Fiction access points across computer-mediated book information sources: A comparison of online bookstores, reader advisory databases, and public library catalogs

One of a librarian's more difficult jobs may be helping patrons in an elusive search for a "good book." A variety of online sources are now available to help readers and librarians in their search, but the descriptive capabilities of the resources vary widely. Library and information science (LIS) literature has suggested many schemes and access points for fiction classification. This study compared the records for identical books in a variety of computer-mediated book information sources (CMBIS) in order to find out which resources utilized the access points identified in LIS literature. Results from this study suggest that online bookstores may be effective tools for librarians helping patrons find "good" books because of their increased use of access points. However, reader advisory databases, which contain reviews and subject headings, are occasionally more effective than online bookstores for identifying books published prior to the1990s.