How to Find Books in a Series

Picture this: you’ve found a great book series that you’re breezing through, just finished Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade, part of the Discworld series, and come to the library to get the next book… but was it Carpe Jugulum or Feet of Clay? Well, that particular answer gets a little bit complicated depending on preference and who you ask, but most series should be fairly straight-forward. The library gives you access to many tools to help you pick up the next book without any timeline-jumping required. 

Here are a few of our favorite ways to find the next book in a series.

CPL Catalog series
This screenshot of the Canton Public Library catalog shows the next books in a series.

Canton Public Library Catalog 

The easiest way is to start right where you are—at the Canton Public Library website. For many books, when you’re looking at the item, the catalog will list the titles in the series under the header “In the same series:…” A click on “View all >” will reveal all the items in the series, in order, and you can click right on the cover to see if we have it available or to place a hold.

Kent District Library's What's Next?

A very powerful database created and maintained by the Kent District Library, KDL’s What’s Next database lets you search for books by an author's first and/or last name, series, or an individual title that you have, providing lots of starting points based on what you remember. Each result has a printer-friendly book list option, so you can print out your series in order and mark it off, bring it with you to the library, or however else you find useful. 

Fantastic Fiction  

Similar to KDL’s What’s Next, Fantastic Fiction offers an extensive database that lets you find the order of a series, as well as recommended similar books. It also provides many ways to browse through new books and series.'

Libby Series
The blue markings show the order of a book in a series on the Libby app.

Libby 

For e-book users, Libby has you covered right in the app. For most items in a series, there will be an indicator of the book's order number right above the title. More details of how this works in Libby is available through Libby Help.

Novelist Plus

The most powerful tool of all, Novelist Plus is a database that shows series order, read-alikes and recommended titles, reader and professional reviews, discussion guides, and more. You can browse genres and moods, see book lists inspired by all sorts of themes (like a list for adult fans of Encanto), and create your own list with their “Appeal Mixer,” combining themes like “intricately plotted and compelling” or “world-building and descriptive.” Novelist Plus also has information for books in different age ranges and Lexile levels.