NoveList Notes - November, 2007

New and Revised Explore Fiction Lists in NoveList

NoveList and NoveList K-8's ready-made book lists are great sources for eager readers and busy librarians. NoveList is now pleased to announce that all of our genre-based Explore Fiction lists have been completely revamped and updated. In addition to the updated lists, we have added several new genre lists, including Historical Fiction and Graphic Novels at the Adult level, based on requests from our users.
All of the popular genres, including Mysteries, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical Fiction, are covered in the Explore Fiction lists. Each genre contains a number of lists covering popular sub-genres, for example "Contemporary Romances" and "Romantic Suspense" under the Romance genre. Each list contains 15 to 20 titles, carefully selected by experienced librarians.

Run out of book discussion group ideas? Looking for an easy way to find a good book to read? Use Explore Fiction lists as a quick source for a book display on Classic Science Fiction titles. Create bookmarks with our new Adult Historical Fiction Explore lists to pass out to your readers or place in the historical fiction titles on your new books shelf. This will not only pull your patrons into your collection, it will keep them coming back for more.

Here's how to access NoveList's Explore Fiction lists:
1. Select the Browse Lists tab.
2. Under the Explore Fiction heading, select the appropriate reading level link. To find the new Adult Historical Fiction list, select the "Adult" link.
3. You will see a list of genres to choose from. Select the "Historical Fiction" link.
4. A listing of sub-genres will display. Choose a topic of interest, for example "Immigrant Experience," to see the full list of titles.

At the end of each Explore Fiction list, you will find a description that will give you more information about the books on the list or how you can find more books like those listed. Please note that at each list, you can select a title to link directly to the book record for an annotation, reviews, and links to other resources.

When you are all out of book display ideas, looking for a new way to promote the use of your library, or just in need of a ready-made book list to keep your speedy readers satisfied for awhile, turn to NoveList's Explore Fiction lists for help.

NoveList can be found on the Find a Good Book section of the library's Databases & Websites page.

PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites of 2007

Here is PC Magazine's list of the Top 100 Classic Web Sites in 2007. You'll see a lot of familiar URLs on this list, and we hope there are also quite a few that you haven't heard of before. These sites are established and generally best-of-breed in their respective categories.

Also get their picks for the top new or under-the-radar sites of 2007. You may not know many of the sites on this list, but you should! See the full list of Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites of 2007.

Check out some of the top Info & Reference sites.

Auto Repair Reference Center

Auto Repair at your fingertips!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a reference library with information about recalls, maintenance intervals, repair procedures, and service tips for your automobile? The Auto Repair Reference Center (ARRC) provides this information for most models of automobiles and light trucks from 1945 to the present. It is useful for both do-it yourselfers and professionals. This premium resource is available free to members of our library system.

To access this database, click on the Databases & Websites link, then on the Home and Auto link. Next, choose the Auto Repair Reference Center. If you are using a computer from home, you will then need to type in your library card number. The database is easy to use - simply choose the year of your vehicle, then the manufacturer, then the model. You can view service bulletins or repair procedures. There are additional features, including general videos about brakes, fuel management, heating and air conditioning, etc. These videos are located in the “Auto IQ” tab on the top of each page in the database.


Quick Fact Sheet
ARRC Tutorial video

Price It! Antiques & Collectibles

It’s like “Antique Home Show!”

Price It! Antiques & Collectibles — powered by GoAntiques.com — is the most comprehensive antique and collectible pricing tool in the world.

The antiques and collectibles market is one of the fastest growing markets in the U.S., with an estimated 25% of the population collecting something — and that figure is expected to increase in the coming years. To support this rapidly growing trend, Thomson Gale offers Price It! Antiques & Collectibles — a ‘value maximizer’ for anyone who purchases, sells or collects art, antiques and collectibles. This indispensable online tool helps you ascertain an item’s current realistic market value by aggregating data from its own GoAntiques.com database as well as established, reliable sources like ebay, TIAS and dozens of auction houses. Now your patrons will always have the latest information on the collectibles they seek. And Price It! Antiques & Collectibles can be used from wherever its users have remote access to your library’s holdings…at home, on the road, even from a live auction!

Get a Quick Fact sheet (PDF).

See some Sample Searches.

You can find the Price It! Antiques & Collectibles database with the library's Databases & Websites under "Consumer Information" and "Home & Auto".

Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database

The Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls database is a transcription of each soldier's entry in the record series, Muster and Descriptive Rolls. The database contains information about over 285,000 soldiers from Illinois who served in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion. Each entry includes all of the information that was recorded by the Illinois Adjutant General in the original Muster and Descriptive Rolls. Entries for each roll include soldier's name; rank; age; height; colors of eyes, hair, and complexion; occupation; marital status; birthplace; residence; date, place, and term of enrollment; name

Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Civil War Veterans' Memorial at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield of individual who enrolled soldier; date and place of muster into service; name of mustering officer; date and place of muster out; name of mustering-out officer; and remarks concerning transfers, promotions, injuries, or special duty.

You can find this website - and other Illinois Civil War information - at the Illinois State Archives website.

NewsBank Hot Topics, April 2007

If you are interested in Intenational Relations, check out this month's Hot Topics search hints from NewsBank. Find news articles from around the US and around the world for environmental, health, education, crime and politics.

Hot Topics makes a great starting point for your reseach into our contemporary world. NewsBank is the provider of the Access World News and America's Newspapers databases. These can be found with the library's Databases & Websites under "Magazines & Newspapers".