About Where Books Go
Leave a book in a little library. Someone finds it, reads it, passes it on. This is where you follow what happens next.
What the code is
Eight characters written inside the front cover, like K7M2 PQ4R. It names that one physical copy, not the title — two copies of the same book have two codes and two journeys. Whoever finds the book types the code in here, sees everywhere it has been, and logs where they took it and where they leave it next. No account is needed to look a code up.
The codes skip 0, 1, O and I, because a pen and a shelf are not ideal reading conditions.
Three ways to mark a book
1. A pen
Free, and most books get marked this way. Tag the book here, and the app hands you a code and a line to write under it. Or print the label page and stick it in.
2. The ink stamp
A rubber stamp that prints the “follow this book’s journey” blurb with a blank for the code. One stamp covers every book you ever tag. Coming soon to the store.
3. Sticker sheets
Pre-printed labels, each with its own code. Peel, stick, done — the code is already reserved for you. From $12.50 a sheet of ten, in your pick of designs. Reserving codes to print yourself is free.
What it costs
Tagging a book, logging what you take and leave, adding a place to the map, and reading any journey are free, and will stay that way. The app only works if people log books, so nothing that is logging will ever sit behind a paywall.
There is a paid tier at $4/month for extras on top: a daily email of what was left near you, following a place or a person, and seeing what is on a shelf right now. What the tier includes.
Run a bookshop, thrift store or cafe that’s on the map? You can claim its listing and set the hours, photos and details yourself. How claiming works.
Who runs it
One person who keeps a couple of little libraries stocked and wanted to know where the books went. The map’s starting pins come from OpenStreetMap; everything else on it was added by readers.
Usernames and the stops you log are public unless you mark a stop private, and you can erase your account yourself at any time. The privacy page says exactly what is kept, and privacy@wherebooksgo.com reaches a person.