Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
Policies & Practices
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Librarians: please do not merge into the default
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For an example of the issue, see herehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
where a translator for another edition (Persian) is appearing in an English one
Yes, if you look at the changelog for that edition you'll see that a Persian edition was merged into the English default.![annob [on hiatus] (annob) | 4048 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1674812294p1/68231680.jpg)
Moloch, your link is a good example of what Lethe is concerned about. Perhaps you can leave it unedited a day or two?
annob wrote: "Moloch, your link is a good example of what Lethe is concerned about. Perhaps you can leave it unedited a day or two?"Ok
post #2 edited
Oops, just now I merged an edition with no discerning information (just title, author and language) into a default edition. Turns out the default is an audiobook, so probably not the version the reviewers have read :oSo maybe even when there is no discerning information we should check the edition's reviews for clues as to the format??
Honestly? Too much bother: if someone adds an edition with no details at all (to the database or to their library), to me it means they don't really care about having the exact edition, so why should I? IMO
Moloch wrote: "Honestly? Too much bother: if someone adds an edition with no details at all (to the database or to their library), to me it means they don't really care about having the exact edition, so why shou..."You are right, of course :)
So what should really be done, is to check the default after merge and edit, if necessary?
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "So what should really be done, is to check the default after merge and edit, if necessary?"No, what should really be done is to merge with the correct edition.
I.e. don't merge a translation with the original, but with the translation it is a duplicate of.
And an audiobook with the audiobook it is a duplicate of.
In fact, whenever there is discerning information (could be a specific publisher, hardcover/paperback/ebook), merge with the correct version.
lethe wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "So what should really be done, is to check the default after merge and edit, if necessary?"No, what should really be done is to merge with the correct edition."
Well, yes, of course. We shouldn't even have to say "please" in Post #1.
Here is the manual on the issue, where merging is addressed immediately following the combine paragraph:
https://help.goodreads.com/s/article/...
I'm fully behind Lethe's instruction in msg #10, but as an added precaution I always delete all names listed in the author fields (except the primary one) on the book record I intend to delete. That way I can make sure no name is incorrectly transferred to the merge target edition.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "lethe wrote: "(...) No, what should really be done is to merge with the correct edition."Well, yes, of course. We shouldn't even have to say "please" in Post #1."
😀
Unfortunately, the reality is that many librarians just merge into the default (and I suspect some of them have never even given the manual a glance). I can only hope that the merged edition wasn't shelved by anybody, but even that is not certain.
I have come across posts in this group where the poster suddenly had an English edition on their shelves instead of the Chinese (or whatever language) one they had actually shelved.
Now the manual has become a lot less accessible (not only because it is hidden away on the Help pages, but also because it is less logically structured than before), I fear even fewer librarians actually check the manual. (But hopefully, for new would-be librarians the Application Quiz will help with that.)
annob wrote: "as an added precaution I always delete all names listed in the author fields (except the primary one) on the book record I intend to delete. That way I can make sure no name is incorrectly transferred to the merge target edition."Unless the merge target does not have all the contributors listed 😉
lethe wrote: "Now the manual has become a lot less accessible (not only because it is hidden away on the Help pages, but also because it is less logically structured than before),"The librarian manual link on the librarian group home page is in exactly the same place and is the way I always accessed it. There is a bit less clarity in structure, but the search function is greatly improved.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "There is a bit less clarity in structure, but the search function is greatly improved."I am glad to hear it, but that only works if you know what you're looking for. For librarians whose grasp of English is not that good, it may be a problem to use the correct search terms.
Edited.
lethe wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Same problem by same librarian 😬"Let's not point fingers, though. They are not the only culprit (unfortunately!)."
When you see edit(s) against policy, feel free to flag them. I don't know what staff does with these, but I'm hoping that an accumulation of edits against policy by the same librarian will be noticed and acted upon.
lethe wrote: "For librarians whose grasp of English is not that good, it may be a problem to use the correct search terms."I'm not sure I understand how that is different from before. You still had to understand English to understand the manual. And, frankly, some parts of the manual were not clear on the previous format. Sometimes when I used my browser's find feature, I couldn't find what I was looking for.
Mod
In fact, I'd like any references to specific librarians removed from this thread, please.
Edit: Thank you for taking care of this.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm not sure I understand how that is different from before. You still had to understand English to understand the manual. And, frankly, some parts of the manual were not clear on the previous format."Agreed, but what I mean is that previously, you could browse the topic headers and reasonably easily know where to look. The topic headers were all on one page and there was a certain logic to the way they were ordered.
In the new manual, there is no rhyme or reason to the way the topics are presented.
- Manual topics are alternated with questions on applications or the quiz.
- Not all topics are visible at first glance, you have to click 'Load More' five times and scroll a lot.
- The very first article is on NAB'ing, which is hardly a basic procedure, and certainly not something we would like new librarians to start with.
- Etc. etc.
The only way I can find anything in there, is indeed by using the search function. No more browsing, which makes it more difficult if you are uncertain about what search terms to use.
True: but you can search by "librarian manual" and get this:https://help.goodreads.com/s/global-s...
I note it says "sorted by relevance" and I'm not sure how they've determined that. Still, they are not interspersed with questions.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "True: but you can search by "librarian manual" and get this:https://help.goodreads.com/s/global-s...
I note it says "sorted by relevance" and I'm not sure how they've determ..."
Yes, that does look a little better than the actual Librarian Manual "folder".
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "The librarian manual link on the librarian group home page is in exactly the same place and is the way I always accessed it."What I had forgot to add is that I cannot access the new Help pages from my (elderly) iPad, only from my laptop. I have heard from someone else with an older computer they also get a blank screen when they try to access Help. I don't know if there are others with the same problem.
(The gist of the answer from Support was that I needed to upgrade my iPad.)
Hard to tell about that one, Lethe. I have a Win7 desktop computer that is 7 years old. I just got an iPad and the first thing it wanted to do was upgrade. But I have Chrome installed on it, so Goodreads looks pretty much the same as far as reading and getting links. Of course I can't actually do librarian edits, but that's not what it's for.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Of course I can't actually do librarian edits, but that's not what it's for."It is possible to do librarian edits on an iPad, but it's more cumbersome than on a laptop or desktop computer.
lethe wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Of course I can't actually do librarian edits, but that's not what it's for."It is possible to do librarian edits on an iPad, but it's more cumbersome than on a laptop ..."
I think I won't learn how to copy/paste, which most of the librarian edits I do require.
Due to a long-standing bug, any secondary authors are moved to the merge target. If source and target are in different languages and/or formats, this means that f.e. translators and narrators are moved to editions where they don't belong, causing confusion and very strange-looking records.
Therefore, please first separate the duplicate and the edition it is a duplicate of, and then merge and recombine, even if the duplicate has no shelvings.
Thank you!