The NoveList^® team of EBSCO Publishing, in association with Baker & Taylor, is pleased to announce the release of Book Index with Reviews™ (BIR). This Web resource gives library staff a powerful new tool to use to engage their most important users - book readers.

With BIR, readers and librarians will experience an intuitive, user-friendly interface that delivers the same impressive, flexible searching power as the award-winning EBSCOhost® search engine. This searching power allows users to effectively mine the rich content of more than 800,000 fully searchable, full text reviews, as well as information on nearly four million book titles, powered by The Title Source™ from Baker & Taylor.

Using a unique four-star system, based on input from thousands of libraries and retail outlets, Book Index with Reviews provides users with the means to distinguish popular, high-demand titles. No longer will readers be stymied by a long list of books with no way to determine which ones they really want. For example, if a patron who has just learned he or she has diabetes comes into the library, staff can use BIR to help the reader choose the highest quality resources available.

BIR also provides a more efficient way for library staff and readers to do what they have always done: consult reviews to learn about a specific book. BIR's deep file of fully searchable reviews -- from the most trusted sources, such as Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews and many others -- allows readers to find more of the books that best address their needs and interests. Using this feature of BIR, a children's librarian who is looking for titles to use for story hour can search reviews to find picture books that reviewers have identified as "suitable for reading aloud," or a mystery reader can search reviews to find titles that have been described as "fast-paced."

Additionally, the personalization features in BIR take the drudgery out of maintaining booklists to address frequently asked questions. For example, librarians can now easily maintain a list of popular titles for job hunters, as well as set up an alert so they can constantly update this list for future use.

BIR expands upon NoveList's highly regarded tradition of developing resources for fiction readers. Duncan Smith, creator of NoveList and product manager for BIR stated, "Book Index with Reviews is our next step to ensure that libraries have the resources they need to be the first place their community turns when the topic is books. This product allows libraries to have proactive relationships with their readers, and places the librarian at the heart of a community's book culture."

Smith, who received the Margaret E. Monroe Award from the American Library Association for developing products that help libraries serve readers, went on to say, "Like NoveList, Book Index with Reviews is another resource that brings together the two seemingly conflicting technologies in our profession-computers and books. We have combined the assets of both to create an electronic resource that connects books and readers; a resource that reinforces the proposition that, in those communities with access to BIR, book = library."

BIR's database will provide all library users with information about the titles they are seeking to read today, as well as important titles from the past. The information contained in this resource is constantly reviewed for accuracy, with final verification made by examination of a physical copy of the book or item. This process, in conjunction with weekly updates of the database, ensures that BIR users have access to the most current and accurate information available on the books they want.

About Baker & Taylor
Baker & Taylor, Inc. (www.btol.com), based in Charlotte, N.C., is a global information and entertainment services company that offers books, videos, music and services to libraries, educational institutions, and traditional and Internet retailers.

About EBSCO
EBSCO Publishing, EBSCO Subscription Services and EBSCO Book Services form the EBSCO Information Services group. EBSCO is a worldwide leader in providing information access and management solutions through print and electronic journal subscription services, research database development and production, online access to more than 100 databases and thousands of e-journals, and e-commerce book procurement. EBSCO has specialized products and services for academic, medical, government, public and school libraries as well as for corporations and other organizations. EBSCO maintains a comprehensive database of more than 282,000 serial titles and upholds active relationships with more than 60,000 publishers worldwide. 2004 marks EBSCO's 60th year of serving the library and business communities. For more information, visit www.ebsco.com.

Contact: Hansi Kess Office: (800) 653-2726 ext. 564 E-mail: hkess@epnet.com

Release Date: Feb. 25, 2004