help topic
using the book edit page: work-specific data
original publication yearThis field is for entering the date at which the work was originally first published. For example, if you are editing a 3rd edition of book XYZ, published in 2009, but the 1st edition was published in 1985, the original publication date would be 1985. Determining the original publication date can often be done by checking the copyright page of the book and seeing when it was copyrighted.
Original publication date will populate through every edition combined with the edition you are working on.
characters
The characters area can be used for listing the important characters of a book. To edit this area, click on the "edit characters" link. This will take you to a new page where you can enter new characters or edit existing ones. Characters should be entered one at a time using full names, if possible. Some characters are used through multiple books, so please be sure to enter character names the same way for each book. Always use correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization. If a character has a nickname, you can include the name in "" between the first and last name.
Correct examples:
John Smith
Jane Doe
John "Mac" Smith
Incorrect examples:
John Smith & Jane Doe
John Smith and Jane Doe
John Smith / Jane Doe
Keep in mind that the characters you enter should be critical characters to the story. It is not necessary to list every name you come across, only the ones of most importance.
Characters will populate through every edition combined with the edition you are working on.
NOTE: be sure to save any existing edits to the book before clicking to the "edit characters" link.
literary awards
In this field you can list any literary awards the book has won. If the book has won more than one award, list the various awards separated by commas.
Literary awards will populate through every edition combined with the edition you are working on.
setting
The setting field is for noting what location(s) the book takes place in.
Setting will populate through every edition combined with the edition you are working on.
change comment
The change comment text box is for adding a reason about WHY you made a specific change to a book. This is to help other librarians understand changes made to a book that may not make sense.
If you are simply ADDING information to a book that was previously lacking it, you can say "adding additional information" or "adding a description" or anything of the like.
However, if you are CHANGING existing information, especially information already edited by another librarian then it is important to state WHY you are making the changes. For example, if you are renumbering a series or changing the series name, it is extremely important to say why so that other librarians will understand. So if you use a series list on an author's website to renumber a series, then state that and give a link to the website in the change comment box. This type of information will hopefully prevent the often encountered problems of multiple librarians changing information back and forth on books.
Remember, that if you are ever in doubt of a change you are considering making on a book, you can always post a question to the Goodreads Librarians Group and ask for help.
librarian comment - add a comment
This section is a discussion area for the specific edition you are editing. It can be used for librarians to discuss any issues regarding the information available for a book and functions similar to discussion topics in Groups.
If you have a question of a concern about available information for a specific edition, you can click on the "add a comment" link and type in a comment regarding you concern or question. The comment will then be attached to the bottom of the book page and be visible to and available for discussion by other librarians who go into that book's edit page.
PLEASE BE AWARE: that your comment will only get a response if another librarian sees the comment and chooses to respond to it. So if no other librarian goes to the book's edit page for a long time, you comment will not get a quick response. If you have an urgent problem regarding a book, it is best to post to the Goodreads Librarians Group.
upload photo
This section is for uploading the front cover image of the book. The only image that should be uploaded is the specific cover associated with the ISBN of the book you are editing. If there is an existing cover that does not match your book, please see the section on ISBNs regarding multiple covers for one ISBN. Existing covers should rarely be deleted and only done if you absolutely know that cover is in no way associated with that ISBN. When in doubt, you can always post a question to the Goodreads Librarians Group and ask for help.
Cover images uploaded should only be an image of the actual front cover (which will typically have title and author on it), and should not be an image of the art used to later create the book cover.
upload ebook with format
Here you can select to upload an ebook of specific format. Ebooks should only be uploaded if it is legal to do so.
Refresh book data from Amazon (or Barnes&Noble)
Clicking this link will refresh the book data to the default information available from Amazon (or Barnes&Noble). This function should be used carefully because it will overwrite much of the existing data for a book (such as series information, dates, publisher, page number, description, etc).
Refresh book rating stats
Clicking this link will recalculate the statistics for a book (number of reviews, average rating). This is helpful to do if you notice the statistics do not seem right.
Some general suggestions for entering/editing book data:
* Always think twice before changing existing data.
* Follow the guidelines above as closely as possible.
* If you are unsure why something is listed the way it is, you can check the "librarian change log" for the book (linked on the right side of the page below the book cover area). The log will tell you what edits were previously done on the book. If no prior edits are listed, it is likely fine to make the changes you feel necessary. If there are other edits, you may want to read through the edits to see what was changed, and if any of the changes contradict a change you planned to make, you may want to either send a personal message to the librarian who made the change to discuss the reasons for it, or post to the Goodreads Librarians Group to ask for help in finding a solution.
