DreamIT-backed OurShelf to launch public beta today

DreamIT Ventures-backed OurShelf will launch a public beta today of its web-based personal goods cataloging service after several months of prototype testing, according to an announcement on the company’s Twitter account.
OurShelf’s free service allows users to borrow and lend items such as DVDs and books and keep track of what’s been lent to friends. Users can catalog and organize, share, discover and group collections of products they own or are interested in.
“I lend my books out all the time. Sometimes I borrow DVDs from friends, but [there isn’t] a system to keep track of who has what and where it all ends up,” Co-founder and CEO Paul deGrandis said in an e-mail.
“With OurShelf, you can borrow and lend, or have a shared shelf in a group and keep track of where your items go.”
The company is polishing its user interface before launching the service this afternoon, deGrandis said. There will also be a launch party for OurShelf in the Poplar neighborhood’s The Institute Saturday night at 9 p.m. Can you say free beer and Nintendo Wii consoles at every table?
OurShelf currently is made up of employees working from home throughout Philadelphia, but the company has plans to re-locate to the University City Science Center.