Reader's Advisory goes 2.0

Grades 8-12+

Cost $995 for high school libraries and $895 for middle school libraries.

The Big Picture 
It's déjà vu all over again…or maybe it just seems that way. If Gale's Books & Authors looks familiar in so many ways, perhaps it's because this database resembles Gale's What Do I Read Next? database. In fact, you could say it's What Do I Read Next? on steroids. Which, as a matter of fact, is exactly what it is.

Gale's print and online versions of What Do I Read Next? have been replaced with Books & Authors, which provides a more robust and socially interactive reader's advisory program. It allows users to not only locate their favorite titles or find ones similar to the last book that they read, but it also allows them to write their own reviews, create themed author lists, save rankings, and more.

Content from What Do I Read Next? has been included in Books & Authors, which totals more than 100,000 fiction and 30,000 nonfiction titles, all of which have been recommended from adult, young adult, and children's collections. This program also includes more than 62,500 plot summaries, titles selected from 561 major book and literary awards, and some soon-to-be-released works. Entries provide title, author, publication date, series name, descriptions of characters, time period and geographic setting, story type, descriptive annotation, selected books by the author, and similar books by other authors. There are eight major genres that are searchable: inspirational, mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror, Western and historical novels, and general fiction/classic fiction/nonfiction. Each is broken down into subgenres.

Look & Feel Gale's 

Browse boxes found throughout the home page allow users to quickly select areas of interest by clicking on the information available. A Browse by Genre box on the left-hand side of the home page provides a full-length listing of each genre, which then opens to reveal a list of subgenres. A Welcome box at the top right-hand side of the page offers information about the program while the Who? What? Where? When? box provides users with a unique way to browse for content through a visual search component.

Best Sellers, Award Winners, Expert Picks, Community Picks, New Arrivals and Coming Soon browse boxes complete the page, enabling users to spend hours searching for books within the program. The Read Like a Wizard box offers the opportunity to enter information about a favorite book in order to locate additional titles that are similar in character, setting, or genre.

Finally, the Reading Room box presents a uniquely designed space within the database to collect book titles, authors, book reviews, and other content to save and share with others. Through this 2.0 design, users can not only add their own reviews or rate books that they've read, they can also share this content with others while staying within the database.

How It Works 
Users can begin with the Search box on the top of the page. A radio drop-down box then allows them to select among Title, Author, Keyword, or Series. An Advanced Search offers a new screen in which individuals can provide more detailed information such as Author, Title, Genre, Subgenre, Subject, Location, Time Period, and more.

A Browse Banner at the top of the home page lets users Browse by Titles, Authors, Genres, Award Winners, and Expert Picks. A unique option also available in the Browse Banner is the Who? What? Where? When? choice that allows users to select a combination of up to three fields (Character, Subject, Location, or Time Period) and a visual results display will be generated to offer suggestions to specific titles. For example, I selected the term vampire in the Character search box and 670 results appeared. I then selected 21st Century as the Time Period. Even though my second search for the 21st Century resulted in over 12,000 possible titles, only 213 titles met both criteria (if I were a teenager, those Venn diagrams might start making sense!).

When I click the Total Overlapping Results of 213, I can then filter the findings by selecting either Fiction or Nonfiction and then Find Books For: Adults, Young Adults, or Children. Once I select Young Adults, the database then provides me with a recommended list of 11 titles.

Each title in my results page can be selected and placed in a Marked List folder, which I can access by creating my personal space within the database. These personal areas within Books & Authors include the Reading Room, which allows users to mark books of interest to be saved to the program; the Marked List folder, which holds any selections that I might make for later review; the My Book Lists, which allow me to place individual titles into groups using my own terms or tags; My Authors List, which lets me select author information and pull it together in one spot; and My Searches, which provides a historical list of searches made within the database (all of which I can delete).

By reviewing books selected from my original search and then marking those that I want to keep, I can create a Book List within the Reading Room. Each Book List can be named and once a book is placed in the Book List, a title hyperlink is available to allow the user to go back to the original entry to rate the book, read more about the author, locate additional books similar to the original title, or read book reviews. Each book entry also provides a book cover image, the author's name and the original copyright date, a short plot summary, a list of main characters, the setting, the subject, and the time period. Additional matter includes specific information about the title from professional journals and links to recommended similar titles.Books & Authors also allows users to share book content through 2.0 bookmarking tools such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Newvine, and Furl. Users can also download, print, or email their booklists or individual titles. The program also links results to the library holdings once a match is found, allowing individuals to immediately access content within their own libraries.

Report Card 
Gale's Books & Authors has created a uniquely interactive database that provides users with the ability to engage content; share information; and offer opinions about books, authors, reviews, and opinions while retaining the integrity of the content within the original product. Because of the unique structure of this database and the user's ability to interact and work within and around the content in a manner now second nature to teens and young adults, Gale's Books & Authors is a definite A+ for the 21st Century.