NoveList, a division of EBSCO Publishing, will begin incorporating reader ratings and book reviews from Goodreads into NoveList products thanks to a new agreement between the companies. The agreement leverages the content of Goodreads, the largest social network for readers, adding additional content to the most popular readers advisory service available.
The agreement brings together two companies that are dedicated to fostering a love of reading while sharing a belief that libraries have a key role to play in a community of readers. Goodreads has more than five million members and polls indicate Goodreads members have strong ties to libraries. In one poll, thirty percent of the nearly 17,000 respondents indicated that they went to the library for more of their books, eclipsing brick and mortar chain bookstores (twenty-two percent) and online stores (eighteen percent).
Independent market research indicated that NoveList is the most highly-rated readers advisory resource in public libraries. NoveList Select allows libraries to add NoveList content into library catalogs allowing users to leverage the library catalog to discover new books and similar titles in the librarys collection. The agreement now allows Goodreads content to be incorporated into that same user experience.
Vice President of Business Development at Goodreads, Kyusik Chung, says this agreement is the companys first product specifically for libraries. At Goodreads, we are passionate about helping people discover the next book they should read. The NoveList and NoveList Select products are the premier tools that libraries use to help patrons choose their next book. EBSCO Publishing is the ideal integration partner as we offer our 11 million book reviews and 110 million ratings to librarians and their patrons.
NoveList founder Duncan Smith says the agreement brings together resources that are well matched to provide an even greater service to librarians and readers alike. Goodreads and NoveList not only share an interest in reading and reading recommendations but recognize and value the role that libraries play in supporting and sustaining reading in their communities. Im looking forward to not only having Goodreads ratings and excellent reviews in all of our products but continuing to work with them and our customers on how this relationship can best help libraries meet the needs of their readers.
The partnership between NoveList and Goodreads not only provides additional information for readers searching the library catalog, the added information will help librarians answer one of their most frequently asked questionswhat do I read next? Smith says librarians are always being asked for their recommendations. With Goodreads we can point the user to thousands of readers who have read and commented on the books readers are considering.
Dr. Mary K. Chelton is a professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College in New York. Chelton, a noted researcher and advocate for readers advisory service whose students are studying the use of social technologies in readers advisory says,
Goodreads and NoveList are two sides of the same coin with the reader's voice at the center. Combining their different but mutually reinforcing strengths for readers and the librarians serving them can only be a cause for celebration.
Barry Trott, the head of adult services at Williamsburg Regional Library in Virginia says the combined resources serve both readers advisory professionals and readers. The combination of NoveList and Goodreads is a great match. It combines the potency of expertise from librarians and literature professionals with the benefits of collaborative reader crowdsourcing. This will offer new opportunities for readers' advisors and readers to build on each other's strengths. I am excited about the possibilities that this coming together presents. Williamsburg is an innovative library that is already using social technologies to reach readers. Williamsburgs Blogging for a Good Book blog won ALAs Louis Shore Award in 2009 and has also been referred to as the future of book reviewing. Williamsburg staff members have also authored several standard readers advisory print resources for Libraries Unlimited.
More information is available at http://www.ebscohost.com/novelist.
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