Readers' advisory service & interactive magazines
that you and your patrons can enjoy
from any computer at anytime!
3-minute presentation in Powerpoint (animated) or PDF (static)
About BookBrowse
BookBrowse, one of the most popular internet destinations for book lovers with
over 200,000 monthly visitors, combines free information available to all with
value-added features accessible only to subscribers, including our 4-times/month
interactive online magazines and a range of powerful readers' advisory
tools such as "like for like" reading suggestions for thousands of books and the
ability to browse for books, and cross-reference, by more than 70 themes,
including by time period and geographic setting.
A Reliable & Easy to Use Readers' Advisory Tool
BookBrowse's navigation is simple and intuitive. Searching is quick and
effective. No training required!
Patrons wishing to find out about recently published books can browse recent
issues of our online magazines. Those with a specific interest in mind can
browse our extensive archives many different ways including by 'best of the
bestsellers', award winners, title, author, recent recommendations, genre, time
period, geographical setting and by a wide variety of themes.
Patrons who have enjoyed a particular book in the past can look up that book at
BookBrowse to find "if you like this, try these" suggestions to other books. All
the suggested links have been made by real people who've actually read the
books, not by computer generated sales data!
Because no two of us share exactly the same tastes, BookBrowse provides a
substantial excerpt of every book we recommend so that patrons can browse the
book for themselves and decide if the style is right for them. In addition to
our own review, we also provide the full range of critical reviews, abbreviated
to each reviewer's essential opinion to minimize plot spoilers and repetition;
plus well over 15,000 consumer reviews.
67% of BookBrowse visitors who visit a library at least once a month said they'd
like their library to take out a subscription to BookBrowse. The percentage
would have been higher but many respondents assumed they had to be in the
library to access BookBrowse, which is not the case because we support RPA.
Interactive Online Magazines
At the heart of BookBrowse are our interactive online magazines, usually published 4 times/month:
- BookBrowse Recommends (2 issues/month): Features in-depth commentaries on the newly recommended books, both hardcover & paperback, fiction &
nonfiction; the stories behind the books; book news and more. Sample issue
- BookBrowse Previews (1 issue/month): Each month we preview & rate 50-80 notable or high profile books to be published the following month, summarizing the
essential opinions of the prepublication reviewers. A boon for busy librarians who don't have time to read all the prepub reviews and for patrons
wanting to know what's worth looking out for, and what's not, well ahead of the crowd! Sample issue
- The Interview & Reading Guide Roundup: A monthly issue stuffed with author interviews and printable reading guides, plus
interviews with book clubs who chat about the books and ideas that keep their clubs buzzing, and updates on our "invite the author" program
which puts book club members in direct contact with well-known authors looking forward to chatting with their group by phone. Sample issue
The ezines are published & stored online, so current and archived issues are easily accessible to patrons at anytime.
Emails Personalized For Each Library & Patron
Librarians and patrons can opt-in to our mailing list, or RSS feed, to be notified when new issues are published. The emails include a link that takes
each patron directly to the correct login page, avoiding the need to drill down through multiple pages on the library's website. Subscribers can opt-out with one-click
at anytime.
Affordable Remote Patron Access for Libraries Large & Small
Any library can be set up for in-library access and remote patron access to
BookBrowse in a matter of minutes. An annual subscription starts at $180 for
libraries serving a population of 10,000 or less, rising in increments so that,
for example, a library serving a population of 45,000 would pay just $500 per
year.
Links to The Library's Catalog
In most cases we are able to link back to the subscribing library so that, with
one click, patrons can check availability of any book they find at BookBrowse in
their own library's catalog. These links do not require BookBrowse to have any
proprietary access to the library's catalog.
Less Is More
At the risk of pointing out the obvious, no one has the time to read every book,
in fact none of us even have time to read about every book. In our
surveys, library patrons looking for general interest books, such as fiction and
narrative nonfiction, tell us that they find the readers' advisory tools
available to them online of limited use. This is because they tend to generate
an overwhelming number of search results, many for books of questionable worth,
with insufficient information about the individual books for the patron to know
which are worth exploring further.
The BookBrowse Difference
BookBrowse is different because we don't attempt to catalog every book under the
sun. Instead we focus on seeking out only the most exceptional books, which we
recommend with a depth of information unsurpassed by any other source that we
know of.
Exceptional Books
We seek out books that do more than simply pass the time, books that leave you
mentally richer than when you started them - novels that whisk you to unfamiliar
times and places, thrillers that are more than "page-turners" and
thought-provoking non-fiction that informs while it entertains. We provide
patrons with all the information they need to decide which books are right for
them and, with well over 2,000 books and 1,500 authors featured in depth, plus a
further 3,000 books featured in brief and over 100 new books added each month,
even the most avid reader is unlikely to exhaust BookBrowse in one lifetime!
Great for Book Clubs
We offer extensive resources for book clubs, with advice, reading guides, author
interviews, and more. Search for reading guides by genre, time period, setting
or theme. Also, patrons and librarians can invite well-known authors to chat
with their book club by phone through our "Invite the Author" program.
An Independent Viewpoint
We don't sell books and, unlike many, we don't accept payments to feature books
editorially. BookBrowse's recommendations are based solely on merit, not on the
size of the publisher's marketing budget!
Better Than Print
BookBrowse is interactive, searchable, updated daily, and accessible from any
computer.
We're here to help!
From our Counter conformant monthly usage stats to the wide range of print and
online resources that we can customize to communicate the availability of
BookBrowse to your patrons—we're here to help you get the most out of your
investment in BookBrowse.
Privacy Promise
BookBrowse has never, and will never, sell, rent or loan our mailing list to any third party. Your patrons can visit BookBrowse without needing to give any personal information
but if they choose to join our mailing list they can do so in the knowledge that their personal details are secure, and they can remove themselves with one click at anytime.
Questions or comments? Please email:
info@bookbrowse.com
Or telephone toll free (48 States and Canada) 1-800-745-5306 x 103
Direct: (+1) 408-867 6500.
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