Book Sleuth

http://www.abebooks.com/docs/ReadingRoom/BookSleuth/Unsolved/

What's it for?

Book Sleuth is a place where you can ask for the help of other visitors to identify long lost and forgotten books that influenced your reading life, and that you long to rediscover and re-read. 

 Visitors will probably visit this site through recommendation or other links.  This is part of a larger site that sells books called the reading room.  Abebooks, the host of the site, is a consortium of booksellers specialising in second hand and collectable books who subscribe to advertise and sell their books through this website.   Book sleuth is a clever idea that helps readers find long lost books, and then of course offers them a book search and book sale facility to acquire them.

Who is it for?

The strap on the home page that encourages visitors to visit Book Sleuth is a message for readers who want to help track books down, not ask for help.  The site clearly sees that readers will be attracted by the opportunity to be sleuths as well as asking for the help of others.

The main contributors are readers who have been affected by a book at some point in their lives and who now can't remember the author or the title and sometimes even the content.  Some readers remember the book as a loved object as well as a key influence, some remember just one key word.

The site seems to be overwhelmed with visits and requests, and lists enquiries back to January and beyond.   The solved side of the site is somewhat leaner than the enquiry side. 

There are many voices here, and the voice of the site itself is one of a rather harassed member of staff trying to keep order among chaos.  There is a definite air of the site being more popular than expected, and that the design and support are having trouble coping with the use.  There is a courteous and gentle air about the site entirely in keeping with a book-loving second hand bookseller.

Contributors are evident from all over the English speaking world and the site itself is based in Canada.

What's the point?

Navigation is fairly straightforward, but the site is packed and the typeface is quite small so what pulls you through to read the contributions is pure curiosity.

There is little decoration or design to the layout, which makes it straightforward, simple and quick to download for slow connections to the net.

You can choose to look at the current questions, or view the recently solved ones.  There is an email link to each query in case you can solve it.

There are unsolved mysteries all the way back and beyond January.

Where is the reader?

The site concentrates on helping readers post and solve problems as easily as possible.  It is dramatically clear that from the contributions how important books are to some readers, and how subtle a relationship that can be.  The simplicity of the site allows the readers voices to come through.

The idea that most readers have a mystery book in their past is a powerful and fruitful idea.  It's clear from the entries on this site that its not always the quality of writing or a racy plot that makes a lasting impression - it can be colour, illustration, one single word, that is somehow a key to person's reading past.

If you want to search for a particular title to buy, then you need to set up an account on the site.  There is little overt link between solving a query and searching for and then buying a book - this may be a follow on service by email that is not publicly visible.  There is no visible pressure to buy on Book Sleuth.

It is very clear that the site is busy and that it's difficult for the administration systems to cope - it's the main message on the home page.  The process for posting requests and finds is clear, and you can link directly by email if you want to take part.

How could you use this site in the library?

This site seems to be one uniquely useful to libraries, since we are blessed with such a wide range of single titles and an unrivalled access to back stock.  It also asks readers to help each other, recognising as libraries do, that this is an area where they are the experts.  There will be many borrowers who want to track down books, and lots more who would be willing to become book sleuths.  You could introduce the site as a bookmark on your screens, you could introduce it to your readers groups.  You could start a real world Book Sleuth on a readers noticeboard, and link it in to the site. Above all you could use the message evident in the site that books influence people's lives to deploy older stock in a variety of broad fiction promotions on the theme.

Jane Stevenson wrote an article on this site for The Guardian.  Click here to read it online.