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Tracy Mumford

Got a tattoo? Get a personalized book recommendation

What book matches your tattoo?
What book matches your tattoo?
Unsplash via Creative Commons file

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Looking for a good book? Show some ink.

The Multnomah County Library in Portland, Ore., is giving out book recommendations based on readers' tattoos.

Tweet them a picture of your (G-rated) tattoo, and a librarian will respond with a personalized book recommendation.

The library launched the initiative last summer, with the #Book4Tat hashtag.

#

Shawn Cunningham, the library system's spokesperson, said librarians have given out hundreds of tattoo-inspired recommendations since #Book4Tat started in July. They've been doling out suggestions both on Twitter and on Facebook.

Cunningham said it's a way to remind people about what librarians do best — offer informed, personalized recommendations. ""An algorithm can't do that," Cunningham said of the custom responses.

#

Recommended book:

@hmtaylor0311 This reminds us of @LeslyeWalton's The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender https://t.co/PI4yyzgGeQ #Book4Tat

— Multnomah County Lib (@MultCoLib) August 1, 2016

Recommended book:

@SophieAgie What if the rain never stopped? https://t.co/Un6VWM9c3h #Book4Tat

— Multnomah County Lib (@MultCoLib) August 12, 2016

Recommended book:

@PastFashion Hats! Parasols! Also werewolves and vampires in the Victorian era: https://t.co/b4IWv43t4D #Book4Tat

— Multnomah County Lib (@MultCoLib) July 27, 2016

#

Recommended book:

@wheat_paste "...the making of poems is akin to the making of a meal - both are acts of creation & sustenance." https://t.co/8kxpeoHnhb

— Multnomah County Lib (@MultCoLib) February 7, 2017

Other libraries around the country and the continent have now started offering tattoo-based book recommendations too, including the public library in Durango, Colo., and the Edmonton Public Library in Alberta, Canada. Cunningham said he's glad to see the idea spreading, with more people interacting with their local library and librarians.

"That's the point of the library," he said. People come in looking for recommendations based on all sorts of things — their interests, their jobs, the last book they read — but what's more personal than a design they've chosen for life?

To see how it works, we gave the #Book4Tat challenge a try, borrowing the tattooed forearm of a co-worker.

@MultCoLib We love the idea of #book4tat! What to read? pic.twitter.com/J04iIKPPfJ

— The Thread (@thethreadmpr) February 6, 2017

Recommended book:

@thethreadmpr We see struggle, music & dignity so offer essays, poetry & song: One More Train to Ride https://t.co/SMh0tAAgYa #Book4Tat

— Multnomah County Lib (@MultCoLib) February 7, 2017

If you have a tattoo, you can try it yourself. The Multnomah County librarians are still answering requests — and your local library could start, too.