Electronic Databases for Readers’ Advisory Services and Intellectual Access to Translated Fiction Not Originally Written in English

Abstract

Electronic databases for readers’ advisory services are increasingly prevalent in both public and academic libraries. Librarians rely on these databases to suggest new fiction titles to patrons, many of whom are interested in various types of foreign fiction translated into English. Using a case study approach, this paper examines the NoveList database from the perspective of intellectual access to novels originally written in Russian and subsequently translated into English. The number of subject headings assigned to these novels—as well as the number of accompanying book reviews in the NoveList record for each novel—is compared with the number of subject headings and accompanying book reviews present in the NoveList record for novels originally written in English. Translated Russian novels have substantially fewer subject headings and accompanying book reviews than do novels originally written in English. In addition, existing subject headings are often misleading, erroneous, or inefficient. Such shortcomings may be interpreted ideologically, since they have the effect of isolating and excluding translated foreign literature from the general realm of fiction works originally written in English. Impaired intellectual access to translated fiction in NoveList prevents a complete integration of translated fiction with English-language fiction—a circumstance that may lead librarians and patrons to overlook valuable titles. Careful reading of book reviews to extract contextually relevant keywords from which accurate subject headings can then be created is recommended as a simple way to improve the quantity and quality of subject headings and, more broadly, to strengthen intellectual access to translated fiction.