A “pika,” according to the introduction, is a rodent that inhabits the Rockies and Yukon. In addition, PIKA serves as the mascot for the searchable database of 35,000 children's literature titles held in the National Library of Canada's collection. These titles comprise books written by Canadian authors from the nineteenth century to the present. Literature in English and French as well as Chinese, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish is included. To facilitate searching the database subject headings for children's fiction were created by the National Library of Canada. Recent titles have been enriched by summaries and cover art provided by the Canadian Children's Book Centre and Communication‐Jeunesse.
Once past the introductory material, users will quickly realize that PIKA is essentially the National Library of Canada (NLC) online public access catalogue limited to their children's literature collection. As it is a catalogue, the pages load very quickly with a minimum of graphics. The expected search options such as “Any keyword”, “Title/series keyword”, “Name keyword”, “Subject keyword”, and “Publisher's name” as well as ISBN and ISSN are included. As the database is produced by NLC, the AMICUS number is also searchable. Searches may be limited by year or language. Unfortunately, advanced search options such as Boolean searching are not yet available. PIKA includes a help page that provides basic search instructions and information on how to save selected items. The catalogue functions allow users to e‐mail selected items. Printing items and saving to disk are possible via Web browser functions.
Each record in PIKA contains the full bibliographic information for each title and holdings information for the NLC. To obtain books found in PIKA, users will need to search local library catalogues. Users may find PIKA most useful for creating topical reading lists based on the enhanced records containing the children's literature subject headings.
In addition to the main database, several additional useful gems are hidden under “Related sites”. Links are provided to several children's literature databases in Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia. Particularly useful is the link to the National Library of Canada's reading programme “Read up on it”, which provides annotated topical reading lists from the annual reading promotion.
The introductory material, featuring the PIKA mascot, creates the impression that the database is designed for children to use. Children, particularly in the early grades, will need assistance using this resource. Adults who work with children, including librarians, teachers, parents, and others, will find this resource extremely useful. The introductory material states that future enhancements and upgrades are planned. Recommended upgrades are the inclusion of advanced search capabilities and more information on the children's literature subject headings. Overall, PIKA's focus on Canadian children's literature will open new adventures in reading for children around the world.
