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Neglected Dragons There Was Problem Communicating With the Database Please Try Again Later

Finding a Book When You've Forgotten Its Title

By

Gwen Glazer, Librarian

November 22, 2017

Library books lined up on a shelf

It tin can be tough to remember the title and author of a book you read a long time agone—fifty-fifty if it was a book that was really important to you. Fiction is cataloged by author and championship, not past subject or plot line, which makes identifying books past just their storyline difficult.

Readers oftentimes ask librarians for help finding these kinds of books. And we tin can't figure out the mystery every single time, simply nosotros do have a few tricks to aid notice the answer.

First, pin downward everything you can call back about the book, plot, character names, time period in which the volume may have been published, genre, etc. All these details are clues in identifying the championship and writer of the book.

Online resources can help with your search for a half-remembered book, even if all you take is a basic plot line. Searching yourself is a proficient place to start; and then, you can post to a listserv or discussion forum, where someone might recognize information technology. Or, concluding but non least, leave a comment on this mail service!

Earlier You Start

Try Google! Blazon in everything you can remember about the book — as in, "movie book rabbi animals advice yiddish" — and whorl through the results. (That's a existent-life instance of a book a patron was asking for:It Could Ever Exist Worseby Margot Zemach.)

Yous can besides try googling i key item you remember from a book. One of our librarians solved a book mystery by searching "USS You-Know-Who" — the name of a boat in the story that the patron happened to remember. (Another existent-life example: She Flew No Flagsby Joan Manley.)

Crowdsourcing

  • What'south the Proper noun of That Book?
    A Goodreads group with searchable discussion posts and thousands of questions and answers.

  • Name That Book
    A LibraryThing grouping of ~3K members — many of whom are librarians or library-side by side — who help solve volume mysteries via threaded discussions.

  • The Fiction_L listserv
    Stumpers! Search archives of past questions, answered by an intense book-ish community, or subscribe and post a new 1.

  • Reddit's whatsthatbook thread
    A nearly endless thread of users trying to help other users call back book titles, including several frequently requested books. Peculiarly good for science fiction and fantasy.

  • "Stump the Bookseller" weblog
    A absurd indie bookstore in Ohio that maintains extensive, searchable archives — and offers a $4 service for personalized help. Lots of children's books hither.

  • Big Book Search
    If you can only remember what the cover looks like, try this encompass-search tool.

Library Databases (log in with your library carte)

  • Books & Authors

  • Books in Print

  • The New York Times databases

  • NoveList and NoveList Yard-eight (in-library use only)

How to Motility On

Sometimes, information technology's just not going to happen, and y'all tin't find that elusive volume you've been searching for. It's okay! Neat news: The world is full of great books! Here are a few means to notice more...

  • Bank check out recommendations from our book experts here at NYPL. We offering suggestions via weblog posts, the Staff Picks book finder, The Librarian Is In podcast, and more.
  • If you'd like a personalized recommendation, find us on Twitter or fill out our What Should I Read Adjacent? email form.
  • Desire a brand-new read? Check out our favorite New and Noteworthy titles.

Experience complimentary to leave a annotate and tell united states nearly a book yous're trying to remember! Our library staff members will pop in and check it periodically, and readers of this post are welcome to make guesses and suggestions.

More Suggestions

  • If y'all can recall just 1 word, utilize the search function on Goodreads or Library Matter to find long lists of titles with a detail word.

  • Goodreads' scan-able lists of titles that readers have shelved in unique categories, such every bit authors' professions or decades of publication, is also be helpful.

  • For recently published books, the reviews in Booklist Online are broken down past detailed genre.

emilytraill.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2017/11/22/finding-book-forgotten-title