Books & Authors
Midwest Collaborative for Library Services, MeL Training Materials
The MeL service is funded in part by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan. Additional project support comes from the Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) via the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
10/27/11 SR
minor edits March 2012 SR
BOOKS & AUTHORS
This is very colorful and visually appealing.
It is aimed primarily at teens through adults. Even though it has childrens' titles and information, most younger users
would need some help to find things. To add to its appeal, it has the look and feel of commercial sites such as
Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
This database does not aim to be complete. In other words, it does not contain information on every book ever written. Editors choose what to include or what to exclude. Here is what the contact staff at Gale sent about what is included and now it is rated:
Gale does not have a specific inclusion date for Books & Authors. The readers’ advisory content – which originated from Gale’s popular What Do I Read Next? series – has been published since the 1990s, but it covers titles from a vast range of dates. The genre experts, while paying particular attention to the latest modern titles, also don’t hesitate to feature older, classic titles that are relevant to their genres. It also lets Gale include older and newer titles as readalikes, so a title could reasonably feature something as classic as Anne of Green Gables or something as modern as The Hunger Games as a readalike.
The ratings on Books & Authors are entirely driven by the user community. Gale has a team of subject matter experts picking titles and authoring readalikes, but the individual star ratings are something Gale allows users to control, giving them an avenue to express their opinion on certain titles.
1. Begin by pointing out the features of the main page. This should be a fairly intuitive database, but there is a LOT of stuff on the page, so we'll try to hit the high points and not confuse anyone.
First, there is a simple search box in the top banner, with a drop down menu to change from title to Author, Keyword, or Series. There is also an Advanced Search link available. We'll come back to the searches later.
Next, point out that the tan bar across the screen with six links for browsing or finding various lists. Click on Expert Picks. Two separate drop down menus are displayed, each with very long lists of recommended readings. Just scroll down to give them a look at the type of thing available - just about any kind of list you could think of!
Click on Books & Authors to go back to the home screen. There is a large blue box on the right side of the screen. This can be customized, and the Library of Michigan may do something for the MeL account. For now, it is generic. The top half has a Monthly Highlights link, and the bottom half has cover art of current best sellers.
The next thing we want to look at is how much of the information in this database available in several ways. For example, "Who, What, When, Where?" is a brown tab, but is also available in a box with four bubbles labeled the same way. "Seasonal Suggestions" and "Spotlight on" are available with cover art in the middle of the page -- but they can also be found by clicking on "Monthly Highlights" in the large blue box.
This type of duplication is probably good for the general public because users can find their information in a variety of ways. As librarians, some of us will probably think the page is crowded and annoying with all the duplication, but we need to remember that the intended end user is the public, not us.
Point out that the phrase "View Lists" is found in several places on the home page -- it will always take the user to the same page we saw when we clicked on "Expert Picks" at the top of the page. I find this confusing, since the first time I tried a link, I thought I was going to get a list of things related to the topic in the box (SR).
Similarly, any time you click on the phrase "Read More" it goes to the Monthly Highlights and Spotlights page that its also found in the big blue box.
If the user mouses over cover art and then clicks, it will go to specific information about that book.
Now, ask the class to look at the green bar on the left side of the screen. Point out the Books & Authors has information on both fiction and non-fiction books. Fiction is the default. Point out that there are eight fiction genres listed. You also need to point out that under each of these eight genre links you find a link that says "about this genre." These go to different pages!!!
If we click on Mystery Fiction, and we get a page with "sub genres" in a lighter shade of green. There will also be letters for browsing across the top and cover art for some of the most recent titles published (these results are sorted in reverse chronological order).
Pick your "sub genre" and click on it. We have now narrowed our list. Next point out the radio buttons at the top of this page and click in the button for Young Adult. Once more, we have narrowed our results list.
Now, have the class look at the darker green bar and you click on any link for "about this genre." This takes us to an essay about the genre or about the publications from a specific year.
Click on the green tab for non-fiction to see what subjects are listed there. Click on one subject to see that the format is similar to what we've already seen when looking at fiction.
Go back to the home page.
Point out the tan box on the right side of the screen, in the middle. This is where users can create an account, create their own book lists, etc. We won't take time in class to do this, but it will probably be a popular feature for bibliophiles.
Basic search:
Use the small search box at the top of the page. Leave the drop down menu at the default of title. Type "killer angels" in the box and do the search.
Your result should be a very detailed record of a popular and acclaimed Civil War novel. Point out that for a book of this type, which was on many best seller and recommended lists and won the Pulitzer Prize, there is a lot of information included. Scroll down the page to allow the class time to see what is there.
Advanced search:
Click on the small text link for Advanced Search at the top of the page. Point out that there are many fields and options for limiting a search. Use the drop down menu to select Mystery and the genre type. Type "langdon" in the character field, then do the search.
The results should include several books that have a character named Langdon (first or last name). The two most obvious are The DaVinci Code (Robert Langdon), and 82 Miseries (Skip Langdon).
