New to LT? Ask veteran Thingamabrarians anything!

I am new on Litsy (leahbird both places) and have noticed many people saying they were having a hard time navigating LT. Let us veteran LTers help you out! Ask us any questions you have about cataloging and groups and tagging and importing and why no one "friends" anyone here. ;)

We're happy to have you here!

Some resources:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/welcometolibrarythin

http://www.librarything.com/groups/combiners

http://www.librarything.com/groups/faq

Another link that may be helpful is the one for the Combiners group, since it seems like a lot of you Litsy peeps (I'm sorry, I just can't use Littens, I apologize profusely for that).

http://www.librarything.com/groups/combiners

Goodreads imports will throw some bad combos of authors/titles sometimes. Especially if you're using the Amazon as your data source. You can try using Overcat, although it gets a ton of it.

Can I also suggest the LT FAQ group as a resource?

>2 DanieXJ: >3 Robertgreaves: Added! Thanks for the recs.

Is there an easy way to switch book editions? When I try to add a book my edition is not often the version that pops up, and when I try to change the edition it seems that I have to know the ISBN in order to ensure I'm capturing the right version. I am hoping there is a simple way for me select my edition without resorting to ISBN since I often don't have the number handy.

>5 Melissa_J: Selecting the cover that matches your edition (if it's available) will also change the ISBN of your edition to match (if you don't opt out of changing it).

>5 Melissa_J: On LT? All editions of a book are combined together, unless there is something significantly different about one (e.g. abridgment). I always search by ISBN unless it's an older book that doesn't have one, in which case I usually add the year to find the correct edition. In any case, if you can't manage to find the one you want in any source, you can either manually add it (just putting the title, author, and any other info you do actually know), or add a different one and then edit the entry and remove/fix anything that doesn't fit with yours. For covers, do not use amazon covers if you don't want it to assign the ISBN amazon has associated with that cover (and the image can also change, if the publisher makes a new one with the same ISBN again).

>6 davidgn: That is only about amazon covers.

>7 .Monkey.:

True. But yes: bottom line is that the bibliographic information is whatever you choose to add via the Add Books source you're using, or whatever you type or edit manually. There is no real "editions" layer in LT (though this has been on the drawing board for many years... we may yet live to see it. :-p ).

>5 Melissa_J: Welcome Melissa!

There are several ways of adding and you can get as specific as you like. If you want to capture exact edition information, ISBN is the best way but it's not the only way. If I don't have my book in front of me to scan, I usually hit up Amazon or another big online retailer and scan through the editions until I find the one that looks right. You can then grab the ISBN from the listing details and use it to search LT!

As >7 .Monkey.: & >8 davidgn: mentioned, choosing covers on LT can change your edition level information, which can be good and bad. Amazon info is rife with wonky, changing data, so just be careful of those if you are really set on having your LT record reflect your physical books.

I import almost solely by ISBN and then manually full images from Amazon for my covers, which circumvents the Amazon changing your data issue. I won't go into all that now but if you are interested, I will share. ;)

But, as >7 .Monkey.: said, all editions of a book make up it's Work on LT. So you can add from just that level if you aren't concerned about tracking actual physical copies in your possession. Either way, you will be listed and connected to all the other who have that Work, whether they read a particular edition or an ebook or listened to the audiobook, which is pretty cool!

>9 leahbird: The general unreliability of Amazon data and relative richness of library-sourced data is why it makes sense to use Overcat whenever possible or, failing that, relevant national libraries (above all the LoC). For physical audiobooks or digital ones with their own ISBNs, you might have better luck with major public library consortia, as LoC tends not to hold these editions. (You can check on WorldCat for which libraries hold a particular edition by entering the ISBN, selecting the relevant result, and hitting the "Just this edition" option at right. That will give you an idea of which Add Books sources to try on LT).

>10 davidgn: Yes, I didn't even touch on sources to add FROM on LT! I usually try Overcat but I will still hope on Amazon first to grab the correct (or reasonable guess) ISBN to plug into the Overcat LT search.

I noticed that if I import my GR, since I never really paid much attention which edition I added to Goodreads, that my results are all messed up between ebook and paperback and hardbacks and got to the point where I felt like searching for each book individually with the right ISBN is the way to go...

am I right? So, this will take a while to add my 600 or so books.

>12 Vinjii: You can just edit the records you have, if you'd like. I'm not sure what would really be quicker, trashing everything and manually going through, or just manually going through what you have.

>12 Vinjii: It took me less than half a year to do 6,000, so 600 shouldn't be too bad.

>12 Vinjii: Unfortunately, starting over is probably easier. If you scan them with the app, 600 won't take you long at all. They do 10 in about 10 secs in the video for the app. Then you can take your time cleaning up those records but you will at least have an accurate list.

The other option would be to make a spreadsheet with the correct ISBN and use the bulk uploader. You might even just be able to edit your GR file so it's pulling the correct editions.

Since I'm adding dates read and dates acquired and my reviews, I'm assuming it's definitely easier to simply do it one by one and not try and work with a GR import. Thank you for the feedback :)

That might be possible with the bulk uploader as well.... That I'm not sure about. I feel like a spreadsheet is just so fast to update. 😉

Next question, thank you for being patient with me :)

I've so far added 61 books with reviews and everything and if I click on the stats on my profile it tells me 61 books, 60 number of distinct works.

What's the definition of a distinct work and what did I do wrong with that one book that isn't distinct?

>18 Vinjii: A "book" is any individual thing you have cataloged. A "work" is what everyone's copies of the same title belong to. E.g. there is a "work" for Weaveworld <-found there, and your "book" - https://www.librarything.com/work/14062/154415945 is one of the 3,248 that the work is comprised of.

That said, you appear not to have any work dups (if you click on that #60 in the stats you wind up on https://www.librarything.com/profile/Vinjii/stats/workdups), so I'm not sure what is going on there. If you had cataloged two different editions of a work, that is where they would wind up. Because they are distinct books in your catalog, but part of the same work.

Ah! Finally it clicked what the difference between my book and a work is. Thank you!

I think I accidentally added different editions, then deleted one, maybe the stats haven't caught up with that just yet?

>20 Vinjii: That's highly possible. There are things where there's a bit of a 'lag'.

>20 Vinjii: Yup, as >21 klarusu: said there's often a slight delay when things have been deleted, so that is likely the case. :)

If I get the app will I be able to upload my books via scanning? I have no form of cataloging whatsoever and probably should. Also, if I catalog them here- can other people click on my profile to see my catalog?

>23 BethM6: If you get the LibraryThing app, you will be able to build a list (catalog) of books. You will be able to add books to the list via scanning. You will not be able to upload the books themselves -- LT is like a massive interconnected list database, not like a cloud storage repository where you can upload and download digital book files.

If you catalog here, you can choose to either making your catalog visible to the public or private just for you. (Public is default choice; changes to this can be made in your account settings.) If your account is public, people will be able to see your catalog via visiting your profile.

ETA: so many typos.

ETA2: I should also clarify -- when I use the term 'scanning', I mean using the app to read the bar-code of a print book. (I belatedly realized 'scanning' could also mean digitally photocopying print pages.)

I just joined LT heard about it via Litsy. I know apps and online programs are are diffrent goodreads allows more functions on the website verse the app. Litsy is an app which i figured iut all functions quite easy. However with LT is seems the app is very limited in function other than adding books to your catalog & seeing some news the app does not do much more. The primary use is done online for group interactions. Just want to make sure i am correct & not missing something. You only interact within the groups you join which you can nit access from the app.

>25 gripLitGrl: That's a fair assessment. LT is much more cataloguing based, which is the point of the app. The community functions are all based on the website in the Groups you choose to join.

This feels like such a stupid question...

This is about Food Wars! Volumes 22 and 23.

I see that on the main page of both under "Common Knowledge" they are listed as 1 in the series? I'm too scared to click on the pencil and fix it.

I think it's why LT keeps telling me I have another version of both books in the database.

Let me take a quick look and I'll let you know it's safe to fix 😉

>27 Sace: You should be fine to go ahead and click the edit button and change in from 1 to the correct number.

The only thing you might want to double check is that #22 & #23 aren't ISSUE numbers instead of VOLUME numbers, the issue being contained in the volume. I only mention that because the series right now only goes up to 13 on the series page which seems strange.

If that were the case, then #22 & #23 would actually belong in a separate, issue only series.

ETA: NOT a stupid question at all!

Thanks for making this thread. I have a question I’ve wanted to ask for years but was never brave enough. (So here goes!)

I read a short excerpt of a book years ago but don’t know what book it was. I know IMDb used to have a forum devoted entirely to helping people find movies that they couldn’t completely recall—the idea was that by describing the film to a large group of people, there’s would be a good chance that someone would know the movie. I am wondering if there is a similar place here, where I could describe a book in the hopes that someone else could tell me what it is. It has been driving me crazy!

Thanks!

>30 MuuMuuMousie: We have a Name that Book group for just that. Just please please please read the tips for posting first!

>29 leahbird: Definitely volume numbers. OK. I won't be so scared to click that pencil. Does the series only go so far because people stopped adding it to common knowledge?

And there was also the original title in Japanese and the incorrect volume number. Should I leave that?

>32 Sace: Yeah, it could have been that the person making the series stopped there for whatever reason.

I would leave the original title since it looks like they all have it and just change the volume number.

Make sure you keep the | symbol before the volume number.

>32 Sace: Series information, particularly for manga, can run into the "nobody thought to update it" problem. I try to fix that sort of thing when I come across it, but I still have to come across it first!

Food Wars in particular may have some further issues going on with it; looking at the Editions page for volume 1 shows that at least a few copies of volumes 22 and 23 seem to be mixed in along with it. That would be the source of your duplicate copies. I can work on teasing the mess apart.

>34 shadrach_anki: "I can work on teasing the mess apart." Only if you want to. :-) I was mainly just trying to figure out why I was being told that I had other formats of the book when I knew I had only entered those two. I'm too chicken to edit any main pages for a work.

Thanks, Amanda, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Thanks for answering my question!

>35 Sace: I am pretty sure I got things sorted out with those random volumes incorrectly combined with volume 1. Haven't added in any series information on the Common Knowledge end of things, though. If I did everything correctly, your library should not be showing duplicates on that work any more (it might take some time to refresh, though).

Hi! I was wondering if it's possible to connect my librarything catalog with Litsy.

Thank you.

>38 GraemeSH: I don't think so at this time.