BookBrowse For Libraries

BookBrowse For Libraries

How is BookBrowse Different from NoveList?

BookBrowse makes an affordable alternative or compliment for NoveList and NoveList Plus. For librarians wondering about the difference between BookBrowse and NoveList and Novelist Plus, below we share some of the differences, but first, here is what one of our subscribing librarians who uses both has to say:

"We have access to Novelist Plus through our NC Live subscription, but whereas Novelist requires staff to learn a controlled vocabulary to make the most of it, the categories and content in BookBrowse are so much easier to access because they don't use a complex controlled vocabulary. I'm really excited for our staff to be able to use BookBrowse as a readers advisory tool. They already use the free version as a resource for collection development, but a subscription will be a new level of usefulness for them."
— Laura McPherson, County Librarian, Ashe County Public Library

Focus & Purpose

  • BookBrowse: A curated resource that helps engaged readers discover books they'll love with in-depth reviews, book club resources, and beyond-the-book articles.
  • NoveList: A database-driven reader advisory tool primarily for library staff to help patrons find books based on themes, genres, and appeal factors.

Depth of Content

  • BookBrowse: Carefully selected books with long-form reviews, author interviews, and detailed book club discussions.
  • NoveList: Covers a wide range of books with shorter, metadata-driven descriptions.

Read-Alikes

  • BookBrowse: Hand-selected by experts, providing thoughtful reasoning for each recommendation.
  • NoveList: Algorithm-driven, based on metadata (pace, tone, subject).

Book Club & Community Resources

  • BookBrowse: Ideal for book clubs, offering discussion guides, themed reading lists, and beyond-the-book articles.
  • NoveList: Provides discussion questions but focuses more on searchability.

Target Audience

  • BookBrowse: Built for readers and book clubs first, used by many libraries as a patron resource and for readers' advisory.
  • NoveList: Designed for librarians as a readers' advisory tool.

User Experience

  • BookBrowse: Engaging, magazine-like browsing with curated selections along with database-style filtering. Users can browse some resources without logging in with a library card.
  • NoveList: Database-style filtering with appeal terms, themes, and subjects. Log in required.

Company Size and Focus

  • BookBrowse: Small, employee-owned company with a focus on reader engagement.
  • NoveList: Owned by a billion-dollar conglomerate focused on a variety of data products.

Which Should You Choose?

  • If you want a database tool primarily used by library staff, NoveList is a great fit.
  • If you want an engaging, reader-friendly experience for patrons, book clubs, and staff, BookBrowse offers a curated alternative that encourages deeper engagement.
  • Use both! Many subscribing libraries receive Novelist through their consortia or cooperative, but also subscribe to BookBrowse.

If you would like to experience the differences for yourself, click here to get a quote and sign up for a free trial.


Debugging Information
ColdFusion Server Developer 2021,0,13,330286
Template /lib/novelist_alternative/index.cfm
Time Stamp 31-May-26 07:46 PM
Locale en
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
Remote IP 127.0.0.1
Host Name 127.0.0.1


Execution Time

Total Time Avg Time Count Template
48 ms 48 ms 1 top level /root/website/lib/novelist_alternative/index.cfm
26 ms 26 ms 1 /root/website/lib/blocks/app_layout.cfm
13 ms 13 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/dsp_footer.cfm
12 ms 12 ms 1 /root/website/adzones/showcase_track.cfm
11 ms 11 ms 1 /root/website/adsystem/adsystem_mod.cfm
11 ms 11 ms 1 /root/website/lib/blocks/app_globals.cfm
4 ms 4 ms 1 /root/website/act_check_login.cfm
4 ms 4 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/head.cfm
3 ms 2 ms 2 /root/website/actions/act_spider_tracker.cfm
3 ms 3 ms 1 /root/website/lib/blocks/dsp_libinfo_left_border.cfm
3 ms 3 ms 1 /root/website/queries/qry_get_member_info.cfm
2 ms 2 ms 1 /root/website/lib/blocks/dsp_libsidemenu.cfm
2 ms 2 ms 1 /root/website/queries/qry_get_member_classification_number.cfm
2 ms 2 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/dsp_header.cfm
1 ms 1 ms 1 /root/website/act_libraryIPLogin.cfm
1 ms 1 ms 1 /root/website/lib/novelist_alternative/dsp_main.cfm
1 ms 1 ms 1 /root/website/queries/qry_get_current_ezine.cfm
1 ms 1 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/main_menu.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/Application.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/actions/udfs.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/app_server.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/banners/ad_594.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/formurl2attributes.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/js/fbjavascriptsdk.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/lib/blocks/promo_block.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/dsp_header_newsletter.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/email_modal.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/google_tags.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/header_announcement.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 /root/website/site/blocks/layout/main_search.cfm
6 ms  STARTUP, PARSING, COMPILING, LOADING, & SHUTDOWN
54 ms  TOTAL EXECUTION TIME
red = over 250 ms average execution time


SQL Queries

spidercheck (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=2ms, Records=1) in /root/website/actions/act_spider_tracker.cfm @ 19:46:08.008
SELECT	a.bot_number
        FROM	bots a
        WHERE	charindex(a.bot_name, ?) > 0
		OR a.bot_ip = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(cf_sql_varchar) = Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
Parameter #2(cf_sql_varchar) = 127.0.0.1

get_member_info (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=3ms, Records=0) in /root/website/queries/qry_get_member_info.cfm @ 19:46:08.008
select 	a.*, 
    		b.member_account_type_name, b.member_account_type_charge, b.member_account_type_charge_frequency,  b.member_account_type_months, 
            c.member_chargetype_name, c.member_chargetype_number, a.member_classification_number, a.member_book_format
	
    from members a, member_account_types b, member_chargetype c
	
    where a.member_account_type_number = b.member_account_type_number
	and a.payment_method_id = c.member_chargetype_number
	and a.member_number = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(CF_SQL_INTEGER) = 0

get_current_ezine (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=0ms, Records=1, Cached Query) in /root/website/queries/qry_get_current_ezine.cfm @ 19:46:09.009
select		top 1 ezine_number, ezine_dt, ezine_image, ezine_brief_description, ezine_introduction
from		ezines
where		ezine_active_flag = 1
and 		ezine_type_number = 4
and			ezine_dt < getdate()
order by 	ezine_dt DESC
get_member_classification_number (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=1ms, Records=0) in /root/website/queries/qry_get_member_classification_number.cfm @ 19:46:09.009
select  	a.member_classification_number, b.member_classification_description
	FROM 		members a
	INNER JOIN 	member_classification b on b.member_classification_number = a.member_classification_number
	WHERE		a.member_number = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(CF_SQL_INTEGER) = 0

get_ads (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=5ms, Records=0) in /root/website/adsystem/adsystem_mod.cfm @ 19:46:09.009
SELECT		a.adid,	adweight
	FROM		adsystem a
	INNER JOIN 	ad_category_mapping b ON b.adid = a.adid
	WHERE		a.section = ?
	AND			a.active  = 1
	AND 		a.start_date <= GETDATE()
	
	AND (a.viewby LIKE '%n%' OR a.viewby = 'all')
            

	AND     (b.category_number IN (	SELECT	category_number
									FROM	category_book_mapping
									WHERE	book_number = ?)
      		OR 	b.category_number = ?)
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(CF_SQL_VARCHAR) = showcase_track
Parameter #2(CF_SQL_VARCHAR) = 0
Parameter #3(CF_SQL_VARCHAR) = 0

get_ads (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=3ms, Records=1) in /root/website/adsystem/adsystem_mod.cfm @ 19:46:09.009
SELECT	a.adid,	adweight
        FROM	adsystem a
        WHERE	a.section = ? 
        AND 	a.active  = 1 
        AND		a.start_date <= GETDATE()	
        
        AND (a.viewby LIKE '%n%' OR a.viewby = 'all')
        AND (select count(*) from ad_category_mapping where datalength(category_number) >= 1 and adid = a.adid) = 0
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(CF_SQL_VARCHAR) = showcase_track

get_type (Datasource=bookbrowse_com_new, Time=0ms, Records=1) in /root/website/adsystem/adsystem_mod.cfm @ 19:46:09.009
SELECT	a.start_date, a.adid, a.end_date, a.camp_views, a.image_name, a.alt_text, a.views, a.code, a.adsize
        FROM	adsystem a
        WHERE	a.adid = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(CF_SQL_INTEGER) = 594


Scope Variables

CGI Variables:
AUTH_PASSWORD=
AUTH_TYPE=
AUTH_USER=
CERT_COOKIE=
CERT_FLAGS=
CERT_ISSUER=
CERT_KEYSIZE=
CERT_SECRETKEYSIZE=
CERT_SERIALNUMBER=
CERT_SERVER_ISSUER=
CERT_SERVER_SUBJECT=
CERT_SUBJECT=
CF_TEMPLATE_PATH=/root/website/lib/novelist_alternative/index.cfm
CONTENT_LENGTH=
CONTENT_TYPE=
CONTEXT_PATH=
GATEWAY_INTERFACE=
HTTPS=
HTTPS_KEYSIZE=
HTTPS_SECRETKEYSIZE=
HTTPS_SERVER_ISSUER=
HTTPS_SERVER_SUBJECT=
HTTP_ACCEPT=*/*
HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING=gzip, br, zstd, deflate
HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE=
HTTP_CONNECTION=upgrade
HTTP_COOKIE=CFGLOBALS=urltoken%3DCFID%23%3D4072768%26CFTOKEN%23%3Dca15f7cc038d0cc6%2DFBB8E365%2DA241%2D4754%2DCE7396CE19A12C33%23lastvisit%3D%7Bts%20%272026%2D05%2D31%2019%3A46%3A08%27%7D%23hitcount%3D12%23timecreated%3D%7Bts%20%272026%2D05%2D31%2019%3A46%3A07%27%7D%23cftoken%3Dca15f7cc038d0cc6%2DFBB8E365%2DA241%2D4754%2DCE7396CE19A12C33%23cfid%3D4072768%23; CFTOKEN=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33; CFCLIENT_BOOKBROWSE=order%3Dp%23member%5Fnumber%3D0%23member%5Factive%5Fflag%3D0%23member%5Flogged%5Fin%5Fflag%3D0%23library%5Fuser%5Fflag%3D0%23view%3Dbooks%23; CFID=4072768
HTTP_HOST=dev.bookbrowse.com
HTTP_REFERER=http://dev.bookbrowse.com/lib/novelist_alternative/
HTTP_URL=
HTTP_USER_AGENT=Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
LOCAL_ADDR=127.0.0.1
PATH_INFO=
PATH_TRANSLATED=/root/website/lib/novelist_alternative/index.cfm
QUERY_STRING=
REMOTE_ADDR=127.0.0.1
REMOTE_HOST=127.0.0.1
REMOTE_USER=
REQUEST_METHOD=GET
SCRIPT_NAME=/lib/novelist_alternative/index.cfm
SERVER_NAME=dev.bookbrowse.com
SERVER_PORT=8500
SERVER_PORT_SECURE=0
SERVER_PROTOCOL=HTTP/1.1
SERVER_SOFTWARE=
WEB_SERVER_API=
Client Variables:
cfid=4072768
cftoken=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
hitcount=12
lastvisit={ts '2026-05-31 19:46:08'}
library_user_flag=0
member_active_flag=0
member_logged_in_flag=0
member_number=0
order=p
timecreated={ts '2026-05-31 19:46:07'}
urltoken=CFID=4072768&CFTOKEN=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
view=books
Cookie Variables:
CFCLIENT_BOOKBROWSE=order=p#member_number=0#member_active_flag=0#member_logged_in_flag=0#library_user_flag=0#view=books#
CFGLOBALS=urltoken=CFID#=4072768&CFTOKEN#=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33#lastvisit={ts '2026-05-31 19:46:08'}#hitcount=12#timecreated={ts '2026-05-31 19:46:07'}#cftoken=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33#cfid=4072768#
CFID=4072768
CFTOKEN=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
Session Variables:
cfid=4072768
cftoken=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
sessionid=BOOKBROWSE_4072768_ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
urltoken=CFID=4072768&CFTOKEN=ca15f7cc038d0cc6-FBB8E365-A241-4754-CE7396CE19A12C33
Debug Rendering Time: 6 ms