help topic
using the book edit page
librarian change logClicking on this link will allow you to see a page listing all previous edits to the book and its associated editions
add a librarian note
The "add a librarian note" link is located above the Title field on the book edit page. Clicking it will bring up a text box that will allow you to attach a note regarding important information about the book. An important note may be about an ISBN conflict, that the edition is an alternate cover edition, that the book should not be combined with certain books, or anything else pertinent to cataloguing the book in the Goodreads database.
Librarian notes of this type are edition specific and will show up in a yellow box near the top of the book edit page and also in a yellow box below the specific edition on the author's combine page.
If a book has a Librarian Note attached when you go to edit it, please read it carefully and keep it in mind when doing any editing or combining. If a note has you confused, you can always post to the Goodreads Librarians Group and ask for help.
Here is an example of a book with a Librarian Note: LINK
title
Enter in the official title of the book as it is shown on the cover or binding. Use proper capitalization and punctuation (i.e. do not use all-caps or no-caps unless the author specifically formatted the title that way). Make sure to check your spelling since improperly spelled titles may make the book harder to find in the Goodreads database.
If the book is part of a series, that information should be included within parenthesis following the title. The standard accepted format on Goodreads is as follows:
(Series Name, #_)
Regarding the formatting of series information in book titles: many different formats have been used to label a series in the past on Goodreads and it created problems with librarians changing formats back and forth. After a discussion in the Goodreads Librarians Group, it was decided that the best way to format a series label was according to the example above. However, if you see a series labeled in a slightly different format, it is not necessary to re-format the label. The most important thing is that the book at least have a correct series name and volume number. But when adding a new series label, please use the accepted format stated above.
When deciding on what series name to use, it is best to use what the author uses. This can often be found by checking the author's official website. If there doesn't appear to be an official series name, it can be helpful to check the GR database to see how the other books in the series are labeled. If no series name is found, think of a label that best names the series in a descriptive, concise way and use that label for all books in the series. It's important that books in a series be labeled with the same series name so other users will know what books go together.
When numbering books in a series, be sure to number them in the correct, accepted order. The best place to find the correct order is often on the author's official website, or in some cases the cover of the book itself will include a volume number. If it cannot be found there, or the author does not have a site, you may be able to find the information via Wikipedia, FantasticFiction, Fictiondb, Google, or Google Books search. Or you can post in the Goodreads Librarians Group to see if anyone else knows or wants to help. It is often helpful to check multiple places to verify series information before beginning series labeling.
Examples of correct titles with series information:
The Unsung Hero (Troubleshooters, #1)
Bad Penny (Cat Dupree, #3)
Some books belong to more than one series. When that happens use two different sets of parentheses to note the series information.
Example of a book with multiple series:
His Only Obsession (The Protectors, #28) (Silhouette Intimate Moments, #1455)
When a book has a subtitle, the subtitle should separated from the main title by a colon (:) and a single space.
Example:
Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield
When the subtitle is the series name, omit and use the format above.
Example:
Among the Living (PsyCop, #1)
Not:
Among the Living: A PsyCop Novel (PsyCop, #1)
sort by title
This field is for the title that would be used when sorting by title so that articles like "A," "An," and "The" can be excluded.
Examples of sort by titles:
title: The Lawman
sort by title: lawman, the
title: The Unsung Hero (Troubleshooters, #1)
sort by title: unsung hero, the (troubleshooters, #1)
When initially manually adding a new edition to Goodreads, the system will automatically create the sort by title - but only for articles "a," "an," and "the." For titles that start with punctuation or for a translated title that starts with an article such as "la," the sort-by title will need to be manually set. If there is series information present in parenthesis following the title, Goodreads will change the sort by title to:
unsung hero (troubleshooters, #1), the
as opposed to:
unsung here, the (troubleshooters, #1)
Either way is acceptable when manually editing the sort by title.
author
The first author field is for entering the primary author of the book. Be sure to properly spell and capitalize the name or the book will not link to the correct author profile and become harder to find in the GR database. Also, author names should be entered first name last name so they will link to the appropriate author profile on Goodreads. And only one author should be listed per author field.
Correct examples:
Suzanne Brockmann
Catherine Anderson
Incorrect examples:
Brockmann, Suzanne
Anderson Catherine
Suzanne Brockmann and Catherine Anderson
If an author uses initials in their name, the initials should contain NO spacing between them and be marked with a period.
Correct example:
J.D. Robb
Incorrect examples:
JD Robb
J D Robb
J. D. Robb
If an author uses his or her middle name or middle initial for their publications, then this should also be included in the author name. Initials should be followed by a period.
Example:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Authors with titles or degrees (such as Dr., Sir, Ph.D., Captain, Reverend, etc) should NOT be included in the author name (unless necessary to avoid confusion).
Correct example:
Phillip C. McGraw
Incorrect Example:
Dr. Phillip C. McGraw
Authors with a relational suffix (Jr., Sr., III, etc) SHOULD be included in the author name separated ONLY by a space after the last name.
Correct example:
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Incorrect example:
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
If the book does not have a primary author, and instead has an editor, list the editor's name in the author field and click on the "add role" link next to the text box and input the word Editor (or other appropriate title).
Author roles should always be added using the "add role" feature next to the author name, and not by adding it in ( ) following the author name.
For audiobooks or translated editions, this field should list the author of the original work.
Regarding author pseudonyms or pen names - some authors write or have written under multiple names. When editing or adding information for a book written by an author with multiple names, enter the author's name as on the front cover as the primary author. The author's other names may be added in the other author fields. Original name or other pen names can added and linked via a Librarian Note: in the description field, or using the Librarian Note feature located above the Title field. In some cases, a book may be originally published under a pen name, but then later reissued under the author's original name. When this happens, the author listed for any and all editions should be the author name the book was originally published under - so the reissued edition would need its author name changed to the originally published pen name. Doing this will allow the various editions to be combined.
add new author (add role)
If there are multiple authors of a book, or persons with other roles, click on the "add new author" link below the first author field and a new text box will appear. Enter in a second author's name - or editor's, illustrator's, etc name - being sure to use correct spelling an formatting.
For audiobooks or translated editions this field can be used to list narrators or translators.
To label the role of the person listed, click the "add role" link to the right and input the role of the person.
If there is a third author/editor/etc, click the "add new author" link again and input the necessary information. Follow this procedure until all pertinent people are listed.
When a book has multiple authors they should be listed according to the order they show on the cover, if possible. The order also needs to be the same for any/all editions of the same book. This will allow for editions to be combined. If two editions of the same multi-author book do not have the same author listed first, the books can not be combined. So it is important to list multiple authors correctly.
Cover artists should NOT be listed in the author fields. Cover artists may be noted in the description field.
isbn - isbn13
An ISBN is an International Standard Book Number (Wikipedia definition) and is a 10 or 13-digit number that identifies a book. The ISBN can usually be found in several places on a book: on the back cover by the barcode, inside the front cover, and on the copyright page.
When editing book data, it is almost never necessary to alter the ISBN. This should only be done if you are absolutely, positively sure there is an error in the listed ISBN. If you are unsure, you can post to the Goodreads Librarians Group for assistance.
This field will mostly be used when manually adding a new edition to the Goodreads database. When doing this, enter the exact ISBN into the appropriate 10 or 13 digit field on the book edit page. It is best if you can list both the 10 and 13-digit numbers, as it will aid in future searches for the book. If only one is listed on the book itself, you can use the ISBN Converter here to retrieve whichever ISBN is missing.
If, when you save your changes to the book, a message appears telling you that the ISBN you entered is already in the Goodreads database, the problem could be one of several. First, in the red outlined box at the top of the page, there will be a link to the existing book with the ISBN you entered. Go to that link and see if it is the book you were trying to manually enter. If it is, you can simply close the page with the edition you were trying to add then add the existing book to your Goodreads Bookshelves.
However, if the books do not match, it's usually one of two issues. First, if it is the same book but with a different cover, then it is likely the ISBN was reused for a later/earlier reprinting. If that is the case, you can manually add a new edition to the database that would be an 'alternate cover edition.' This is done because as of now, it is not possible to upload multiple covers of a book, and because changing the cover of an existing edition is not ideal. Some people may have added the existing edition with that specific cover because it is the one they own. If you want to have an edition shelved with your specific cover, then it is accepted procedure to create a new edition with your cover art. However, since an ISBN can only be used once in the database, leave the ISBN fields on your new edition blank then in the Description field, add a Librarian's Note: stating that it is an alternate cover edition and state the ISBN. You can also use the Librarian Note feature found near the top of the book edit page to attach a note to the book (this helps prevent the book from accidentally being deleted by a librarian who thinks it is an invalid entry).
Here is an example of an alternate cover edition of a book: LINK
In the other case of duplicate ISBNs, it may be that an ISBN was reused on a complete different book. This shouldn't happen because ISBNs are supposed to be unique, but exceptions have been found. If that is the case, manually add a new edition to the database, leaving the ISBN field blank then in the Description field, add a note stating the issue with the ISBN and listing the actual ISBN. You can also use the Librarian Note feature found near the top of the book edit page to attach a note to the book (this helps prevent the book from accidentally being deleted by a librarian who thinks it is an invalid entry).
Here is an example of a book where an ISBN was reused on a completely different book: LINK
It is important never to alter an ISBN simply to get a book to save (if getting an ISBN error when trying to save). ISBNs are specific numbers associated with specific books. Changing those numbers can make identifying the book difficult and cause problems for the Goodreads database. So always enter the correct ISBN. If there is a problem with the ISBN already being used, see the above sections for other methods of adding a book when there is an ISBN conflict, or post a message in the Goodreads Librarians Group asking for help.
PLEASE NOTE: Whenever manually adding a new edition to the Goodreads database, it is important to fill in as much information as possible. This will help not only other users who may want to add that specific edition to their bookshelves, but it will also help ensure that another librarian does not delete it thinking it is an invalid entry.
ALSO NOTE: ISBNs were not used until 1966 and did not become widely used until the early-to-mid 70's, so books published before or around that time do not have an ISBN - though it is possible for a pre-ISBN book to become associated with an ISBN due to an ISBN being added when/if another printing of the edition occurred after the initiation of ISBNs. Pre-ISBN books can be added to Goodreads by manually adding a new edition, leaving the ISBN field blank and adding note to the description stating it is a pre-ISBN book. The book may have another identifying number such as an ASIN or LCCN and those can be added to the note as well. A note can also be added using the Librarian Note feature linked near the top of the book edit page. An ASIN, LCCN or other identifying number should never be entered into the ISBN fields.
