Searching for Fiction for Pleasure Reading: Current Research and Recommendations

Abstract

One of the major tasks library patrons are faced with is searching for a good book to read, particularly when they have no specific book in mind. As such, people faced with this task search in places such as online catalogs, looking at existing book reviews and descriptions, and they also ask librarians and other readers’ advisors for assistance in finding book recommendations. This paper attempts to review the research on how people conduct searches for pleasure reading, as well as research for online catalog design in order to inform the search process, leading to recommendations for future work in catalog design and readers’ advisory driven by the application of human factors principles in the search process.