Correct way to add a book?
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1jataeqa
Hi,
I'm a bit confused about adding book. Does selecting which search result to add matter?
For example:
I searched for "mysterious affair at styles" in "Search LibraryThing" search field at the top right.
The first result seems to be the correct book I was looking for so I clicked it.
I then clicked "Add to Your books".
I was then presented with a search result from amazon. Obviously there are many different versions/editions/publishers of the same book. With different ISBNs, etc.
Correct me if I'm wrong. It doesn't seem to matter for recommendations and other features of the website. It's just for people to find the exact version they have in their (physical) library.
No matter the version, they are still under the same page https://www.librarything.com/work/2921950
I'm a bit confused about adding book. Does selecting which search result to add matter?
For example:
I searched for "mysterious affair at styles" in "Search LibraryThing" search field at the top right.
The first result seems to be the correct book I was looking for so I clicked it.
I then clicked "Add to Your books".
I was then presented with a search result from amazon. Obviously there are many different versions/editions/publishers of the same book. With different ISBNs, etc.
Correct me if I'm wrong. It doesn't seem to matter for recommendations and other features of the website. It's just for people to find the exact version they have in their (physical) library.
No matter the version, they are still under the same page https://www.librarything.com/work/2921950
2lilithcat
The best way to add a book is to go directly to the "Add books" page: https://www.librarything.com/addbooks
Choose the source you wish to use (I find Overcat is the best). If your book has an ISBN, enter that in the search box. If there is no ISBN, enter title, author, publisher. Either way, you'll be give a list of available options, and you can select the one that is the same as your edition.
No matter the version, they are still under the same page https://www.librarything.com/work/2921950
Yes, LT does not have an "editions" layer, so all editions of a work are on the same work page. (There are some exceptions, but not many.)
Choose the source you wish to use (I find Overcat is the best). If your book has an ISBN, enter that in the search box. If there is no ISBN, enter title, author, publisher. Either way, you'll be give a list of available options, and you can select the one that is the same as your edition.
No matter the version, they are still under the same page https://www.librarything.com/work/2921950
Yes, LT does not have an "editions" layer, so all editions of a work are on the same work page. (There are some exceptions, but not many.)
3AnnieMod
Welcome to LT.
The page you link above is the work page. The work contains all versions of a book - regardless of language, publisher, format and so on - if it is the same book (unabridged and just that book), it is there.
When you add a book to your library, you are adding a book. Each book is connected to/contained in one work. In most cases you don’t need to worry about that because the site connects your book to its work and all is ok. In some cases, this connection can misfire - then we need to separate or combine books (move books to their proper works)
You add books from sources. Even though each work has a Add button, it is a bit of a misnomer - all it does it send you to the Add Books page. So instead starts from there. Using the ISBN is the best option if your book has it, if not use a combination of title, author and publisher for the search and select the one you have from the list. You can specify what sources to be used - for English the best options are Overcat (an LT collection of all library searches done by members) or Amazon.com (although their data can be a bit weird and some people will tell you they are the devil incarnate, they are useful for newish English books). LT is not available as a source so finding the book in LT does not help - you cannot add a copy of it (that’s just how the site works - unlike something like Goodreads where you add from the books already in the system).
If no source can find the book, you can add manually.
So head to the Add Books page and look around and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. And have fun!
The page you link above is the work page. The work contains all versions of a book - regardless of language, publisher, format and so on - if it is the same book (unabridged and just that book), it is there.
When you add a book to your library, you are adding a book. Each book is connected to/contained in one work. In most cases you don’t need to worry about that because the site connects your book to its work and all is ok. In some cases, this connection can misfire - then we need to separate or combine books (move books to their proper works)
You add books from sources. Even though each work has a Add button, it is a bit of a misnomer - all it does it send you to the Add Books page. So instead starts from there. Using the ISBN is the best option if your book has it, if not use a combination of title, author and publisher for the search and select the one you have from the list. You can specify what sources to be used - for English the best options are Overcat (an LT collection of all library searches done by members) or Amazon.com (although their data can be a bit weird and some people will tell you they are the devil incarnate, they are useful for newish English books). LT is not available as a source so finding the book in LT does not help - you cannot add a copy of it (that’s just how the site works - unlike something like Goodreads where you add from the books already in the system).
If no source can find the book, you can add manually.
So head to the Add Books page and look around and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. And have fun!
4jataeqa
Thank you very much for the answers.
My use case is I have a small physical book collection/library. And books I have read/plan to read are not bought yet, or in a local library, or other places.
For that reason, I don't really care about finding the exact version of the book.
My use case is I have a small physical book collection/library. And books I have read/plan to read are not bought yet, or in a local library, or other places.
For that reason, I don't really care about finding the exact version of the book.
5norabelle414
>4 jataeqa: There aren't generic editions here, so if you don't care which exact edition you are adding to your catalog, just pick any one
6AnnieMod
>4 jataeqa: Then search by title (adding the author for more generic titles) and add the first one on the list that is the correct one and not an omnibus or something else :)
You always need to pick an edition from a source. Alternatively you can use the manual process and just add title a s author there but if you don’t care which version it is, picking the first one from the AddBooks search is going to be faster and will work for you. :)
You always need to pick an edition from a source. Alternatively you can use the manual process and just add title a s author there but if you don’t care which version it is, picking the first one from the AddBooks search is going to be faster and will work for you. :)
8haydninvienna
>4 jataeqa: And books I have read/plan to read are not bought yet, or in a local library, or other places: Note that LT provides a couple of predefined collections that might be useful to you: "wishlist" (to which you could add books that you intend to buy or borrow) and "read but unowned" (to which you could add books that you have read but don't own, just like it says). You can add a title to either of those collections from the "add books" page—you get both of those among the choices.
