Tools for Readers
Some of the most common questions you ask us at the Troy Library are for book recommendations for your children, or Reader's Advisory. So where do we turn when looking for titles to recommend to you? The answer: Novelist K-8. Novelist K-8 is a reader's advisory electronic resource that is available to you from the Library. Novelist K-8 has many wonderful search features that can help you find titles for children from preschool to high school.
One of the most popular features is being able to find similar books by using subject headings. First, enter the title of a book you have read and liked. Select it from the search results and scroll down. On the right side you will see a Find Similar Books link. When you click on this link, you will be see a list of subjects related to the book you liked. You can mark each subject required, desired, or not at all. Enter search at the top of the page and voila! Find books with similar subjects and themes to your original book.
Novelist K-8 also makes it extremely easy to see if the Troy Library has the title in which you are interested. All titles have a Check the Library Catalog link. When you click this link, you are taken directly to the Library's online catalog and the search for the title is performed automatically. From there you can use the catalog as you normally would and can even place a hold if you like.
Another popular search is Describe a Plot. Here, you enter keywords about which you would like to read. Novelist K-8 will search for plot summaries with those words. This is also a wonderful resource if you remember only a few details about a book to help you rediscover it.
Other advanced options include limiting results by age group, limiting to fiction or non-fiction titles, and including only those titles that have reviews available. You can even create your own Novelist K-8 account that will enable you to save items you find and want to remember.
Still have questions? Stop by the Library's Youth Services desk and one of our staff can give you a quick lesson.