Library Intelligencer

Dear Books In Print Customer:

The time has come for Search to meet Discovery.

This month, Bowker announces the beta-release of Books In Print® 2.0 (BIP 2.0) an enhanced version of the book discovery and collection development platform that you already rely on for online book reference information, BooksInPrint.com®.

BIP 2.0 combines rich, comprehensive Books In Print content with powerful visual discovery interfaces from AquaBrowser, Bowker’s extremely popular search platform utilized by more than 500 libraries worldwide. The result is a breakthrough offering that enables librarians, researchers, and library patrons to discover relevant book information through a variety of cutting-edge collection development and Web 2.0 capabilities, including:
Relevancy-ranked search and faceted refine options that help users drill into the book information they need as quickly as possible;
Search results grouped by book edition (FRBR), making result lists easier to go through and the right items or editions much easier to locate;
New “social library” functionality that allows users to rate, review and tag items, enabling librarians and their patrons to discover and share information about books, and making possible happy search and discovery accidents that result even when certain information isn’t explicitly part of the original search query;
A new word cloud feature that provides users with a starburst of suggested terms, based on computer-generated word associations from the original search query and from user-generated content, allowing users to select from these associations and hone their queries, while also building a discovery trail that offers more relevant results to consider.

The introduction of critical new search and discovery functionality, in addition to the evolving social media research offered by the new interface, makes BooksInPrint.com an even more valuable resource for librarians, researchers and patrons. Over the coming months, we’ll be working closely with customers who have agreed to serve as formal BIP 2.0 beta testers and identifying appropriate product enhancements along the way.

The new site can be easily accessed from a link provided on the homepage of BooksInPrint.com or GlobalBooksInPrint.com, or by visiting the URL below. Your existing Books In Print login information will work with the new site. Any questions can be addressed through the FAQ, and contact information can be found on the BIP 2.0 home page.

To learn more, or to view a demo, visit us at www.booksinprint2.com.