Online Resource of the Month

November 2006 - January 2007

Each month, the Library features one of its online premium resources, paid for by the San Diego Public Library, and available at the locations indicated.

NoveList K-8
Available at all San Diego Public Library locations and online from any location with a valid library card. Access NoveList K-8 via the Articles & Databases' page.

What is NoveList K-8?
NoveList K-8 contains information on fiction books for all K-8 grade levels, and includes picture books, children's "chapter" books, and young adult titles. The database is updated monthly. Make NoveList K-8 your starting place for learning about the books that you and your students need and will want to read. It's a companion database to the NoveList database for adult readers, and produced by the same staff that created NoveList.

• 52,000+ fiction titles (including Easy, Children's, Young Adult and carefully selected Adult titles used in the middle school curriculum).
• Full-text, authoritative reviews from sources such as Library Journal, School Library Journal and Booklist.
• Access to the NoveList K-8 Training & Support Center, with online training and downloadable support materials.
• The option to sort your search results by popularity. Popular titles are starred ☆ to alert you to titles with high demand. The popularity information is gathered from thousands of libraries and retail outlets nationwide, and is based on ordering information received from book vendors.

• Home page Tab: Updated monthly, the Home page tab will have current highlights or new features.
• Search Our Database Tab: Takes users to the list of searching options found in the product: Find a Favorite Author; Find a Favorite Title; Find a Series Name; Describe a Plot, Topic or Unit; Boolean Search; and Article and List Search.
• Browse Lists Tab: The links found at this tab take you to lists of award-winning books, as well as lists of books by genre, topic, or theme.
• Teacher Resources Tab: Materials designed for use in the school setting or in support of student reading can be found at this tab.

What does the NoveList K-8 interface look like?
In the below screenshot of the opening screen of NoveList K-8, you will see the left-hand menu for selecting the type of search you wish to make. Below that, help and tools are available. On the right side of the page, you see sample search results.

Figure1: NoveList K-8 screenshot - See the Tabs at the Top

What are some examples for finding books in NoveList K-8?

• A student needs to find a book on the Vietnam War from a teenager's point of view. By typing "teenagers during the Vietnam War" in the Find search box, titles such as Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White, and others, will be found.
• A student enjoyed reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. She is interested in fiction about African-Americans who are "coming of age" and experiencing racism. By checking these desired subject headings, she can access titles such as The Road to Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor, White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer, and many others.

When Should I Use NoveList K-8?
NoveList K-8 is great for finding books to read for young people and students, and doing book talks, book reports, and more. You can also easily check the Library catalog (see below) from within NoveList K-8 - to see if we have copies of the books, and where they are located.

Help Files, Search Tips, and More

• 1-Minute NoveList K-8 - A quick sample search that can help get you up and running in minutes.
• Getting Around in NoveList K-8 - A quick navigation through the tabbed interface of NoveList K-8.
• Searching the NoveList K-8 Database - Step-by-step instructions and printable Help Sheets for each search at the Search Our Database tab.
• Using Additional Content in NoveList K-8 - Our features (Grab and Go Lists, BookTalks, Judy Freeman's column and more) are developed by librarians and other experts in the field, to further enhance the use of NoveList K-8 with young readers.
• Optimizing NoveList K-8 - Information on additonal topics in NoveList K-8 such as creating a personal login, creating alerts, saving lists, and more.

Links to Library Catalog
Within NoveList K-8 is the direct linking into SDPL's Library Catalog. When you are viewing a book record, the left-hand menu shows a link to check our library catalog about the book display. The text reads: "Links Check SDPL for Holdings." Select the link and a popup browser window displays the catalog record for the book. You can view the holdings in the record to see if the book is available for checkout or its status.

Links to EBSCOhost database articles
When you are viewing a book record, the left-hand menu shows a link to check the main EBSCOhost databases for articles or news about the book that is displayed.

Explore questions
Find out who won the Carnegie Medal for Young Adult Literature in 2005. [Tip: Use the Browse Lists "Tab"]
Find a book talk for ages 9-12 for Judy Blume's Double Fudge. [Tip: Use the Teacher Resources' "Tab"]