The computer stations, randomly scattered throughout the store, give you all the information you need to find what you want. There are different categories to help ease your search as well. You can search by title, author, subject, keyword, or even ISBN. I've only found the ISBN to help me when I look for textbooks, but if you happen to have the ISBN number for the book you're looking for it would be extremely useful. On countless occasions this computer system has saved me an hour of wandering and guess work.
I can actually remember one time this summer my friend and I had heard about this book called "Smoke Screen". When we typed "Smoke Screen" into the title search it turns out that there are quite a few books with that title. Thankfully the "subject" and "keyword" functions helped us out and we quickly found the book we were looking for. Along with the ease of locating books, the computer system also lets you know right away if the book is available in the store. If the book isn't in stock you can find out which other store locations have it or you have the option of ordering it. This feature is nice because you don't end up wasting your time looking for a book that isn't currently in stock.
Overall, I definitely think that this technology is user friendly. I have a lot of first hand experience with the Barnes and Noble computer kiosks and I give them an A+ for usability. The system has made my shopping experiences more enjoyable and a lot of my friends feel the same way. Technology can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. In my case, the Barnes and Noble computer kiosks turned out to be a saving grace.
I bet those computers are a big help. Acutally now that I think about it, I couldn't imagine searching through such a large store without some sort of computer system. I shop at Barnes and Noble on occation. I usually go there when I'm looking for a book on a specific topic, but I don't have the specific book picked out yet. Whenever I'm looking for a specific book, or a book from a specific author, I usually check online first. I find that I can usually get a book cheaper online.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine the relief that the store worker must feel from having such a system. If I'm in Barnes and Noble looking for a specific book, I'm usually quick to find someone who works there and ask them. I'm not about to spend an hour looking for a book through all of those different sections. What do I look like. A librarian?
As a fellow English major and a lover of books, I too have spent several hours in Barnes and Noble looking for things to read. When I know the book I'm looking for, I either head to the section it would be in, or go to the information desk and get helped.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I remember saying to myself years ago that they should have computers like they do in libraries. Sometimes I want to find a new book or series to read, but you can't really tell what a book is about by the cover, or there are things that might be hidden or in other sections of the store. The computer kiosks that let you search by subject would be great! I hope these are in every store!
Michelle, I did realize Barnes & Noble had these kiosks. I found myself hesitant to go to the brick-and-mortor store because I always found shopping online to be a more efficient way of finding a book. With these kiosks, however, it sounds like Barnes & Noble is bringing part of the online shopping experience into their stores. I think it's a great idea because, as you pointed out, you may not know how a book is categorized but you will probably know the book title or author.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Barnes & Noble bookstores are very helpful when you are looking for a specific title.
ReplyDeleteNot only are the kiosks specific, but the categorization of the book genres are a great help as well. Wandering through the top floor of a Barnes & Noble I can usually find what I want (according to genre) almost immediately. Of course, since there is a large selection and I do not always know the name of the author, the kiosks definitely come in handy to narrow down a search.
Also, knowing that the book is not available at that store but at a different location is extremely convenient instead of going online and searching for an hour for which store you should go to and not even positive they have the book in stock.