Overview of the CLEF 2016 Social Book Search Lab

The Social Book Search (SBS) Lab investigates book search in scenarios where users search with more than just a query, and look for more than objective metadata. Real-world information needs are generally complex, yet almost all research focuses instead on either relatively simple search based on queries, or on profile-based recommendation. The goal is to research and develop techniques to support users in complex book search tasks. The SBS Lab has three tracks. The aim of the Suggestion Track is to develop test collections for evaluating ranking effectiveness of book retrieval and recommender systems. The aim of the Interactive Track is to develop user interfaces that support users through each stage during complex search tasks and to investigate how users exploit professional metadata and user-generated content. The Mining Track focuses on detecting and linking book titles in online book discussion forums, as well as detecting book search research in forum posts for automatic book recommendation.