diff --git a/internal/router/frontend.go b/internal/router/frontend.go
index 4d495a1..3accf2b 100644
--- a/internal/router/frontend.go
+++ b/internal/router/frontend.go
@@ -175,7 +175,6 @@ func registerFrontendRoutes(cfg *Config) {
 		}
 
 		// Fetch first page of books for SSR
-		var books []database.SearchMediaItemsUnifiedRow
 		var bookInfoList []handlers.BookInfo
 		totalCount := 0
 		limit := 50
@@ -195,42 +194,49 @@ func registerFrontendRoutes(cfg *Config) {
 						offset = o
 					}
 				}
-
-				books, err = cfg.Queries.SearchMediaItemsUnified(c.Request().Context(), database.SearchMediaItemsUnifiedParams{
-					LibraryID:      pgtype.UUID{Bytes: libUUID, Valid: true},
-					UserID:         pgtype.UUID{Bytes: userUUID, Valid: true},
-					AuthorFilter:   pgtype.Text{String: "", Valid: true},  // Changed: Valid=true for empty string
-					SeriesFilter:   pgtype.Text{String: "", Valid: true},  // Changed
-					GenreFilter:    pgtype.Text{String: "", Valid: true},  // Changed
-					LanguageFilter: pgtype.Text{String: "", Valid: true},  // Changed
-					YearMin:        pgtype.Int4{Int32: 0, Valid: true},    // Changed: use 0 as default
-					YearMax:        pgtype.Int4{Int32: 0, Valid: true},    // Changed
-					HasCover:       pgtype.Bool{Bool: false, Valid: true}, // Changed
-					SearchQuery:    pgtype.Text{String: "", Valid: true},  // NEW: Required
-					IsExactSearch:  pgtype.Bool{Bool: false, Valid: true}, // NEW: Required
-					// SearchPattern:  pgtype.Text{Valid: false},             // NEW: Empty for no exact search
-					Sort:   pgtype.Text{String: "created_at DESC", Valid: true},
-					Limit:  pgtype.Int4{Int32: int32(limit), Valid: true},
-					Offset: pgtype.Int4{Int32: int32(offset), Valid: true},
-				})
-
+				// Convert user.ID (string) to pgtype.UUID for service layer
+				userUUID, err := uuid.Parse(user.ID)
 				if err != nil {
-					log.Printf("SearchMediaItemsUnified failed: %v", err)
+					log.Printf("Failed to parse user ID: %v", err)
+					return renderErrorPage(c, "Error loading user", "user_id_error")
+				}
+				// Build search params (same as search.go:76-91)
+				params := services.SearchParams{
+					UserID:         pgtype.UUID{Bytes: userUUID, Valid: true},
+					LibraryID:      pgtype.UUID{Bytes: libUUID, Valid: true},
+					SearchQuery:    "", // Empty for initial SSR load
+					AuthorFilter:   "",
+					SeriesFilter:   "",
+					GenreFilter:    "",
+					TagsFilter:     "",
+					LanguageFilter: "",
+					YearMin:        0,
+					YearMax:        0,
+					HasCover:       false,
+					Sort:           "created_at DESC",
+					Limit:          limit,
+					Offset:         offset,
+				}
+				// Execute search using the same handler as API (search.go:93)
+				var results []database.SearchMediaItemsUnifiedRow
+				results, totalCount, err = cfg.MediaHandler.ExecuteSearch(c.Request().Context(), params)
+				if err != nil {
+					log.Printf("ExecuteSearch failed: %v", err)
 					// Continue without books - will show empty state
 				} else {
-					// Convert database rows to BookInfo structs (matching BuildSections pattern)
-					bookInfoList = make([]handlers.BookInfo, len(books))
-					for i, book := range books {
+					// Convert to BookInfo (same as search.go:99-109)
+					bookInfoList = make([]handlers.BookInfo, len(results))
+					for i, book := range results {
 						bookUUID, _ := uuid.FromBytes(book.ID.Bytes[0:16])
 						bookLibUUID, _ := uuid.FromBytes(book.LibraryID.Bytes[0:16])
 						bookInfoList[i] = handlers.BookInfo{
 							MediaItemID:    bookUUID.String(),
 							Title:          book.Title,
-							Author:         getText(book.Author),
+							Author:         textToString(book.Author),
 							CoverImagePath: utils.ResolveMediaURL(pgtype.UUID{Bytes: bookLibUUID, Valid: true}, book.CoverImagePath),
 						}
 					}
-					totalCount = len(bookInfoList)
+					log.Printf("SSR: fetched %d books for library %s", len(bookInfoList), libraryID)
 				}
 			}
 		}