With more than 36,000 subject headings and searchable full text reviews, NoveList^® is the perfect resource for empowering boys to find fiction that relates to their interests. Boys and reading is currently a highly discussed topic in education. USA TODAY devoted its August 29, 2003 "Today's Debate" column to the growing educational gap that exists between boys and girls. This article states that on federal tests only 28 percent of boys in the 12th grade rate as proficient readers.

David Booth, an internationally recognized professor of education at the University of Toronto, provides an insightful discussion of this issue in his book Even Hockey Players Read: Boys, Literacy and Learning (Pembroke Publishers, CA, 2002). He suggests three concrete strategies to help more boys become readers:

1. Give boys choice and ownership in their reading by letting them pick their reading material.
2. Acknowledge the impact of computer technology on boys' literacy, and use their interest in technology to reinforce reading skills.
3. Use questions that help boys identify their interests and help them discover all the varied topics that can be explored in fiction.

NoveList facilitates implementation of these strategies by providing a smooth computer interface and several different ways to select books, thereby allowing choice and ownership on the part of the young reader. Describe a Plot, Find Similar Books and Explore Fiction are just three of the many ways that NoveList can help boys find a book that they can get excited about.

NoveList's Describe a Plot search lets a reader enter their own words to find books that relate to their interests. Using NoveList to link books and readers also gives a librarian an opportunity to build on boys' interest in technology by introducing NoveList (i.e. the computer) as a way to find books. Media center specialists can also use this opportunity to reinforce the information literacy or searching skills that they have been introducing to students.

The NoveList search feature Find Similar Books can help ensure a successful reading experience for boys by allowing them to locate books by the same author, books in a series or books on similar topics. In this way, a boy can transfer word knowledge and concepts knowledge learned in one book to another; thereby, making the next book easier (and probably more fun) to read. Young readers, especially reluctant readers, however, may not have a title they want to enter to find a similar book. Showing them the pre-made lists in Best Fiction and Explore Fiction allows them to "play" with guidance in a system they can immediately understand and navigate within.

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. EBSCO has been serving the library and business communities for almost 60 years. For more information, visit www.ebsco.com.

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

Release Date: Oct. 23, 2003