Resource: “NoveList”
Database funded by the State of Nebraska through the Nebraska Library Commission, 2016.
Unless you are a children’s librarian, you face the daunting challenge of trying to recommend books to your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. This is hardly surprising since book recommendations require a substantial amount of background knowledge to do so effectively.
Now interestingly enough, one excellent and simple way is to go ask the local librarian. The librarian is trained in children’s literature and information retrieval and can usually make fine recommendations.
But many people are not able to drive over to the public library and need another source to discover interesting books. This is where NoveList is so valuable, and why the Nebraska Library Commission has chosen it as a primary literary site for citizens of Nebraska.
The Nebraska Library Commission has bundled a marvelous set of databases for the people of Nebraska. They can be found on the State of Nebraska’s website and are easy to utilize. To get there, go to your browser and type nebraskaccess. Click on the word NebraskAccess. This is usually the first entry to be displayed in your search.
This will take you to a page entitled ‘NebraskAccess,’ which has an orange heading with some Sandhill Cranes flying over Chimney Rock. Click on the third database listed on the page which is ‘Books/Humanities/Reading/.’
Near the top of the page locate ‘Databases Available to Nebraskans,’ under which you find NoveList K-8 Plus and NoveList Plus. The first NoveList K-8 contains books for K-8 students.
The second NoveList Plus is for high school and older students. It is also an outstanding site for books for adults.
Let’s look at a basic search in NoveList K-8 Plus.
Begin by clicking on ‘NoveList K-8 Plus.’ Now type in your Nebraska driver’s license number and click. This will take you to the database. Now you can begin to explore literary possibilities. Next to the NoveList icon is a search box that is set for “keyword.” You can change this to author, title or series.
Suppose you know you want to read about the Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis. Type the phrase Narnia Chronicles and click. This will list 36 books by C.S. Lewis, or about him. Included in this number will be all of the Narnia Chronicles.
Now try an author search. In the search box pull down on the arrow and change to author. For some reason, the database gets confused when you type periods after an author’s initials. So just type C S Lewis and click. I know this seems dense, but there it is.
After you click you will get a page full of titles. Find the title you want and write it down. Under each entry you will see “Title read-alikes,” “Author read-alikes” or “Series Read-alikes.”
Now computer searching will really help you. When you click on any of the three, the database will find other books that are similar to what you are reading. Now as a parent or mentor, you can help the child find all kinds of books, because you have a bibliography or list of books on the subject.
NoveList K-8 also lists books by subject and genre. You can click on any of these access points and quickly develop a comprehensive list on your topic.
Now of course, you still have to go to the library and get the book after looking it up in the electronic card catalog. Again, Step One: Type NebraskAccess; Step Two: Click on Books/Humanities/Reading, the third database down; Step Three: Enter your driver’s license number; Step Four: Begin using NoveList K-8 of NoveList Plus using searches like those described.
NoveList is a tremendous literary database for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. You can help your young readers find all kinds of great literature, and you may find some yourself. Give NoveList a try, it is great fun. Enjoy!
