Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

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Archived > Amazon is going away as a data source

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message 1201: by Brixton (new)

Brixton | 43 comments Thanks for the update, Patrick. Sorry to hear the news is not great.

I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to throw for us? ;o)


message 1202: by Tara (new)

Tara Calaby (taracalaby) | 11 comments I'm also seeing Kindle books that don't show as being in danger, despite the fact that most/all of their information has been garnered from Amazon.

eg: http://www.goodreads.com/book/edits/1...

I think a lot of these Kindle and CreateSpace books are going to be lost if we're not able to use Amazon as a source for rescuing them :/


message 1203: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments Tara if you own them you'll be able to save them, as before.

Just waiting for them to come up as needing to be rescued :)


message 1204: by Tara (new)

Tara Calaby (taracalaby) | 11 comments I'm not worried about the ones I own - rather all of the other ones on the site. I've spent the last few days saving other people's books, but it's not going to be as easy to do that when it comes to Kindle books.


message 1205: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments True, very true!


message 1206: by Audrey (new)

Audrey (odderie) | 48 comments Can someone confirm if the drop dead date is Monday 12:01AM (Pacific time) or Monday 11:59PM (Pacific time)?


message 1207: by Sara ♥ (new)

Sara ♥ (saranicole) | 316 comments I don't know how many Kindle books everyone has (I don't have any, personally, but I SO feel for you guys!!)... but you should be able to go into your books and sort by format, right? If you wanted to start checking them one by one... Yep. I just checked....


message 1208: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments I've only got a few and they're on a kindle shelf, but it isn't showing up yet. I'll just keep checking every now and then till they do.


message 1209: by Cait (new)

Cait (tigercait) | 4988 comments Patrick wrote: "Late this afternoon, we received word from Amazon that we will not get a feed of book information for Kindle and CreateSpace books."

...Well, that just kills my to-read list dead, doesn't it. I've never yet seen a publisher listing their Kindle editions with anything other than a link to Amazon, so that means that from now on newly published books will never be available for shelving until someone buys a copy, sits down, and does the effing data entry by hand.


message 1210: by Becky (new)

Becky (rsnm) | 23 comments Sara ♥ wrote: "I don't know how many Kindle books everyone has (I don't have any, personally, but I SO feel for you guys!!)... but you should be able to go into your books and sort by format, right? If you wante..."

Thanks Sara! I didn't know about all those sorting options.


message 1211: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments Oh yeah!

Cait, you'll just have to shelve the ebook and switch if you end up buying the kindle.


message 1212: by Brixton (last edited Jan 27, 2012 09:28PM) (new)

Brixton | 43 comments For this book, I changed only the author through the normal editing process. Doing so wiped out worldcat's description. That previously discovered bug (or a new one?) is affecting more than just the publisher field.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/edits/2...

Edit: or, attributed the description to me, as I see on the right it has done since making this post.


message 1213: by Kokomomomo (new)

Kokomomomo | 2 comments I've come across several books now where the librarian change log still lists amazon as source for some details (it says amazon_com or amazon_de, with underscore), but there's no "rescue me" notice at the top of the page. What to do about this?

Here is an example:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...


message 1214: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth | 13 comments Brixton wrote: "Thanks for the update, Patrick. Sorry to hear the news is not great.

I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to throw for us? ;o)"


Hi Brixton,
I really like that idea of a "volunteer appreciation party." I'm going to chat with Otis and try to figure something out. It may be in virtual form, and probably not tomorrow, but we all need a little more appreciation in this lifetime. And you guys certainly deserve it. :)


message 1215: by Deedee (new)

Deedee | 79 comments I have a copy (physical, ebook, or audio) of this book or a personal record of the book data.

For some of the books I rescued I actually went to my local library and checked out the book there and entered the data -- then returned the book the next day. It doesn't say that you have to own the book.


message 1216: by Brenda (new)

Brenda | 123 comments Elizabeth wrote: "Brixton wrote: "Thanks for the update, Patrick. Sorry to hear the news is not great.

I have a question: when and where will the volunteer appreciation party be held that goodreads is going to thro..."


That would be nice:)


message 1217: by Brixton (new)

Brixton | 43 comments Verena wrote: "I've come across several books now where the librarian change log still lists amazon as source for some details (it says amazon_com or amazon_de, with underscore), but there's no "rescue me" notice..."

aww, those cute Russian variations are happening already:
author: 'Fyodor Dostoyevsky' to 'Fedor M. Dostoevskij'

And wow, Deedee, that's dedication! What volunteers do never ceases to amaze and impress me.

Question: if I see a book's ISBN10 is set by openlibrary and the ISBN13 is set by amazon, may I/should I delete the 13 since I'm already there, or will this info just vanish on drop dead day (nods to whomever called it that!), leaving everything else intact?


message 1218: by Sara ♥ (new)

Sara ♥ (saranicole) | 316 comments Verena wrote: "I've come across several books now where the librarian change log still lists amazon as source for some details (it says amazon_com or amazon_de, with underscore), but there's no "rescue me" notice..."

I'm just guessing here, but maybe the rescue me notice only comes up when a book has KEY information from Amazon (i.e. title, author)?


message 1219: by [deleted user] (new)

Patrick, would it help if GR users wrote (polite) letters to Amazon expressing dismay about the Kindle listings?


message 1220: by Audrey (new)

Audrey (odderie) | 48 comments Sara ♥ wrote: "I'm just guessing here, but maybe the rescue me notice only comes up when a book has KEY information from Amazon (i.e. title, author)?"

That's right. I asked about something similar earlier, and the coding makes it "at risk" only if it's title or author that was sourced by Amazon. Other information, such as publisher, cover art, page count, etc., that is sourced by Amazon will also be deleted. However, it's considered lower priority/less crucial information than title or author (which makes sense to me). In the end, after the dust has settled post-Jan. 30th, we're to go ahead and add all of that non-crucial information whenever we come across it.


message 1221: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Vegan (lisavegan) | 2400 comments Oh no, re CreateSpace. I've rescued tons of those books, that I guess are at risk again?


One thing we can do for ourselves and friends BEFORE The 30th, is to copy and paste the books to be deleted (in my opinion the to be merged books aren't as crucial to know) and keep our own lists and message friends with their list. So, if the books disappear, members will know which books might be missing from their shelves. Then eventually they can be added again.


message 1222: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Vegan (lisavegan) | 2400 comments Patrick wrote: "Late this afternoon, we received word from Amazon that we will not get a feed of book information for Kindle and CreateSpace books. Previously, we’d been told that we would get a feed and that’s wh..."

Patrick, Do I understand correctly that Kindle editions/books will disappear from the GR database?!


message 1223: by Melisende (new)

Melisende | 3 comments Hint: For those with an iphone and the goodreads app - you can use the barcode scan function for books you own at home or even library books.


message 1224: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Vegan (lisavegan) | 2400 comments WeaselBox wrote: "I've noticed tonight some kindle books that are on my to-read list are showing up as needing rescue when I go to the book page, but are not on my list when I bring up the "at risk" page."

That makes me very nervous. I had kept a list of my at risk books and some lists for less active friends, but got rid of them when we showed as no books at risk of being completely deleted. So know I don't know which CreateSpace and (for others) Kindle editions might be deleted. I hope they do all eventually show up on our at risk lists; that's the only way I'll know which need saving, or at least keeping a record of.


message 1225: by Patrick (new)

Patrick Brown | 101 comments To clarify, Kindle & CreateSpace books will show on the rescue list eventually. We took them off because we thought we'd have info for them. It may not be until tomorrow morning.


message 1226: by Patrick (new)

Patrick Brown | 101 comments Lisa, I'm not sure if I understand your question, exactly, but we will still have an option to enter something as a Kindle edition. Just because we can't get that info from Amazon doesn't meant that users won't want to record it. So while some of them will end up getting merged (or blacked out, if we have no other editions for them), we're not going to completely abandon the idea of letting Goodreads members note that they read a Kindle edition.


message 1227: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Vegan (lisavegan) | 2400 comments Patrick, I understand that. I'm sorry; I wasn't being clear.

My concern are the CreateSpace and Kindle books I thought I'd rescued. I want to make sure they'll show up on our and our friends/all members at risk books. If I/we don't have time to rescue them again, at least we can copy and paste the lists. If I can't do that and books are deleted I have too many books to know which books might end up deleted from my/friends' shelves. Thanks. I hope that is clearer.


message 1228: by Feodora (new)

Feodora | 28 comments I often have the problem, that I enter the publish date wich stands in my book copy I have in hand and the tool says "Publication year must be equal to or after the original publication year".
How can that be?


message 1229: by Brenda (new)

Brenda | 123 comments Rescue it without the date, then edit the book after Feodora.


message 1230: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments Either the entry orginally was wrong or it has been overridden by Amazon. It has been a common problem, so leave that out, you don't need it to save the book.

Once the book is saved I'd go in and edit it whilst you have the book handy and you don't forget.


message 1231: by Sara ♥ (new)

Sara ♥ (saranicole) | 316 comments Yeah, a bunch of the dates are messed up. It's a little bit more work, but don't stress about it too much! We've all been having that issue!


message 1232: by Vivienne (new)

Vivienne (vivienneor) Patrick wrote: "To clarify, Kindle & CreateSpace books will show on the rescue list eventually. We took them off because we thought we'd have info for them. It may not be until tomorrow morning."

Patrick, I have to comment that this seems quite a self-destructive shoot-themselves-in-the-foot move on Amazon's part as they own the Kindle format and some authors have only opted for Kindle rather than a broader e-formats.

Their antics over this relationship with GRs has made me a lot less keen on buying from them and I am sure I am not alone in that sentiment.


message 1233: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa (annamatsuyama) | 89 comments Also I don't suppose there's a way to get a language specific rescue page for anyone who'd like to help with non-english works? I realize the language isn't set on huge numbers of books, but...

To get a language specific rescue page (sort of) look for list of top users in Russia/Japan/Whatever and then check these people rescue list.
That’s what I am doing.
There was advice in this tread how to look at non-friends rescue list.


Sarah (Presto agitato) (mg2001) | 46 comments I rescued a lot of Kindle editions last weekend when I wasn't sure if the Kindle editions would be saved. Now that the Kindle editions will _not_ be saved, should those still stay rescued? Or will they have to be re-done?


message 1235: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments Sarah, just have a look at the expanded edit page at the bottom and if it doesn't say Amazon they are saved.


message 1236: by Helen (new)

Helen | 69 comments Ahhhhhh!!!!!! F*&%ing Amazon, B@$!@^ds! Plus, most of the books I've read in 11months are kindle editions! Talk of being over a barrel.

Can we have the party in Manchester, UK. Or someone will have to fetch me in a plane!

I'm happy to write letters complaining if it helps. About kindle editions rather than a plane to the party, lol!


Sarah (Presto agitato) (mg2001) | 46 comments Sandra wrote: "Sarah, just have a look at the expanded edit page at the bottom and if it doesn't say Amazon they are saved."

Thanks, it's just that I'm not sure if I know need to go back through every single book again to check? My rescue link isn't showing Kindle books for me, but I'm not sure if that's been activated yet. It actually never did, both before we were told the books were safe and again after. But maybe now it is showing for other people. I would feel a bit more secure about it if I knew that previously rescued Kindle editions should stay rescued.


message 1238: by Helen (new)

Helen | 69 comments My kindles aren't asking to be saved and I haven't previously saved any.


message 1239: by Jan (new)

Jan (janoda) | 140 comments Anyone have a good French source for comics? Because this person has about 600 of them at risk, and a lot of them are about to be deleted.

I don't think my French is good enough for me to tackle this.

http://www.goodreads.com/rescue_books...


message 1240: by Felix (new)

Felix | 8 comments Even though I've brought my own rescue-list down to 2 from 1159 (and most of this was my saving-work and not the import, mind you), I still feel bad about the whole thing. I know that people at GR are doing the best they can, but I also know that barring some kind of miracle most German (and French and Dutch and Spanish etc) editions are going to disappear in a few days. It's sad. I sincerely hope that there's going to be some major import of non-english language editions but somehow I'm not very confident about it.


message 1241: by Sandra (new)

Sandra | 31413 comments Sarah wrote: "Sandra wrote: "Sarah, just have a look at the expanded edit page at the bottom and if it doesn't say Amazon they are saved."

Thanks, it's just that I'm not sure if I know need to go back through e..."


Several hours ago Patrick said the Kindle rescue page will start tomorrow.


message 1242: by Felix (new)

Felix | 8 comments dely wrote: "Felix wrote: "Also, what's wrong with this edition: Der Weiße Wolf? The ISBN must be wrong because I don't get any results from the Nationalbibliothek."

I have found the book with t..."


A bit late but thanks for your help, dely!


message 1243: by Ellie (new)

Ellie Loredan (ellieloredan) | 113 comments Why, Amazon, why?! We really should launch a campaign against them. Something along the lines of informing all members of GR and giving them a standard complaint e-mail they only have to sign and send.

I'm really sorry but I can't help with kindles unless you want me to mess them up. I will just do what I can best: saving German books...


message 1244: by Manybooks (last edited Jan 28, 2012 06:22AM) (new)

Manybooks Sandra wrote: "Unbelievable!!!!

I don't think Amazon realises how many people they've p$@*ed off, and now they've done the same to their customers and authors."


So I wonder if all of those books I rescued that I had bought originally from Amazon Germany or Amazon Canada will now be considered off limits by Amazon as well. I know I am being a bit facetious here, but judging from how Amazon has reacted they might decide in the future that any book, even books that had been bought from Amazon are now considered off limits, sigh.

Patrick, how Amazon has reacted and especially that last little tidbit, is something that should be put in bold letters as a site announcement. Everyone using Goodreads should know this.

There is no way I am going to be able to rescue friends' kindle books. I wish I could get away with not buying on Amazon, but for books published in German (especially if you don't live in Germany), Amazon is indispensable as a buying source, but I am sure glad I never did buy a kindle.

Edited to Add: I also wonder for those people who own a kindle and are rescuing their kindle editions as being owned by them, what are the legal ramifications of this? Because I heard (and it's a main reason I have never tried to purchase one of these contraptions) that Amazon still retains many rights to both the device and the books bought for the device (that they can and have checked the devices, that they can and have erased bought editions from the devices). So before people who own kindles start rescuing their kindle editions as "owned" on Goodreads, it should at least be made sure that Amazon considers these editions as being the personal properties of the user/buyer/client (otherwise GR could have a major legal nightmare on its hands).


message 1245: by Manybooks (new)

Manybooks Patrick wrote: "To clarify, Kindle & CreateSpace books will show on the rescue list eventually. We took them off because we thought we'd have info for them. It may not be until tomorrow morning."

You should not have taken them off the list. You should have realised that Amazon just is not to be trusted.

And I have no idea how to rescue kindle books without screwing up, I have never owned a kindle and will never (thankfully) own one of these things.


message 1246: by Manybooks (last edited Jan 28, 2012 06:24AM) (new)

Manybooks Patrick wrote: "Lisa, I'm not sure if I understand your question, exactly, but we will still have an option to enter something as a Kindle edition. Just because we can't get that info from Amazon doesn't meant tha..."

You have to add a title, who cares about what Amazon says. I don't use kindle, but for those books that exist only as a kindle, you OWE it to GR members to at least supply a title (so they at least know what they are reading); who cares if that violates Amazon' policy. I mean, there are ways to get around this. Just add a title that is a little bit changed from the Amazon title and call it a personal title (it will then no longer be a title suppled by Amazon). You know, I hope this little ploy by Amazon really, really ends up costing them business, and BIG TIME. I would really love it if that were the case.


message 1247: by ^ (new)

^ | 86 comments rivka wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Or to create a new edition without an ISBN and then combine them?"

This is better. It's cleaner -- there's no question of where the record came from."



Interjection from Sub^Nomine: Ref msg #1203 & #1211, this is exactly what I did yesterday for "More Peanuts" (Charles Schultz), as I happened to have a 1959 edition in the bookcase in my study. Moving forward to discussion on Kindle; I'll happily recommend the Sony e-Reader, Mine's a PRS-600, which supports a wide range of file formats & which doesn't tie its owner to the caprice of a single bookseller. Love it.


message 1248: by Manybooks (last edited Jan 28, 2012 06:37AM) (new)

Manybooks ^ wrote: "rivka wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Or to create a new edition without an ISBN and then combine them?"

This is better. It's cleaner -- there's no question of where the record came from."


Interjecti..."


I think I might try to get a Sony (especially since I primarily want an e-reader to download older, obscure literature from the internet). I think you are right, any e-reader that is exclusively tied to one bookseller is dangerous and could lead to complications and problems.


message 1249: by scherzo♫ (last edited Jan 28, 2012 06:48AM) (new)

scherzo♫ (pjreads) | 25 comments Audrey wrote: "Can someone confirm if the drop dead date is Monday 12:01AM (Pacific time) or Monday 11:59PM (Pacific time)?"

Has this question been answered?


message 1250: by Grada (BoekenTrol) (new)

Grada (BoekenTrol) (boekentrol) | 19 comments I've only read / scanned this page of the thread, because it is really very long... I notice something is happening to my books when I rescue them.

Most books I have entered here, are books I own(ed) a copy of. I entered of all the books the number of pages and in almost all cases the description in the language that the book is in.
When I now rescue a book of mine, the number of pages is lost when the rescue-form doesn't ask for number of pages, the publisher disappears miraculously from time to time and also the description is lost / merged into the default description. Is there any way to prevent this from happening?


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