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Social Reading for Schools

The Goodreads Experience
Built for Your School Library

Goodreads does something brilliant — it makes reading social. Students track books, write reviews, discover what friends are reading, and find their next favourite through peer recommendations. LibraryAid brings that same experience into your school library, built around the books already on your shelves, with the safeguarding and oversight a school actually needs.

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What Goodreads Does Brilliantly

Goodreads has built something genuinely valuable — a community where reading becomes social, visible, and shared. These are exactly the things that build reading culture in schools too.

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Reading Tracking

Students can see their own reading history — what they've read, when, and how they rated it.

Peer Reviews

Real reviews from real readers. A friend's honest opinion about a book is more persuasive than any teacher recommendation.

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Book Discovery

Finding books through what others have loved — not just browsing a shelf alphabetically.

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Reading Community

Seeing what classmates are reading makes reading feel like a shared activity rather than a solitary one.

Why Goodreads Doesn't Work for School Libraries

Goodreads was built for adult readers browsing millions of books online. A school library has different needs — and Goodreads doesn't meet them.

❌ Goodreads in a School Context

  • Points children toward any book on the internet — not the ones on your shelves
  • No connection to your library catalogue or book stock
  • No age-appropriate safeguarding filter
  • A gifted 8-year-old reader could be recommended books written for teenagers
  • No librarian or teacher oversight of reviews
  • No reading level matching or curriculum alignment
  • No comprehension tracking or VIPERS assessment
  • No integration with library checkout or cataloguing
  • Not designed for primary school children

✅ LibraryAid — Goodreads for Your School

  • Recommendations from the books already on your shelves
  • Fully integrated with your library catalogue
  • Age-appropriate content safeguarding built in
  • Reading level matching — right book, right child, right time
  • Teacher-verified reviews before they appear to other students
  • Reading level and curriculum aligned
  • VIPERS comprehension tracking across all 6 skills
  • Full library management — checkout, cataloguing, reports
  • Designed specifically for primary schools ages 5–13

How LibraryAid Creates a School Reading Community

The social reading features that make Goodreads compelling — adapted for the school library context.

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Student Book Reviews

Students write reviews of every book they finish — favourite parts, characters, what could be better. Teacher-verified before they appear to classmates. Reviews earn genre points and feed directly into recommendations for other children.

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Community Reading Lists

Every review and rating from your school community feeds the recommendation engine. A hidden gem that one child discovers becomes visible to the whole school. The recommendations get smarter the more students engage.

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Reading History Tracking

Students can see everything they've read, when they read it, and how they rated it. A personal reading record that builds throughout their time at your school.

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Personalised Recommendations

AI analyses each student's reading history, interests, reading level, and what the school community has rated highly — to surface the books most likely to excite them next. From your existing catalogue, not the internet.

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Leaderboards and Reading Goals

Class-wide leaderboards show reading activity and genre diversity. Students can see what their classmates are reading and be inspired to try something new.

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Safe and School-Appropriate

Content age-rating filters ensure gifted young readers are never recommended books written for older audiences. All student reviews are teacher-verified. The community is closed — your school only.

The Hidden Gem Effect

Every school library has them — carefully chosen books sitting untouched on the shelf. Not because students wouldn't love them, but because nobody has connected the right child with the right book.

When one student discovers a hidden gem and writes a review, that book becomes visible to every other student in the school through the recommendation engine. A book that sat untouched for months can become the most requested title in the library — because a peer said it was brilliant.

This is what Goodreads does for adult readers at scale. LibraryAid does it for your school library, with your books, within your community.

"LibraryAid has completely changed how my students engage with our library. Before, they'd pick the same books or wander aimlessly. Now they're genuinely excited to see their personalised recommendations — I've had multiple students come tell me about books they'd never have found on their own."

— Helen, Year 3 Teacher
10+ Genres explored per student (vs 1–2 before)
1,600+ Recommendations to 16 students in 6 months
Reading progress for one EAL student vs classmates

Frequently Asked Questions

Is LibraryAid a replacement for Goodreads?
LibraryAid isn't trying to replace Goodreads — it's solving a different problem. Goodreads is brilliant for adult readers browsing the entire published world. LibraryAid is built for school libraries — recommendations from your existing catalogue, with teacher oversight, age-appropriate safeguarding, and curriculum alignment. The social reading experience is similar; the context is completely different.
Can students see what their classmates are reading?
Students can see peer reviews and ratings on books — teacher-verified before they appear. They can also see class reading leaderboards. They cannot see individual classmates' full reading history or profiles without permission. The community is closed to your school only — no external readers or reviews.
How are student reviews moderated?
Every student review goes through teacher verification before it appears to other students. Teachers can approve, edit, or reject reviews. This ensures the community database reflects genuine, appropriate responses — and gives teachers a window into how students are responding to books.
Does LibraryAid work with our existing book collection?
Yes — this is central to how LibraryAid works. You upload your existing library catalogue via CSV and all recommendations, reviews, and community reading lists are built around the books already on your shelves. Students aren't directed to books they can't access. Every recommendation is something they can pick up today.
What age range is LibraryAid designed for?
LibraryAid is designed for primary and elementary schools — ages 5 to 13, with reading age assessments spanning 6.0 to 12.0 years. The gamification, worm companion, and review system are all designed to appeal to this age group. Schools with older secondary students should contact us to discuss suitability.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — LibraryAid offers a 30-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card required. Schools can explore the recommendations, review system, and community reading features before committing.

Give Your Students the Goodreads Experience They're Asking For

Peer reviews, reading history, personalised recommendations — built around your school library, with the safeguarding and teacher oversight a school actually needs. From £20/month. No credit card required.

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