Abstract

Book recommendations in libraries can be used as a tool to help users with vague needs browse and select books. Therefore, libraries spend a lot of time and effort to introduce various materials to their users and recommend suitable books. Meanwhile, various organizations other than libraries also publish recommended reading lists, and these lists reflect the intentions of the entity that selects the recommended books. The purpose of this study is finding out how the recommended book lists of libraries differ from the recommended reading lists of non-library organizations. To achieve this, the study limited the scope to ‘teenagers’, who are the main target audience for book recommendations in many organizations, and compared the recommended book lists of libraries and non-library organizations in terms of (1) the selection criteria for recommended books, (2) the characteristics of recommended books, and (3) the way of providing recommended book lists. Through this analysis, the study identified the characteristics and limitations of library recommended book lists and discussed areas for improvement.