Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

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message 1: by Alison Rose (new)

Alison Rose (alisonroseisreading) | 330 comments I've noticed in recent weeks that it generally takes much longer for librarians to respond to/handle requests (my specific experience is in the page numbering requests section). It used to be that anytime I posted a correction request, it would be handled within a few hours at most. Now, posts are often left for 2-3 days or more, and sometimes I see brand new posts being responded to while many other older ones are still left unanswered.

I completely understand that librarians are volunteers who have lives outside of GR, and certainly don't expect immediate responses. But it's just become unclear to me what the policy is for how to respond to posts, in what order, etc. And myself and others have often had to bump up our own posts in order to get a response.

Are there fewer folks on hand to respond to requests? For those who are still here, shouldn't the oldest posts be handled first, rather than new ones? Obviously, correcting page numbers isn't of monumental urgency, but there's a lack of transparency about the practices that it would be nice to have cleared up.

Thanks for all the work you all do, truly! GR is a better place for all of your efforts :)


message 2: by Emily (last edited Jan 30, 2019 07:33PM) (new)

Emily | 17621 comments There aren't any practices or policies on responding to posts or on the order in which they are addressed. We have no idea how many librarians there are or how many are active. Anecdotally speaking, only a very small percentage of librarians are active on the message boards. The others work on whatever book or author records they seek out.

Some people do or don't do certain types of requests based on preference/interest. Sometimes people work forwards or backwards or skip posts. Posts are sometimes missed inadvertently due to volume.
Fewer people could be working on that section (or someone who used to do them more often stopped). It could be anything.

The best thing to do (anecdotally speaking) is just bump your post after 1-2 days.


message 3: by Alison Rose (new)

Alison Rose (alisonroseisreading) | 330 comments Emily wrote: "There aren't any practices or policies on responding to posts or on the order in which they are addressed. We have no idea how many librarians there are or how many are active. Anecdotally speaking..."

Thanks for this info. I didn't realize it was as loose as it is, I suppose, but I understand why it is. And I didn't know if bumping our own posts was seen as like......pushy or something, lol. Good to know it's okay to do!


message 4: by Emily (new)

Emily | 17621 comments Yes, it is much better to bump them (as long as it is not really often)! No bother!


message 5: by Alyce (new)

Alyce Caswell (alycecaswell) | 159 comments Apologies for bumping an old post, but I'm finding this so frustrating at the moment. I've had better luck making an entirely new post which gets answered in 2 hours, while the older request continues to move further and further back in the board until it's been a week. I don't like having to make a new post because it clogs things up.

Librarians, please check page 2 in each board first. :(


message 6: by Emily (last edited Jun 07, 2019 09:33PM) (new)

Emily | 17621 comments Feel free to bump your post once every day. Some of us go back through past pages regularly. It is very confusing when trying to address a post that has already been completed, either by staff or librarians, so it is best to bump your older post.


message 7: by Alyce (new)

Alyce Caswell (alycecaswell) | 159 comments Emily wrote: "Feel free to bump your post once every day. Some of us go back through past pages regularly. It is very confusing when trying to address a post that has already been completed, either by staff or l..."

Oh I always delete the older post. :) I'm not that evil lol


message 8: by Sandra (last edited Jun 08, 2019 12:01AM) (new)

Sandra | 31515 comments We never delete posts in the Librarian Group.

If you like you can mark it done or if it isn't you can say you've created a new post.


message 9: by Alyce (last edited Jun 08, 2019 12:17AM) (new)

Alyce Caswell (alycecaswell) | 159 comments I was unaware of this rule. My apologies. I think I'll leave this stuff to you guys in future. :)


message 10: by Emily (new)

Emily | 17621 comments If I see a post that has been bumped a couple times I am more likely to address it since the poster has been waiting.


message 11: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16368 comments Emily wrote: "Feel free to bump your post once every day. Some of us go back through past pages regularly. It is very confusing when trying to address a post that has already been completed, either by staff or l..."

I'd say every couple of days at most :) Personally, I get annoyed if people bump too soon.


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