Maple Grove Library Provides Book Matching Services

Looking for a good book but not sure where to start? The Maple Grove Library has Library Advisory Services called BookSpace and Novelist that can help align your reading interests with a desired book, both of which are accessible to library patrons through the Maple Grove Library website. BookSpace includes different lists with recommendations from librarians around the Hennepin County system, as well as comments from past readers. Novelist is a database that allows interested readers to look up books, read descriptions, and view “read-a-likes”, other titles that would be similar in nature to other titles they have enjoyed. Beyond these online resources, librarians receive formalized training and on the job experience in helping match patrons with their preferred book.
     
Kathryn Zimmerman, Maple Grove’s senior librarian, cites a recent example. “One of the librarians was providing reference services via IM chat to a teen looking for a book about living in another country,” Zimmerman says. “She used the Teen Links part of our website that has book lists, and found a section entitled ‘Between Two Cultures’, which included books about recent immigrants and living in two cultures.” Game, set, match.