If you've been into the Library recently you will have seen our helpful fiction and non-fiction book lists or author lists. These lists contain the names of authors and/or books according to genre or subject. Combining this resource with a few well-chosen Internet sites can help you to make your reading, viewing and listening decisions much easier.

Particularly if you're exploring a new author, but you're not quite sure what they write about or whether you'll be interested in reading their work, doing a quick spot of research using the Internet can help you to decide on your next reading adventure. The sites I'm about to list will help you gain an understanding of an author and their work. You will be able to see a synopsis of the book, reviews by readers, and other books written by that author.

If the book is more likely to be an American publication, try Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. If it is more likely to be a British publication, try Amazon.co.uk. For Australian publications try Dymocks and Angus and Robertson. These Australian sites have some reviews and other information. Simply type in the name of the book or the author to see the relevant information.

Once you've done your Internet research, you can explore the Bundaberg Library catalogue either here in the Library or via the Web, to see whether or not we hold a particular title or author that you are interested in.

For more biographical information about the author, type their name into the search engine Google (Google) to see if they maintain their own web site. If they don't have their own web site then their publisher's web site may have some information on that author and their work. However, you should expect a biased view from these two sources!

The same process as described above for researching reading material also can be used to research videos and CDs. For videos you should check out the Internet Movie Database. This is an excellent site full of comprehensive information on your favourite movies, television shows and actors. You can look up a movie or TV show to see full credits including links to biographical information on cast members, a synopsis of the plot, and viewer reviews and comments.

For CD and artist reviews try the All Music Guide. This is another comprehensive and well set-out site. Search by artist, album, song, style or label to see reviews and other information to help you make your selections.

Doing a little bit of simple research first can help to ensure you will find a book, video or CD that you will enjoy.