How to add foreign book from publisher without a website?

[Irene]

Hello!
I used to sometimes add Korean language books to Goodreads for a neighbor, and am attempting to submit a request to add some more, but a large percentage of books in Korea are either self-published or published by small independent presses that don't have their own websites, so the only webpages where information about these books can be found are Korean retail websites. Are exceptions made for books from smaller countries, or is there not a way to upload the covers and info to goodreads without purchasing the books myself to scan the covers?

Here is an example of a book I would like to add: http://www.kyobobook.co.kr/product/de... . The publisher's website says "coming soon" with no other information: http://lighthousein.co.kr/

Thank you!

[rivka, Former Moderator]

Irene wrote: "is there not a way to upload the covers and info to goodreads without purchasing the books myself to scan the covers? "

If they are your neighbor's books, you can borrow them. The cover scan or photo needs to be taken by you of a book in your possession. But the possession can be temporary. Library books and other borrowed books are fine for this purpose as well.

[Irene]

I don't live in the same state anymore, so I guess I'll ask her to send me photos since low-quality images sound better than nothing. But for the other data (I saw the recommended form for book add requests with stuff like publication date, description, etc) can that be pulled from retail websites? Or would that have to be left blank if we can't find it in the books themselves?

(For background: I don't speak/read Korean, I just copy & paste and use google translate so it's not easy for me to find these books from a library as they're not super popular even in Korea. There's also the issue of there not being any Korean-language libraries in the United States as far as I know, though there are some bookstores.)

[lethe]

Can't your (ex-)neighbour give you the book details, following the form for book add requests?

[Irene]

Hi Lethe. My question still stands: for anything we can't find from the book itself, can it be pulled from retail sites, or should that be left blank in the request form? I am trying to follow the correct procedure.

I do apologize for tagging on a second question to this thread if I should have started a new one! And for bringing up specific personal details (my neighbor) when what I was seeking was the generic answer for all added book requests (such as "no, it's against the rules to pull publication info from retail sites if they are not in the book"). I am just trying to ask more generally about the procedure of adding books to Goodreads because whether or not details from a book can be obtained from retail websites is relevant outside of this very specific case as well.

But to answer your question, I listed examples like publication date and description because the full publication date is sometimes not in the book - I have tried to add books before where I was only able to find the year within the physical book, but was available online. And with the book description, if my neighbor sends pictures of the back of the book/flap, I will not be able to type up the description since it's not a language I know so I am wondering if I can get it from a retailer's website. We're talking about a language barrier with a woman in her 80s so I'm asking this as a hypothetical in case I can't get all the details from the book. But again, my question was meant to be more general and not only about this case with my neighbor. I know it's not super important to add all these books, it's just a hobby and this is the first time I'm attempting to do this without having the physical book (and person I'm helping) in front of me.

[lethe]

No, info not in the book may not be obtained from a retail site (except Amazon, AbeBooks and Book Depository). Library sites are generally OK (including Worldcat, although we may not take covers from there).

If the description on a retail site is the same as the one on the back cover, I personally see no harm in copy/pasting it. After all, the info is in the book and nobody can tell you didn't type it out yourself.