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Mingle² - Online Dating

BookCrossing is defined as "the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise". The term is derived from bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which began and encouraged the practice.

There are also short hand terms for BookCrossing which are: BC, BCing, or BXing. A person who engages in BookCrossing is called a BookCrosser.

BookCrossing.com has over 500,000 registered members, with its stated goal being to "make the whole world a library". One of the main ways the project has been funded is by member donations, though funding has also come from the online BookCrossing supply store and advertisements for a number of book-related websites on BookCrossing.com.

The idea was conceived by a partner of Humankind Systems, Inc., Ron Hornbaker in March 2001 [1]. About four weeks later, on April 17, the idea was brought to life with the launch of the website. Since then it has grown into a global movement; by April 2003 the website had over 113,000 members, and in 2004 the Concise Oxford Dictionary began to include the word "bookcrossing", as defined above.

Anyone who wishes to participate in "releasing" books must register on the BookCrossing.com website (to "catch" a book users have the option to remain anonymous). Once registered, a member is able to participate in a number of ways:


Releasing
To "release" a book means that a member will pass the book on to a friend or fellow member or leave the book in a public place for anyone passing by to find. Leaving a book in a public place like this is known in the BookCrossing community as leaving a book in "the wild".

Before "releasing" a book it must be registered on the website. Registration produces a unique identification number called the "BookCrossing ID" or "BCID" which allows the book's movement to be tracked. The member must then mark the book with the "BookCrossing ID" and BookCrossing website URL so that the finder is able to make a journal entry for the book and enter his/her location on the website.

BookCrossing also provides "bookplates" with information about BookCrossing that can be printed out or purchased from the online supply store. These "bookplates" are then marked with the BCID and affixed (usually inside the front cover) to the book.

Finally, the member "releases" the book in any one of the ways talked about above.


Catching

...where they are then "caught" by members of the public."Catching" can only be done with books that have been registered on the BookCrossing website. To "catch" a book, the BCID marked on the book must be entered at BookCrossing.com. A book can be "caught" in "the wild", traded, or merely received as a gift. You do not need to be a member of the website to "catch" a book.

After entering the BCID, the person is able to enter their location (Country, State and City). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous has the option to leave their location blank. They will still be allowed to make a journal entry about the finding of the book and anything else they wish to add.

Once the member is finished reading the book, they are encouraged write a journal entry about the book or their experiences with it, and "re-release" the book so that the process can be continued and other people are able to enjoy the book.

BookCrossing.com users can 'go hunting', where a member will go to the website to view a list of books that have recently been "released", then go to the location it was left to "catch" it.