Boekenzoeker (Bookfinder)
The development of http://www.boekenzoeker.org, a book recommendation site for all ages, is an initiative of the Dutch Language Union [Nederlandse Taalunie] in collaboration with the Dutch Reading Foundation [Stichting Lezen Nederland] and its Flemish counterpart [Stichting Lezen Vlaanderen].
In school year 2004-2005, a pilot project was launched in which Stichting Lezen Vlaanderen further developed and refined its existing bookfinder for readers aged 15+, and the Dutch reading foundation was asked to develop a bookfinder for 8 to 10 year olds. The latter bookfinder was developed by NCJ/Villakakelbont.
Both of the above bookfinders are identical in terms of website structure. Currently, discussions are underway on the website’s expansion to a public aged from 6 to 18, which would enable http://www.boekenzoeker.org to make a fundamental contribution to a continuous reading programme. http://www.boekenzoeker.org helps readers to choose from the books on offer, and is designed to tempt young people to read and discover new books, genres that the reader is less familiar with and less obvious book choices.
Title suggestion occurs on the basis of readers’ interests and characteristics (which we record during intake interviews) and reading preferences.
The bookfinder fox is the central character in the part of the website geared towards 8 to 10 year olds: he guides the children on their search for a good book. He shows visitors how to browse and register, which are the two basic functions that they will need to be able to use the site, and also to look for several additional functions in the search option.
The procedure is not new. Amazon.com is one of the pioneers of collaborative filtering (the automatic creation of personal recommendations for users by drawing parallels between the preferences of one individual user and those of many others), but for a long time now has not been the only site using this technology.
Another function offered by the site is its search function, which enables users to search for specific books or subjects. Users can base their searches on specific writers, illustrators, titles, title words and key words. Search results are displayed in exactly the same way as the book presentations, displaying the same type of information, interaction buttons and navigation options. Each book presentation is accompanied by additional information, listing the (sub-)categories in which the book in question is included. The (sub-)categories are also clickable. This makes it relatively simple for users to find books related in some way to the initial result found and promotes the user’s progression to the browse function.
During the pilot, ten schools (five primary schools and five secondary schools) in the Netherlands and Flanders were invited to trial the bookfinder. When selecting pilot schools, a number of factors were considered; these were Internet access at school, pupils’ Internet experience, access to a well-developed (school) library and, possibly, a good relationship between the school and the local bookshop, in order to ensure the availability of the titles recommended. Steps were also taken to ensure a certain representativity: the pilot consisted of schools of different religious denominations, rural, town and city schools, and ‘white’ and mixed schools.
The bookfinder scores well in terms of its general design: all of the schools confirm that the structure of the http://www.boekenzoeker.org site is child-friendly and clear, the site has a clear navigation system, children generally find the site attractive, language use is appropriate for the target group, and pupils are usually able to work independently on the site without any problems.
The most popular use strategies and interaction options are browsing, searching and voting for books. Virtually all of the pilot schools are very enthusiastic about ‘the bookfinder effect’.
Several factors clearly contribute to a positive bookfinder experience.
Quite predictable factors are the attitude to reading and experience with the Internet. Children who enjoy reading usually feel more motivated in their reading habits by the bookfinder and are more persistent in their search behaviour than children who do not enjoy reading.
http://www.boekenzoeker.org definitely has the potential to become a book recommendation site that is complementary to the normal channels used to find books. It offers a screened and continually updated range of book tips, which are comprehensive but not overwhelming, and a full description of each book. In this way, the knowledge held by specialised reading promoters becomes available to a wide public via the Internet. This gives visitors a certain anonymity, but because reading recommendations are based on predictions of reading preferences, the site still has a personal feel. Added to this, the site generates the information needed to update and improve the range available. Taken all together, these factors mean that http://www.boekenzoeker.org is able to offer added value to the virtual reading promotion landscape.
(with thanks to Eva Devos)
This project is run by Stichting Lezen, Netherlands (Netherlands)