Noticed anything the last time you searched for a book in Google? Check out The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell (an amazing thriller with well-developed characters and tons of suspense.). Over on the right side of the page, you'll see what's called the knowledge panel. In that knowledge panel are the book jacket and information on where to purchase the book. Recently released in Canada is the ability to see where to borrow the book in different formats. Library collections show up in that knowledge panel when they subscribe to NoveList's Linked Library Service.
This is the first time that physical collections owned by Canadian libraries are also displayed as options. Your community will be able to choose their preferred format of the book and be taken directly to your catalog to put the book on hold. Nothing between you and your readers but a quick Google search. Clicking the 'borrow' link takes people right into your library catalog.
This release last year in the United States has led to over one million clicks for libraries. Metrics like that are available on your library's stats page, where you’ll be able to quickly see how many readers are finding you through Google, through your embedded linked data widgets, and through other integration partners like the Open Library. The stats page helps to measure how visible your library is in the community and is unique to the Linked Library Service.
