Books Stephen King Recommends discussion
Message from GR about Amazon Data
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I don't know who makes the ultimate decision as to source information, but as a Professional Librarian, I can vouch for the accuracy and dependability of WorldCat. Information on their site is objective, and always up to date. Photos of book covers are often included.My .02, FWIW
g'day to all, tom
I guess I'm not really sure what this does to us readers..... Am I going to have blank covers on my shelves?? I'm not a librarian, so I don't have access to "save" a book???? I guess this is another reason I don't have a "relationship" with Amazon.......
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I've been following the Librarian group discussion a bit. I gather that anything that was placed in GoodReads by Amazon will be removed. That does include the covers.
However Goodreads will be using other sources as a repalcement and then the rescue team will be manually seeking out data for those books that do not fit into the alternate automated updates.
As I understand it, if you have placed something on the book's data page, it will remain there. If some other part of that same record was placed there by Amazon, it will be removed.
So for instance if you updated the information for a book by naming what language the particualr edition is written in, then that information will stay. The book cover which was pulled in from Amazon, however will be removed, and hopefully a Librarian will find another source to replace that cover.
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Your two cents is apparently worth a lot!!!
Goodreads is importing data from WorldCat as we speak. I think the first batch was uploaded around the 14th.
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It does seem to have the potential for chaos. That is why I wanted to let our members know about it; I don’t think all groups know about this yet.
Still, the sources that are being used as a replacement are going to cover a lot of ground. People with obscure “pet” books, will be the ones most affected.
This exercise also seems to be weeding out entries that should never have been in Goodreads in the first place. I noticed some discussion about eliminating VCR records from the rescue list.
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That transition apparently went on behind the scenes with barely anyone noticing. Maybe we can hope for the same invisibility with Amazon.
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That transition apparently went on behind the scenes with barely anyone noticing. Maybe we can hope for the same invisibility with Amazon.
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As long as I can see pictures of my books, I don't think I care - that is my main concern.
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If you have any books without ISBNs, you might consider making note of them and see if you can offer suggestions for recovering their data once the rescue project has been completed.
I will take a look, but I think all of mine have ISBN's - thanks for that suggestion......
Eliminating all books that have no ISBN is a potential Huge problem for many of us, especially OLD guys like me, and collectors. ISBNs were not used prior to 1970, so ALL titles published before then lack the ISBN. This is important to me; even though newer editions of an older work have an ISBN, I want to be able to distinguish WHICH edition I read.Even now, some titles - especially self-published - lack ISBNs.
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It is my understanding that your review and ratings of non-ISBN editions will be shifted to the prevailing edition of that title, if it exists, with an ISBN. To get this to be a sepatate entity, you need to have the particular edition manually added.
(This is only so if it was originally uploaded via an Amazon link. ...I think.☺ I'll go see if I can research this a little further.)
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You will see a warning at the top This edition is in danger of being removed from Goodreads. Will you rescue it?
If you click the Learn More button, you will find instructions on how to save your edition.
Note also how your copy of History of Okefenokee Swamp is not in jeopardy because it wasn’t added by Amazon, but rather by Pastfinder.
Almeta wrote: "Linda wrote: "As long as I can see pictures of my books, I don't think I care - that is my main concern."If you have any books without ISBNs, you might consider making note of them and see if y..."
Wow! You're an effin Genie! Thanks for the tip. Man, there will have to be TENS of Thousands of titles/editions in jeopardy.
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Linda, My thought for your reading material was to think of your shelved Kindle editions...All of which would have come from Amazon.
Apparently there was a lot of concern for this, and so GR Chief Architect, Otis, has issued this update:
" There have been many questions about Kindle Editions and books in the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) program. As these editions are unique to Amazon, there are no alternative data sources. We anticipate keeping these, and will bend over backwards for all our authors who publish via Kindle to make sure their readers on Goodreads have a smooth transition."
Almeta wrote: "Linda wrote: "As long as I can see pictures of my books, I don't think I care - that is my main concern."If you have any books without ISBNs, you might consider making note of them and see if y..."
Almeta wrote: "If you have any books without ISBNs, you might consider making note of them and see if y..."
Not all books with ISBNs are necessarily safe either. An example is Pure, by Julianna Baggott, which I manually added this afternoon. The item is not yet in WorldCat; data may only be available from the Publisher (CD) at this time.
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Thanks you all so much for your feedback on this. We knew that posting this information would result in a lot of concern, but we felt the time was right to share what we could. For years, we've used Amazon's data, and while they have always had certain restrictions and requirements, those terms have gotten harder and harder to adhere to. We have been working as hard as we can to find a new, independent source of data. Ultimately, though, this deadline is Amazon's, and they have told us that we must stop using their data by January 30, and we have to meet this deadline.
Looking at the bright side of this, we've never been able to use Amazon data in our mobile apps, and we've had to show Amazon buy links and only Amazon buy links on all book pages sourced from them. Obviously, that will now change. Ultimately, we feel that while we would have chosen a more relaxed timetable for all of this, having our own data will make Goodreads a stronger, more independent site.
Our new primary source for data will be Ingram, a major wholesaler of books and a powerful data partner—their database includes more than 14 million ISBNs. Our partnership with Ingram is different from the public APIs, such as Amazon's, that we have relied on in the past; we have an official partnership with them that will provide us with top-notch, accurate data for the foreseeable future.
In addition to Ingram's enormous database, we are supplementing our own site with book records from the Library of Congress and other sources, as well. Through these various sources, we hope to have most of the data required to keep every book record on the site.
First, please be assured that none of your reviews or ratings are in danger. Not a single review, comment, shelving, or rating will be lost in this transition. That's the most important thing—your data is 100% safe.
Second, we apologize if you felt that we posted this too late or that we should have been more responsive. Please understand that we were trying to balance the search for new sources of data, much of which involved negotiations that demanded our silence on the matter, with keeping an open feedback loop with all of you. Running an open company has always been a priority of ours, but sometimes the realities of business mean we have to hold some information back, at least for a time.
In the interest of making sure that everyone understands the nature of this transition and what exactly will happen, we'll try to address some of the questions presented in this thread. If we fail to answer your question, it may be because we don't know the answer yet, or it may be because we cannot answer your question at the moment. We're committed to giving you as much information as possible, and We promise to provide updates with new information as soon as we have it.
I'm an author and my books are only available through Amazon. Will my books be deleted?
No, you can rescue your books! As the author, you are a valid data source yourself. Simply enter the appropriate information on the rescue page for your book.
If you're an author, and you'd like to view your books in need of rescue, go here: ://www.goodreads.com/rescue_books/at_risk
What about Kindle editions of books by other publishers (non-KDP books)?
Those are safe. If you see a Kindle edition that still needs rescuing, please report it here.
What are some valid sources of data?
If you have the book—either a physical or ebook copy—that would be best. If don't have the book, you can try the author's website, the publisher's website, public wikis, and library websites. Please do not use an ecommerce site such as Alibris, Abebooks, Powell's, or, obviously, Amazon.
What about my international editions?
If you entered the data for those books manually, they will not be affected. If they come from Amazon.fr or Amazon.it, then we will need to find an alternative source for data on those books. We will be adding data feeds from international publishers over the next few weeks and months, and we hope to have data for every book in the catalog, but if you've shelved books you own that are obscure or in a foreign language, please take the time to rescue those books.
I know you said that my reviews wouldn't be deleted, but what happens if I reviewed a book and it doesn't get rescued?
First, let me repeat, your reviews and ratings really won't be deleted. There's a good chance that we will get data for your book from Ingram or the Library of Congress. If neither of those things happen, and you can't find a copy of the book or a valid source for data, then that particular book might be removed, which means that your review or rating would be temporarily moved to a blank edition without an author or title, where they will be stored until we can find a new source for data for that book, which we're confident we can do for every book in the catalog.
For books that don't get rescued, how long will it be before there's a new data source?
While each case is different, new data is our top priority at the moment and will remain so until we have records for every book.
Do I need to export my data to back it up?
No, you do not. We will not lose any of the data. While you are free to export your books, ratings, and reviews at any time, it is not necessary.
When is all of this going to happen?
We must be completely free from Amazon data by January 30. We have already begun importing data from our new sources, and we hope to have those imports finished by the end of the week. One should be finished soon, and another will finish by Wednesday, at the latest. If there are any books missing once we switch off Amazon data (And we hope there won't be), we will continue to work on finding new sources for that data until our catalog is 100% complete.
Almeta wrote: "Linda wrote: "I will take a look, but I think all of mine have ISBN's - thanks for that suggestion......"Linda, My thought for your reading material was to think of your shelved Kindle edition..."
I think I have shelved very view "kindle versions" for one because I don't have a Kindle and didn't want to have that version on my shelf. I think I am a little concerned about the ebooks that I have shelved - I guess I am concerned because the new system may consider this generica - not really sure.....
I do appreciate you staying on top of this for us Almeta and helping us to understand.
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Goodreads Transitions to New Data Sources
"At Goodreads, we make it a priority to use book information from the most reliable and open data sources, because it helps us build the best experience for our members. To that end, we're making a major change.
On January 30, Goodreads will no longer display book information that comes from Amazon.
Amazon's data has been great for us for many years, but the terms that come with it have gotten more and more restrictive, and we were finally forced to come to the conclusion that moving to other datasources will be better for Goodreads and our members in so many ways that we had to do it. It may be a little painful, but our aim is to make it as seamless as possible for all our members.
Amazon data that we will stop using includes data such as titles, author names, page counts, and publication dates. For the vast majority of book editions, we are currently importing this data from other sources. Once the imports are done, those few remaining editions for which we haven't found an alternative source of information will be removed from Goodreads.
Member ratings, reviews, and bookshelves are safe, but your data may be moved to a different edition of the book. If we can't find a matching edition, then your review will be attached to a book with no title or author. ...."
Otis, Chief Architect