Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

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message 1: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (last edited Mar 07, 2023 07:26PM) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Jaclyn, sometimes there is a question about where to put author issues. They’ve always gone in the Book iIssues folder, but I can understand the confusion. Perhaps we could changhe the name of that folder to Book/Author Issues. Or at least something that will let members know they can post issues that deal only with authors in the same folder as Book Issues.


message 2: by Renske (new)

Renske | 12223 comments I understand the confusion too.

And as we're talking about folder titles, I think 'Help me, Superlibrarian!' is also not ideal as it is seems some people think it is the place to ask for any kind of help.


message 3: by annob [on hiatus] (last edited Mar 08, 2023 02:24AM) (new)

annob [on hiatus] (annob) | 4048 comments It's good to see suggestions of improvement, but I vote strongly against using the slash '/' in the folder names.

Perhaps the 'General' folder could be renamed 'Other' since it's not much used, or when it is used it's incorrectly placed posts most of the time. But personally I don't think author posts are a big enough problem to warrant a new solution.


message 4: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Renske wrote: "I understand the confusion too.

And as we're talking about folder titles, I think 'Help me, Superlibrarian!' is also not ideal as it is seems some people think it is the place to ask for any kind ..."


Yes, and the "Closed" thread still sees (mostly non-anglophone) people posting there.


message 5: by Renske (last edited Mar 08, 2023 03:55AM) (new)

Renske | 12223 comments Maybe 'Book and author issues' to avoid the slash?

The 'general' folder doesn't work like the other folders, I tested it in an other group. Any thread made without selecting a real folder goes automatically to general, it is not a folder that can be renamed or removed.


annob [on hiatus] (annob) | 4048 comments Renske wrote: "Maybe 'Book and author issues' to avoid the slash?"

I think that will make authors post any issue in that folder, including page number, cover art and series requests. I think the current name 'Book Issues' is perfect, it's the best working folder in the group with a high degree of accurately placed requests.

Good to know about the 'General' folder, I withdraw that suggestion.


message 7: by annob [on hiatus] (last edited Mar 08, 2023 06:04AM) (new)

annob [on hiatus] (annob) | 4048 comments Corinne wrote: "Hi annob, I don't have an opinion against or for but am curious as to why you strongly recommend avoiding the slash '/'"

Hi :) Mainly personal preference. Perhaps due to my native language is non-English, reading a slash as a word doesn't come naturally to me. It disrupts my reading flow. If the suggestion is approved I'd much prefer an ampersand, similar to "Policies & Practices".


Elizabeth (Alaska) annob wrote: "If the suggestion is approved I'd much prefer an ampersand, similar to "Policies & Practices".
"


Yes, thank you. I thought about it later and I quite agree. An ampersand or the word And would make it clearer.


☕ Lachgas ♿  (lachgas) | 9386 comments wouldn't be author profile or author name issues be better?
only "author issues" might make people think it's a folder for authors


message 10: by Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ (last edited Mar 08, 2023 10:58AM) (new)

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂  | 2311 comments Renske wrote: "I understand the confusion too.

And as we're talking about folder titles, I think 'Help me, Superlibrarian!' is also not ideal as it is seems some people think it is the place to ask for any kind ..."


I think people sometimes think, "Well those are the best librarians, that is who I want to do my page count!"

How about "Please merge these books, Superlibrarian." since that is what that folder is mainly for.


message 11: by Scott (new)

Scott | 8824 comments "Your topic on 25,000 Pyramid, Things That Require a Superlibrarian..."


message 12: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (last edited Mar 08, 2023 11:13AM) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Re: the Superlibrarian folder

The issues that need to be posted to that folder are really issues only librarians encounter. So some sort of wording that indicates only librarians should post to that folder. I don't know what that wording should be.


message 13: by Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ (last edited Mar 08, 2023 11:26AM) (new)

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂  | 2311 comments Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Re: the Superlibrarian folder

The issues that need to be posted to that folder are really issues only librarians encounter. So some sort of wording that indicates only librarians should post to th..."


There a couple of knowledgeable members who do correctly post there. But honestly I think any title (including Scott's 😁) would be better than the present one.


message 14: by Jaclyn, Librarian Program Manager (new)

Jaclyn (jaclyn_w) | 6004 comments Mod
I'm considering:

- Book & author page issues
- Help me, Superlibrarian! (specific requests only, e.g. merging)

Thoughts?

While we're here, does anyone have concerns about removing the Trivia and Quizzes folders? Those features no longer exist so the folders are just creating noise in the dropdowns.


message 15: by Renske (new)

Renske | 12223 comments I would go for something boring like 'requests for superlibrarians'. The 'help me' bit is what I would like to remove.

I can't think of an information in Trivia and Quizzes folders that would still be important. (There is not even much in those folders, just over 40 threads each.)


message 16: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (last edited Mar 10, 2023 07:01AM) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Jaclyn wrote: "
While we're here, does anyone have concerns about removing the Trivia and..."


None at all. I had forgotten they exist! ;-)

Will you archive the posts in them or just delete those old posts?


message 17: by L J (new)

L J | 625 comments Jaclyn wrote: "I'm considering...

does anyone have concerns about removing the Trivia and Quizzes folders? Those features no longer exist so the folders are just creating noise in the dropdowns."


What about locking and moving them to View Only Threads and dropping View Only to the bottom of the discussions list? If that's too much more work then I agree, remove them.


message 18: by Emily (last edited Mar 10, 2023 08:33AM) (new)

Emily | 17540 comments L J wrote: "What about locking and moving them to View Only Threads and dropping View Only to the bottom of the discussions list? If that's too much more work then I agree, remove them.."
Great suggestion

I had thought a while back about asking to remove those folders. I guess for posterity they can be moved to view only if the team decides not to delete them, but it might be a stress reliever to just hit delete!
I think the superlibrarian folder actually shouldn't have 'specific requests' in the title because everyone thinks their request is specific. Renske's suggestion of something boring might be good.
I guess all we can do is try something and see anecdotally if it is helpful!


message 19: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (last edited Mar 10, 2023 08:41AM) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) Please note: If you just delete the folders, everything in them will move to the "general" non-folder. (I learned this the hard way.)

Either the posts inside these folders need to be first archived or deleted.


message 20: by Emily (new)

Emily | 17540 comments Oh wow Elizabeth, thanks for sharing!


Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂  | 2311 comments I like Book & Author Page Issues.


message 22: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I like Book & Author Page Issues."

Yes (with the exception of claimed author page issues ;) )

And can something be done about the [Closed] folder? Two more requests from non-anglophone people there.

Perhaps change to "[CLOSED] Completed requests"?


message 23: by ♪ Kim N (new)

♪ Kim N (crossreactivity) | 9394 comments +1, if the folder is intended for all closed requests (not just new books & editions)


message 24: by L J (last edited Mar 11, 2023 11:36AM) (new)

L J | 625 comments Kim N wrote: "+1, if the folder is intended for all closed requests (not just new books & editions)"

Maybe "[CLOSED] Completed Requests" folder with subfolders/threads for Added Books, Issues, Page Numbers, and so on.

No big deal if something ends up in wrong thread. At least it's gone from active requests.

I wish policy was to lock things after years of inactivity so that people couldn't bring up things from 4, 5, 6 or more years ago and clutter current request threads.


message 25: by ♪ Kim N (new)

♪ Kim N (crossreactivity) | 9394 comments L J wrote: "No big deal if something ends up in wrong thread. At least it's gone from active requests."

Actually, I like the idea of all closed requests, no subfolders or other distinctions.


message 26: by Elizabeth (Alaska) (last edited Mar 11, 2023 11:58AM) (new)

Elizabeth (Alaska) I don't think moving all completed requests into one closed folder is a good idea. It confuses things about where requests began.


message 27: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I don't think moving all completed requests into one closed folder is a good idea. It confuses things about where requests began."

Yes, and also searching a thread when you don't have specific search terms but do know the (original) folder would become more cumbersome if everything is lumped together.


message 28: by L J (new)

L J | 625 comments When archiving items in a database it's usually advisable to separate things so the file doesn't become too large. Occasionally having a Book Issue request in Added Books is to be expected but if archived together, especially if not archiving by year, it would create a very large file.


message 29: by Jaclyn, Librarian Program Manager (new)

Jaclyn (jaclyn_w) | 6004 comments Mod
Great, we now have:

- Book & author page issues
- Requests for superlibrarians

I'll delete the quiz and trivia folders when there's time.

We'll also keep the closed folder as is. Feel welcome to ignore any new threads posted in the folder.


Elizabeth (Alaska) :-)))


message 31: by L J (new)

L J | 625 comments Jaclyn wrote: "Great, we now have:

- Book & author page issues
- Requests for superlibrarians

I'll delete the quiz and trivia folders when there's time.

We'll also keep the closed folder as is. Feel welcome to..."


Thanks to you and rest of staff working on this.


message 32: by Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ (last edited Mar 14, 2023 06:32PM) (new)

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂  | 2311 comments Jaclyn wrote: "Great, we now have:

- Book & author page issues
- Requests for superlibrarians

I'll delete the quiz and trivia folders when there's time.

We'll also keep the closed folder as is. Feel welcome to..."


Great! I like the new titles & the suggestion to ignore people posting in the wrong place.

I would also add the suggestion to redirect people to the Adding New Books folder if after you have completed a page count or changing a description, they then ask you to add a new book for them. To me this is jumping the queue.

But of course Librarians can choose to do what edits they want!


message 33: by Dobby (new)

Dobby (dobby0390) | 7859 comments Thanks, Jaclyn! We really appreciate this!


message 34: by Jaclyn, Librarian Program Manager (new)

Jaclyn (jaclyn_w) | 6004 comments Mod
Happy to help! Closing this thread as addressed. 😊


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