I searched for the series about Mitford which I had read quite a while ago.  Looking at  the dropdown title suggestions I was able to determine that the series was actually called the Mitford Years.  I liked how the first book in the series was prominent and then underneath the entire series was listed in order.  This is particularly helpful since most of the time I do a series search it is to see what book comes next or if there are any new additions.

I looked at all the views and determined that it depends on the purpose of the search as to which view is most helpful.  I found the grid to be the one I would use the most.  It showed the covers and I could easily determine which books I had already read.  I could go to the detailed view if I needed to refresh my memory as to what the book was about and had I actually read it.  The list view would be great for parents who have children reading a series and who are trying to keep track.  I would print  it out and post it next to where the series was.  For example students are always asking about the order of the Magic Treehouse series.

2. Using the Read Alikes information could give patrons many options to choose from for their next read.  The little blurb that you see when using the little magniying glass is very helpful; you can quickly see if this author appeals to  you.  For example you many not like political thrillers so you could quickly eliminate those authors. When you find an author that appeals to you, click and you will get all the information about what the author has written.  All the work has been done for  you.  You don't have to have all this in your head because the information for your patron is all right there. It also gives your patron a degree of independence.  Show them this and they can explore it themselves.

3. Being an elementary librarian I did some exploring on Novelist K-8.  Wow, it is just full of information.  I searched "SteamPunk" and was amazed at what I found.  So many books at so many levels and at the bottom of each book you can look at Read alike or author alike.  I could see you using this to compare how your library collection of steampunk matches up with Novelist's.  And you could do this for many genres, subjects etc. The sidebars of the homepage for Novellist K-8 are packed for of great information, too.  I will be using this and telling lots of people about it.