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Not a Book has been combined
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Melody
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Sep 09, 2010 05:39PM
Not a book has disappeared again.
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Presumably someone tried to combine "Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress) Staff" with "Not a Book" but clicked on the wrong button.
Is there some sort of super-tricky way to fix it?
It's easy enough to change the author name back; Rivka might have the ability to undo or otherwise I think she may have saved a copy of the "author bio" since this has happened often enough that rewriting it every time became tedious. We'll have to wait for her to chime in.
AHA!! I saved it too just in case -- see below. Can't we just change the wrong listing back to "Not a book" and add this? NOT A BOOK
Just as not all books have ISBNs, not all ISBNs are associated with books. When an item which is not a book is imported via ISBN into Goodreads, it does no good to delete it: the item will only be re-imported as long as it remains on the feeder site. (Often these are book-related items which are assigned ISBNs by book publishers so that they can be tracked through their book systems.)
These items should be transferred to the “author” NOT A BOOK. This can be done by editing the individual book record and replacing the existing primary author with the author NOT A BOOK, or, if all of the items on an author's list are not books, the author can be edited and merged entirely into NOT A BOOK.
In the case of items currently credited to an author who is a member of the Goodreads Author program, proceed extremely carefully and contact the author for clarification if there is any question regarding the status of an item as a book, particularly in the case of calendars, workbooks, or blank books with additional content.
These items are not books:
* multi-packs of the same book
*** dumpbin, dump bin, dumpb, dumpbi, dumpbn, dbin, d/bin
*** mixed bin, mixed copy, copy bin, mxd
*** prepak, ppk, stockpack, stock pack
*** header
*** shrinkwrap, shrink wrap, s/wrap, swrap
*** x12, x24, x36, x48, 12c, 24c, 36c, 48c, 12cc, 24cc, 36cc, 48cc, 60cc
*** awbc
* promo materials (displays, etc.)
*** counterpack, counter pack, cpack, c/pack, counter display
*** floor display, floordisplay, floor disp, fd, f/d
*** 18fl, 24fl, 27fl, 36fl (fl = floor display)
*** mxfl
*** easel
*** clip strip
* movies (DVD or VHS)
* television episodes
* theatrical production recordings
* music (esp soundtracks) (but not bound sheet music)
* stationery
* calendars (unless containing additional content)
* diaries and blank books (unless containing additional content)
* posters
* coloring books (except those for reference or which tell a story)
* unbound maps (as opposed to bound maps in an atlas)
* board games
* tshirts
* toys
* stuffed animals/dolls
* bookmarks
* stickers
* decks of cards (including Tarot)
* puzzles (as opposed to puzzle books)
* plaques (inspirational, or otherwise)
* video games
* podcasts discussing books
* untitled books where no verifiable publication information about the book exists (often these are titled "Untitled #3" and represent placeholder ISBNs that were never used)
* "all book by an author" or "all books in a series" where no published collection of these works exists
The ones with numbers indicate #'s of copies, e.g., 24c indicates a 24 copy item...thus these are usually display or stock items of that # of books and not the correct ISBN for the actual individual books themselves. These are the most common numbers, but others also abound. Also, stray numbers in a title (as numerical digits rather than spelled out), even without the x, c, or cc, will often indicate copy number as well. A single year in a title (e.g., 2008) often indicates a calendar. Presence of one of these terms does not automatically indicate that the item is not a book, but in most cases you should be suspicious.
Note that any of these items packaged with a book count as a book, if the specific book edition with which they are packaged is not otherwise sold separately.
These items are books:
* repacks
* F&C Sheets
* bound sheet music, scores, librettos, etc.
* atlases
* reference books (including books on CD-ROM)
* book group discussion guides
* workbooks
* calendars or something-a-day books with additional content
* "blank" books with additional text or collectible artwork
* advanced reader copies (ARCs)
* boxed sets (sold as a boxed set with one ISBN)
* multiple distinct volumes (sold together as a set with one ISBN)
* fanfiction which is self-published in book format
* forthcoming books with only partial information
* books withdrawn from publishing if enough information was ever provided to make a book record a useful resource
* periodicals and bound comic books with ISBNs
* periodicals without ISBNs but substantially similar to books (eg, perfectbound literary magazines)
* single-issue magazines and comic books on an individual and unencouraged basis, although they should be typed as "periodical" in the work: media type field
* short stories published online (the format should be "ebook")
* audio productions, not recordings of theatrical productions (the format should be "audiobook")
* podcasts of books
When shifting an item onto NOT A BOOK (this is usually referred to as "NABbing" the item, NAB standing for NOT A BOOK), follow this process:
1. If the item has been shelved by any users, attempt to determine whether these users (or at least some of them) intended to shelve an actual book. If this can be determined, shift their reviews onto the actual book like so:
a. Copy down the ISBN of the not-a-book.
b. Follow the instructions for merging two identical editions to merge the not-a-book into the actual book.
c. Search for the ISBN of the not-a-book.
d. The not-a-book record has been recreated in the GR database with no users shelving it; all of the users were transferred to the actual book in step (b).
If the item has not been shelved by any users, it should still be separated from any other editions via the combine page or separate tool. (Deleting and re-importing an item will result in an item uncombined with any books.)
2. If moving only one item: Edit the record of the item to change the following fields:
* Any secondary authors should be removed from the book record.
* The primary author should be changed to NOT A BOOK.
* The media type for the work should be changed to "not a book".
* Optionally, the title should have "NOT A BOOK" added to the beginning of the title.
* Optionally, if there is a description of the item, it should have a librarian's note added to the beginning of the description: Librarian's note: This item is not a book and should not be rated on Goodreads.
3. If all of the items remaining on an author's list of books are not books, the author can be merged into the NOT A BOOK author profile. If the author has associated fans, quotes, quizzes, or other author information and it can be determined that this is an incorrect profile for an actual author, the individual items should be NABbed according to step (2) and the author merged into the profile of the actual author in order to preserve the fans and other author information.
* Any secondary authors should be removed from all books' records.
* The author profile should be edited and the name replaced with NOT A BOOK. When prompted, be sure to merge into NOT A BOOK's profile.
* If working in bulk, it is not necessary to edit each individual (not-a-)book record to edit the title or other fields.
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It doesn't seem to include all of them. There were many more "Not a Books" than are on the page This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For pointed out.
Melody: 57244 distinct works I think that number is really close to all of them actually.
The number I specifically remember was the number of people who had reviewed items in the "not a book" listing - since that is what I had mainly been working on. Moving individual works out when it seemed apparent what book they thought they were reviewing and combining the item with the book so that the reviews were not lost. There were about 5900 reviews. There are only 271 reviews with this profile. I can only assume that means some of the other items are ... well I don't know what to assume. If rivka could undo rather than simply changing this profile then it would be more accurate.
Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. But not to be difficult, since they aren't a book, aren't the reviews not too relevant? (not opposed, just discussing....).Is Rivka off on a business trip? Or just gave up in dispair?
MissJessie wrote: "Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. But not to be difficult, since they aren't a book, aren't the reviews not too relevant? (not opposed, just discussing....).Is Rivka off on a business trip? Or just ga..."
Rivka doesn't have computer access on Saturdays due to, I believe, Shabbat. (Though I could be wrong)
Even ignoring the fact that today is shabbat, the last week or so has been filled with major Jewish holidays; I expect rivka will show up again tomorrow or monday.Until then, I'm going to fix the name back to NOT A BOOK (Well, first merge it with the "new" "NOT A BOOK" which had already been created) and copy the bio (thankfully saved by MissJessie...good job!) into the new author. If rivka can undo it, I don't think this update will cause any problems.
I don't know where the missing reviews went, but I'm wondering if this was a caching issue (i.e., the number of reviews was simply wrong before the incorrect merger)...merging would never eliminate reviews...that would require someone deliberately deleting books, which seems unlikely.
If Rivka is taking all of the high holy days off, we may not see her until the 19th.
Actually, maybe, maybe not re Rivka. The Jewish holidays are coming fast and furious. And it's still Jewish New Year's week and then there is Yom Kippur (which is a Saturday anyway this year) and Sukkot next. This is the holiest time on the Jewish calendar, so I assume Rivka will be offline quite often. But, I'm sure she'll be in and out when she can.Thanks NT Michael and Jessie for working on this in the meantime.
Librarians messing with with the NAB profile seems to be happening more & more. Is there a way to lock the profile? but not the NABs on it?
Ah, I forgot about the Holidays. Stupid of me. Best wishes to those involved who have computer access.Also, good idea NTMichael. Maybe it will be back to where it was. That would be a relief. I put the bio of NAB back a little while ago; seemed like it would be a start anyway.
Finally, I wish a reflective Patriot's Day to everyone. Never forget.
In the NAB author profile: "These items are books:
* repacks
* F&C Sheets "
what is an F&C sheet? And for that matter, what is a repack?
Mod
I added the NAB "bio" to the shared Google doc last time, FYI. I updated the "new" author page. Also the link from the Manual (there's just one, right?)
Hi Rivka. Missed your steadying presence. I hope your holidays were fine.Thanks for completing the update of the NAB "bio." That was all I had saved; I'm going to save it again (just in case).
Mod
Other than the fact that Phoenix is ridiculously hot, they were very nice. :)
Deserts don't appeal to me at all. I hate being hot.Although, ask me again in February......
rivka wrote: "Other than the fact that Phoenix is ridiculously hot, they were very nice. :)"Hey, it's no longer 100 by 10am. Now it takes until noon at least. Honestly, it was much, much worse a month ago :)
Mod
Yeah, the weather in Phoenix has been downright mild for the last week or so.
Reposting:In the NAB author profile:
"These items are books:
* repacks
* F&C Sheets "
what is an F&C sheet? And for that matter, what is a repack?
Mod
