[OPLINLIST] NOVELIST NOTES: Using Describe a Plot to search NoveList (August
05)
Lynne Rohweder
LRohweder@epnet.com
Tue, 23 Aug 2005 09:53:47 -0400
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NoveList Notes August, 2005
Please share by forwarding to any other colleagues who would benefit from
this content.
Using Describe a Plot to search NoveList
With the release of NoveList version 5.2, Describe a Plot underwent a
behind-the-scenes change from a natural language search - one where you type
in phrases and/or questions in your own words - to a Boolean search for all
the words entered. This change was implemented so that we could offer
multiple options for sorting Describe a Plot results (instead of limiting
those results to being sorted by relevance). Now Describe a Plot only
returns books that include ALL the words you search for somewhere in their
title records, so result lists for this type of search are shorter and more
relevant than before. Too many words in the search box, however, or
extraneous ones, may return no hits at all.
NoveList's Describe a Plot search is a great tool for locating a particular
book without knowledge of its title or author, and can also help readers who
are looking for fiction titles they will enjoy but have no idea where to
begin. This month's NoveList Note offers sample Describe a Plot searches
addressing these situations and demonstrates the best strategies for using
Describe a Plot.
Finding that elusive book in NoveList
Let's say a reader is looking for a book and remembers only these things
about it (this example appeared on the Fiction_L listserve): The plot
involved a mother with two daughters, one of whom, Olivia, was very
independently minded and not married. The other daughter was married. They
lived in England, and the setting was after either World War I or II. The
mother's first love died in the war, she marries someone else with whom she
has the daughters, and he is now dead, too. The mother dies in the end.
What words are likely to locate this title? Extracting descriptive words
about characters and setting along with specific details is your best bet.
Try this:
1. At the Search Our Database tab, click Describe a Plot.
2. Type in "mother daughters Olivia England World War."
3. Click Search.
4. NoveList retrieves two titles. The reader can review the title records
of both and determine whether either is the right book.
In this case, the reader was looking for Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell
Seekers, one of the titles returned by this Describe a Plot search. You
might need to play around with the words you enter, trying different
descriptive words or leaving some words out - but Describe a Plot gives you
a way to search for books by keyword that often leads to success.
Please note: as the above search is for an Adult level title, it will not
work properly if you are using NoveList K-8.
Using Describe a Plot to help readers find books that interest them
Sometimes the standard readers' advisory opener, "tell me about a book you
have read and enjoyed," elicits only a blank stare. You can help readers
find books they like by showing them how to use Describe a Plot. Here are
examples that would be especially helpful for younger readers.
A fifth-grade girl is looking for a book to read and knows only that she
wants "something interesting." After a little more conversation, you
discover that "interesting" to this reader means something scary, and that
she is also interested in caves.
1. Click the Search Our Database tab and select Describe a Plot.
2. Type in "scary cave."
3. Select Children's and Young Adult levels.
4. Click Search.
This search returns a dozen titles to choose from. Have the reader click on
the title links to read more about each book. Here's another scenario:
A seventh-grade boy is looking for a book but doesn't know what he wants to
read. He says he likes high school sports.
1. Click the Search Our Database tab and select Describe a Plot.
2. Type in "high school sports."
3. Select Children's and Young Adult levels.
4. Click Search.
This search returns over 70 titles in NoveList. Sort the results by
Popularity and have the reader select the title links that interest him to
learn more about each book.
Summary
By typing in a few descriptive words (rather than complete phrases) for a
Describe a Plot search, you can locate specific needle-in-a-haystack titles
or use very little information to find a number of options for readers to
choose from.
Lynne Rohweder
Manager, Marketing & Editorial Services - NoveList
919-489-9412 x203
lrohweder@epnet.com
NoveList is a product of EBSCO Publishing
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005><FONT face=Arial><FONT
size=3><STRONG>NoveList Notes August,
2005<BR></STRONG></FONT><EM>Please share by forwarding to any other colleagues
who would benefit from this content.</EM></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=707264613-23082005><STRONG>Using Describe a
Plot to search NoveList</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>With the release of
NoveList version 5.2, Describe a Plot underwent a behind-the-scenes change from
a natural language search - one where you type in phrases and/or questions in
your own words - to a Boolean search for all the words entered. This
change was implemented so that we could offer multiple options for sorting
Describe a Plot results (instead of limiting those results to being sorted by
relevance). Now Describe a Plot only returns books that include ALL the
words you search for somewhere in their title records, so result lists for this
type of search are shorter and more relevant than before. Too many words
in the search box, however, or extraneous ones, may return no hits at
all.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>NoveList's Describe
a Plot search is a great tool for locating a particular book without knowledge
of its title or author, and can also help readers who are looking for fiction
titles they will enjoy but have no idea where to begin. This month's
NoveList Note offers sample Describe a Plot searches addressing these situations
and demonstrates the best strategies for using Describe a
Plot.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005><STRONG>Finding that
elusive book in NoveList</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>Let's say a reader
is looking for a book and remembers only these things about it (this example
appeared on the Fiction_L listserve): The plot involved a mother with two
daughters, one of whom, Olivia, was very independently minded and not married.
The other daughter was married. They lived in England, and the setting was after
either World War I or II. The mother's first love died in the war, she marries
someone else with whom she has the daughters, and he is now dead, too. The
mother dies in the end.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>What words are
likely to locate this title? Extracting descriptive words about characters
and setting along with specific details is your best bet. Try
this:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>1. At the
Search Our Database tab, click Describe a Plot.<BR>2. Type in "mother
daughters Olivia England World War."<BR>3. Click
Search.<BR>4. NoveList retrieves two titles. The reader can review
the title records of both and determine whether either is the right
book.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>In this case, the
reader was looking for Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell Seekers, one of the titles
returned by this Describe a Plot search. You might need to play around
with the words you enter, trying different descriptive words or leaving some
words out - but Describe a Plot gives you a way to search for books by keyword
that often leads to success.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005><EM>Please note: as
the above search is for an Adult level title, it will not work properly if you
are using NoveList K-8.</EM></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005><STRONG>Using
Describe a Plot to help readers find books that interest
them</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>Sometimes the
standard readers' advisory opener, "tell me about a book you have read and
enjoyed," elicits only a blank stare. You can help readers find books they
like by showing them how to use Describe a Plot. Here are examples that
would be especially helpful for younger readers.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>A fifth-grade girl
is looking for a book to read and knows only that she wants "something
interesting." After a little more conversation, you discover that
"interesting" to this reader means something scary, and that she is also
interested in caves.<BR> <BR>1. Click the Search Our Database tab and
select Describe a Plot.<BR>2. Type in "scary cave."<BR>3. Select
Children's and Young Adult levels.<BR>4. Click Search.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>This search returns
a dozen titles to choose from. Have the reader click on the title links to
read more about each book. Here's another scenario:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>A seventh-grade boy
is looking for a book but doesn't know what he wants to read. He says he
likes high school sports.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>1. Click the
Search Our Database tab and select Describe a Plot.<BR>2. Type in "high
school sports."<BR>3. Select Children's and Young Adult
levels.<BR>4. Click Search.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>This search returns
over 70 titles in NoveList. Sort the results by Popularity and have the
reader select the title links that interest him to learn more about each
book.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=707264613-23082005><STRONG>Summary</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=707264613-23082005>By typing in a few
descriptive words (rather than complete phrases) for a Describe a Plot search,
you can locate specific needle-in-a-haystack titles or use very little
information to find a number of options for readers to choose
from.<BR></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lynne</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> <FONT
face=Arial size=2>Rohwe</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>der</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Manager, Marketing & Editorial Services -
</FONT> <EM><FONT face=Arial size=2>NoveList</FONT></EM> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>919-489-9412 x203</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>lrohweder@epnet.com</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial> </FONT>
<BR><I><FONT face=Arial size=2>NoveList is a product of EBSCO
Publishing</FONT></I> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
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