Did you know you can search our catalogue by more than author’s namesor book titles? One way to discover new itemsis to try searching by lists. Lists are user-generated – that is, created by anyone who usestheplatform. This means you can find lists made by staff at the Ottawa Public Library, andby fellow card holders in Ottawa, but you can also find lists from libraries elsewhere in Canada, the United States, and pretty much anywhere else they use Bibliocommonsin the world.   

List fall into one of twocategories: “general recommendations’and ‘If you liked...’.General recommendations coverseverything from topic guides, genre guides, top picks, study guidesandpersonal recommendations. Soin other words, this would be lists with titles like “EUREKA! Books about fossils and dinosaurs”, “First Day of School Picture Books for Children”, “Getting hygge with it”, “Going Green – Sustainable Lifestyle”, and “Mindfulness - downloadable audiobooks / Pleine conscience - livres audionumériques”. If You Liked offers up similar titlesto hit books,so if you really enjoyed “Educated” by Tara Westover, then this list might be of interest, or if you were head over heels about “Crazy Rich Asians” by Kevin Kwan, thislistwill be your cup of tea.  

As you can see,that last list I linked to was from library staff in Calgary, so you really can access lists from all over. You can create your own lists to share if you have been reading in a particular genreor wish to create a resource on any topic.To make your own list: 

• Sign into your account,  

• click on ‘Lists’ found in the “My Collections” sectionof the menu 

• Click the‘Create a New List button’. 

• Click ‘Guides and Recommendations’,then select the type of list you want to make 

• Give the list a title. The more informative it is, the more often it can be foundthrough a search 

• Add a descriptionto elaborate on the title. This is optional but also helps others find your listand explains to others why you made the list 

• Click ‘Add to List’to add catalog titles or website URLs to your list.  

• When you’ve added all ofyour titles, click ‘Finished Editing’. 

• Choose who can see your list.  

• Click ‘Publish’. 

You can share your list with anyone on Bibliocommons, anyone in your library, anyone you send the list link to, or just yourself. You can also link items you find on the internet as well, so helpful websites, videos and other related URLs can be added.  

It’s good to keep in mind that any list you search might not have the freshest titles and items on it, especiallyif it’s on a topic that changes rapidly. You can always update these lists orstart new ones. It’s also good tocheck to see who made a listand where they are located, in case what is recommended isn’t quiteon topic, or if suggested titles are indeed available where you are. Try making a list and see what you think.