Sarah’s Favorite Online Readers Advisory Tools
Sarah Houghton-Jan of the LibrarianInBlack blog has a list of nifty readers advisory online tools:
# AllReaders.com – One of the first free, online readers advisory tools, no list of this nature would be complete without AllReaders. Search by what you’re interested in – title, author, plot, setting, character, adversaries, setting, style, etc. The guided searching offers thousands of permutations and options and gets very specific (and largely user-loved) results. You have to try this to believe it.
# Bettendorf Public Library’s Young Adult Books in Series and Sequels – Teen series & sequels browseable by author and series title or searchable by author, series title, or book title.
# Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Picture Book Index – Browse picture books by subject (they get really, really detailed). Great for finding a list of books about “X” for that kid who seems to think he’s read everything (oh yeah, and that kid’s parents).
# Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature – Created and maintained by fellow-California librarian Lisa Bartle, DAWCL is searchable by 13 different fields including reader’s age, historical period, setting, genre, format, and more. Resulting lists of award-winners are a great place to get young readers started.
# Downer’s Grove Public Library Author Read-Alikes – The author read-alike feature of the subscription database NoveList is one of its most popular features. Here’s a very respectable list of some of the most popular authors for whom people request read-alikes, with a half-dozen recommendations (or more) for each author.
# Fantastic Fiction – Browse for authors or series names, or search for authors or titles to get some pretty comprehensive bibliographies, cover shots, book descriptions, and more (like information on various editions). Great for those looking for quick and comprehensive book information for their favorite authors. The site also includes award information and new U.S. releases in hardback, paperback, and audio.




