating (3.5 vs 1.0) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 29 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
LibraryThing holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LibraryThing has 288 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of LibraryThing's written reviews are positive against 0% of ALA Booklist Publications's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, ALA Booklist Publications every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | ALA Booklist Publications |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (288 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.5% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 288 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 29 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 127 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | American Library Association |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
ALA Booklist Publications
Bugs and requests
LibraryThing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Barcode scanner not working
- Books disappearing from catalog
- Editing and saving issues
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to create custom collections
- Offline access to library
- Integration with other book apps
- Lending/loan tracking feature
ALA Booklist Publications
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
ALA Booklist Publications
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LibraryThing free?
Is ALA Booklist Publications free?
Which has better reviews, LibraryThing or ALA Booklist Publications?
Do LibraryThing or ALA Booklist Publications have ads?
Which is updated more often, LibraryThing or ALA Booklist Publications?
Other comparisons
