Online general-interest book database
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Online general-interest book databases are bibliographic databases intended primarily for general rather than academic use, and are often constructed in a way resembling social networking sites.
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[edit] Internet Book Database
The Internet Book Database (IBookDB) is an online database with information about books and authors with an added social networking component. It was started as an effort to be the IMDb equivalent for books. It currently contains information on over 60,000 books, 13,000 authors and 2000 series making it one of the largest online databases of author and book information. Unique features include finding historical publication information for books.
Registered users can catalog and manage their book collections online, find users with similar books. They can also rate and review books in addition to Tagging them. Other features offered include showing random books from users catalogs on their websites, blogs or on their pages on social networking sites such as Myspace.
IBookDB also offers services to authors such as hosting their official forums for free, getting their books listed, updating their Biography and other book publicity services, providing a platform for authors and readers to connect. Currently IBookDB hosts the Official Forums for several authors, inluding Paul Levine, Susan McBride, Becky Garrison, Kristina O'Donnelly and Danielle Girard.
[edit] Internet Book Database of Fiction
- The Internet Book Database of Fiction
- The Internet Book Database of Fiction/Internet Book List Forums
The Internet Book Database of Fiction (IBDoF) is an online database for books, mostly works of fiction. The site also hosts a message board specifically geared to the discussion of books. The Database currently holds information for over 35800 books and 4730 authors, the community consists of roughly 1330 active members who have made 123500 forum posts in over 6400 topics.
Members of the IBDoF are able to and encouraged to add books and authors to the database as well as rate and write reviews on existing books. The message board, which is now shared with the Internet Book List, includes discussion areas on some of the more popular authors in the database and also hosts official discussion boards for several authors including: Charles Pellegrino, L. E. Modesitt, Jack McDevitt, Lois McMaster Bujold, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (joint board), Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald (joint board), Heather Gladney, John Dalmas, Elizabeth Bear and David B. Coe.
[edit] Internet Book List
The Internet Book List (IBList) is an online database with information about books, authors, and short stories.
The site is entirely volunteer-based and contains information on over 53,000 books, 16,000 authors and 3800 series as well as over 3800 user reviews. Users can request Editor status which allows them to enter information directly into the database. Registered users may rate and review books they have read, as well as submit books for inclusion that don't yet appear in the database.
The message board, which is now shared with the Internet Book Database of Fiction, includes discussion areas on some of the more popular authors in the database and also hosts official discussion boards for several authors.
[edit] Internet Speculative Fiction Database
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on science fiction and related genres such as fantasy fiction and horror fiction. While its FAQs indicate that only a small fraction of authors and works have been cataloged by the site, in reality the ISFDB contains most of them. The database contains roughly 30,000 author entries tracking over 35,000 novels and 100,000 works of short fiction.
The major strength of the ISFDB is its integrated approach to author information, combining variant titles, pseudonyms, series, and awards information into a single bibliography. It also contains the largest online collection of content listings to magazines published prior to 1984. Major alternatives to the ISFDB include:
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards, edited by Mark R. Kelly.
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction, edited by William Contento. This site catalogs genre-related magazines, novels, anthologies, and collections published since 1984.
- Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections, edited by William Contento. This site catalogs genre-related anthologies and collections published prior to 1984.
