is there a plagiarism policy?

[willaful]

This is coming up so often -- people self-publishing other people's published work -- I'm wondering what the policy is.

An "author" was outed today and her account has apparently been removed, leaving all the books hanging in the breeze: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Any reason not to delete them? Actually, she's still apparently a GoodReads author, so it might need a super.

[Nidhi]

There isn't.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

She was not removed by GR. It appears she merged her account into the Unknown Author account (with about 1700 books).

If the books are/were for sale, we don't remove them.

[willaful]

So what becomes of the books now in the ether? I confess I feel very little motivation to rescue them, but it seems untidy.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

I agree with you on both points. Other librarians may wish to rescue them, especially if they have shelved/reviewed them.

[Cyndy]

I understand that we leave them, but do we make any note on the book?

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

If you believe there is an issue with a book, use the Contact Us link on the Help page.

Librarians should NOT be making any notes regarding suspected plagiarism. Please leave that decision to Goodreads staff, as there are potentially quite serious legal issues.

[Cyndy]

I'm still confused. There's no option for reporting an issue with a book, and that link forwards book issues back to the Librarian group.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

There's a link back here, but you can always use the form to send a message.

[Cyndy]

rivka wrote: "There's a link back here, but you can always use the form to send a message."

So just say "other"? That's where I got lost in the weeds. :) There was no category to assign it to, and it said "librarians deal with book issues" so... confusion.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

"Other" or "question" would both be fine.

[Cyndy]

rivka wrote: ""Other" or "question" would both be fine."

::sigh:: I didn't do it (reported as you suggested), but another librarian DID update the book info to report the allegations of plagiarism and added a librarian note.

[Paula]

Did they leave a note to say it had been reported or that it was plagarism? If they did not report it then, I would suggest you report it still.

[Cyndy]

Paula wrote: "Did they leave a note to say it had been reported or that it was plagarism? If they did not report it then, I would suggest you report it still."

No. The description now says that the book was pulled from Amazon for plagiarism. I reported it yesterday and was checking this AM to see if anything was done (like GR would do anything quickly LOL) and saw the description and a librarian note linking to the blog where the alleged plagiarism was revealed.

[Paula]

in that case I would remove the note and if you are comfortable message the librarian who added the note pointing them to this thread explaining that only GR Staff should add a plagarism note.

If not just remove the note

If you are not comfortable doing so PM me the book name and I will do so

[Cyndy]

Paula wrote: "in that case I would remove the note and if you are comfortable message the librarian who added the note pointing them to this thread explaining that only GR Staff should add a plagarism note.

If ..."

Thanks! Rivka took care of it. ;)

[willaful]

Re the above situation -- the book was apparently removed entirely and then re-instated, causing the loss of numerous reviews. What is the official stance on this book? It's obviously quite frustrating for readers to have their reviews lost.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

willaful wrote: "the book was apparently removed entirely"

It has not been. All reviews are intact.

Please direct all questions regarding this issue to Support.

[willaful]

I see -- the original record wasn't deleted, but the new one is the one that comes up when you search for it. So there are now two entries for this book that can't be combined.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

Please direct all questions regarding this issue to Support.