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  NEW! Combining editions of books - Learn how, ask questions, give feedback

  We're excited to introduce the ability to explicitly combine duplicate books in our catalog. You may have noticed that searching for a book will sometimes return multiple copies of the same book. By combining these duplicates for us, search results will become even more useful and it will ensure that information related to these books – reviews, tags and discussions – is kept in a single place rather than split among multiple editions of that book.

  To access this feature, just use the "combine them" link you’ll find at the bottom of the page after you’ve searched for a book or author.

  When you see two books that contain the same content, but differ in packaging, format, language, revision or edition, you can combine them into a single work by selecting the duplicates below and clicking the "Combine Duplicates" button.

  Instructions:

  1. Select all of the items listed that are the same book. This includes all editions of a specific book, including foreign languages, paperback, hardcover, special editions, audiobooks, Kindle editions, etc. NOTE: compilations, boxed sets, and other books that contain multiple works should not be combined with editions that only have one work. NOTE: for nonfiction books, subsequent editions that contain updated content should not be combined as these are considered separate works.

  2. Click the "Combine Duplicates" button at the bottom of the page to submit your changes for approval. If your suggestion is approved, the change will appear on our site. NOTE: all requests to combine editions are reviewed before being approved or denied.

  Example: (for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling)

  The following editions SHOULD be combine:

  •Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (the original edition of the UK release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
  •Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the US edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone)
  •Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: 10th Anniversary Edition (special edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  •Harry Potter a L’ecole Des Sorciers (the French edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone)
  •Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Audio CD edition)

  The following are completely different works and SHOULD NOT be combined:

  •Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (a different book in the Harry Potter series)
  •Scholastic Literature Guide: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Grades 4-8) (this is a different book about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  •Re-Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: An Unauthorized Guide by Graeme Davis (this is a different book about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  •Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-6) by J.K. Rowling (boxed set contains multiple books/works not just Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  •Harry Potter Set: the Sorcerer's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (multi book set contains multiple books/works not just Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

  QUESTIONS about how to use this feature? If certain editions should be combined? Please post here.

  FEEDBACK on this feature? Please post here.

  Thanks for helping us continue to improve Shelfari and our catalog!
  Amanda & the Shelfari Team

  Amanda started this discussion 6 months ago (edited). ( reply )

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  Jess 

  This is awesome! It's about time you had a feature like this on the site!

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

  show 4 replies

  • 

    Amanda 

    Thanks! I'm personally pretty excited about it too. Try it out & combine some of your favorite books :)

    posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Jess 

    I have been doing so when and where I see multiple separated editions. About how long will it take for them to actually be combined? And at what point will the reverse option -- separating editions -- become available, too?

    posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Amanda 

    We're trying to get editions through the approval process in about 1 week. We don't have an ETA for the ability to separate editions, but it is coming soon!

    posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Jess 

    Very, very cool. I look forward to seeing how this all pans out.

    posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Jess 

  Now that some time has passed, I've got a few questions on the subject.

  1. It's been about a week and a half, but nothing I've offered up for collapse has been processed. I'm guessing there's a backlog. How long should we expect the first few batches to take before we start seeing changes on this one? I'm just excited to see what happens, so I'm curious.

  2. When these items collapse, how will the information on the resulting volume be decided? What I mean is, if there's conflicting info (tags, ratings, date read, current status on shelf), what's the deciding factor going to be on how it shows up on a user's shelf? Will all of that info vanish? Will one of the volumes be chosen as the "main" volume, with all of its info being the default for a user's shelf?

  3. Is there any way that we can check to see which volumes have been combined? I think this'd be useful -- especially as regards books on our own shelves -- so we can be sure all of our tags, ratings, and whatnot are correct on the finalized, combined book.

  4. If you've tagged, say, three books to combine them into three volumes of one book, what happens if you find a fourth book that should also be combined? It won't let you combine books after the fact, so do you have to wait until the first combination happens and then re-mark it to add the fourth volume?

  5. Will there ever be a way to tag volumes to just straight up be removed from the book catalogue? I mean, I see entries all the time that are marked "Autographed", and while it's cool to have an autographed book, it's going to have the same ISBN as a plain copy -- it is not another volume, it's just a collector's item. It doesn't really serve a purpose on a site like this. When will we be able to just straight out mark those for removal from the catalog?

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    Amanda 

    Great questions! I'll just go through them in order....

    1. We're trying to work through the first batch as quickly as possible :) You should start seeing your requests processed in the next week or so (hopefully!!).

    2. Do you mean if you have multiple copies of the book? If you only have one edition of the book, then none of your information (tags, ratings, etc..) should change. If you have multiple editions that are collapsed together and you had added information on multiple editions, then only one set of information will be added to the book. The information that is "orphaned" is accessible by selecting My Reviews from the More tab drop down menu on your home page. At the bottom of your Reviews page, you can click the "missing a review?" link (which takes you to http://www.shelfari.com/myorphaneddata.aspx). You can copy & paste any information that wasn't moved to the combined book.

    3. Currently, there isn't a log you can visit with the approved combined editions. That's a great idea!

    4. Yes, you'll need to wait until the previous three volumes/editions have been combined before you can request the 4th be combined with those.

    5. Good question - I don't have an answer for that at this time.

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Jess 

    And my responses...

    1. Very cool. I'll be patient, I'm just eager. If it were three months down the road, I might be annoyed at the wait (but still understanding, as it's a huge project), but for now I just want to see it start to take effect.

    2. Okay, so basically one copy becomes the "master" copy and the rest are folded into it with their information only available if you dig. I follow you. I'm not worried about this one on a personal level (any multiple copy books I have are rated the same).

    3. Glad I could suggest something that sounded like a good idea. I guess we'll see if that is put in place at all.

    4. That's wht I figured.

    5. Well, you should add that to the list of good but non-vital ideas for possible future implementation, then!

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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  Jess 

  If anyone is curious, the first batches are combined now, so the process is beginning in earnest.

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    Yes, it is :)

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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  Wilsonx1999 

  What can we do if we see some books that are combined but they shouldn't be?

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    Hi Marco--We'll be making it possible to separate editions in the future (combine is the first step towards that feature).

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  -Silje- 

  What do I do if I know of two different editions of the same book, but only one appears when I search for the books name? For one of the editions I also get a "We don't have authoritative information about the correct author of this book..."-message, and even if the correct name for the author is listed it doesn't link to that author's page. How can I fix this? The author is Jan Wiese and the book is called "Kvinnen som kledte seg naken for sin elskede". Don't know if this'll work, but these are the pages I'm talking about:
  http://www.shelfari.com/books/7370991/Kvinnen-som-kledte-seg-naken-for-sin-elskede
  http://www.shelfari.com/books/2735891/Kvinnen-som-kledte-seg-naken-for-sin-elskede-Roman

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    Amanda 

    Hi Silje--I was able to see both books in the search results when I looked for the author. I've submitted a request to combine these two editions.

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    -Silje- 

    Thanks :)

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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  Foppe 

  I asked in another thread as well (though that one seems a bit dead), but what kind of backlog is there for combining?

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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  Joshua 

  The backlog for combining is longer than we want right now mainly because our tool for approving combines isn't as easy to use as it needs to be. We are in the process of making approving much easier after which it should be much easier to keep up with all the approvals.

  Thanks for the patience.

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Foppe 

  np. A related question, however. How do "sets" work, exactly? I find the concept very obscure. Do they auto-group around languages? Because right now I could only give all translations of a few works by Dostoevsky the same translator, since I can only edit the 'set' notes. There is no way to group editions within those sets either into groupings by the same translators, or at least by the same languages.
  In all, it's very unclear to me both what the data I enter applies to afterwards, and how it will help me later to find specific editions via the search engine.
  See, for example, http://www.shelfari.com/books/70092/Notes-from-Underground-and-The-Gambler-%28Oxford-World-s-Classics%29/editions
  Even if you ignore that these different editions shouldn't even be grouped (there are different anthological works in this 'set'), currently it lists the main authors as Feodor Dostoevsky (Author), Michael R. Katz, Robert G. Durgy, Andrew Robert MacAndrew , while displaying the cover for the Pevear&volokh translation.
  Without putting too fine a point on it, this is a mess, and I have no clue whatsoever how to untangle it, even if I had moderation powers, since I just don't get where&what author/translation/etc. data applies to in a set of editions.

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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  James F 

  I've noticed some books now have dozens of blank editions -- no title, author, or anything, just an empty blue cover and and a link to Amazon. See for example Dumas, The Three Musketeers. Is this a bug connected with the combining of editions?

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    That issue isn't related to combining editions, we just don't have all the information for those titles. It's a little confusing to view on the Editions tab (on the book page) and something we plan on making clearer in the future.

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

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  Punxsutawney Paul 

  Can I ask some further questions about what should and shouldn't be combined? I've been flagging lots of books for combination and made various assumptions about what's appropriate for combination and what isn't, but others may disagree.

  Is there a policy about translations? For example, If there are dozens of translations of something like 'The Illiad', are they combinable? What about 'The Illiad, the Graphic Novel'? Or 'The Illiad, an adaptation for children'? Or even 'The Illiad (abridged)'? What about 'The Illiad with commentary' or 'The Illiad with teacher's guide'? I would assume that we don't combine 'The Illiad and The Oddysey', but what about 'The Illiad and other ancient tales'?

  I've been making case by case decisions, but without an official policy I may be going wrong.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    Amanda 

    When you click "combine" there's a yellow box that appears at the top of the page with the option to "see the guidelines". Not all unique cases are listed there, that's something we'll need to continue updating as we encounter different types of editions. As for the specific instances you mention:

    1) Translations can be combined with the other editions of that work (regardless of language).
    2) Graphic novels are different books are should not be combined with non-graphic novel editions.
    3) Abridged versions are being combined with the unabridged version.
    4) A book with commentary included is treated a little bit more on a case-by-case basis. If the commentary is a substantial portion of the book or available as a separate book then it wouldn't be combined. If the commentary is minimal and not published as a stand-alone book, then it will probably be combined.
    5) A teacher's guide wouldn't be combined with the regular editions of the book (for similar reasons to a book with extensive commentary).
    6) Correct! We wouldn't combine two books such as The Illiad and The Odyssey. They would be separate books. However, sometimes with series there are books printed that have every separate book within one binding, these we would only combine with other editions that were also one binding with the exact same books in the series.
    7) As for The Illiad and other ancient tales, that one would also be more of a case-to-case basis. If the "other ancient tales" were never published then it might be okay to combine it into The Illiad.

    Just so you know, when you submit a request to combine we don't have to approve of each book you've requested to combine. We can combine 25 out of 30 editions, so we don't "throw away" your request if one questionable edition was included in the request.

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Punxsutawney Paul 

    Thank you Amanda, that's approximately what I thought the guidelines would be. But it's good to have confirmation.

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Jess 

  Okay, this is funny. Apparently when you combine editions, it doesn't pick a primary edition and default to all of those settings the way I thought -- at least, not for one particular setting.

  Apparently if you've marked that you have read a book and set a date for when you read it, and you've done the same for another copy of that same book, it keeps both instances -- even if they're identical. I found this out, much to my amusement, when my reading history claimed I'd read the book Rhapsody 12 times, each time finishing on the same date. If both books are on your shelf to begin with, it automatically adds those editions to your list.

  If this is the case, then I'd theorize that....

  A. Two combined books with different status settings are going to end up with both settings (I am Reading plus I Have Read instead of one or the other).
  B. Tags will combine between two volumes, giving both lists (if they differ).

  Interesting stuff, anyhow.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    I saw that, but it is easier to deal with by going to the book page and editions and keeping those you wish and removing the rest from your shelf.

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  khabira 

  Amanda
  How do I add a edition of a book that Shelfari doesn't have listed? Maybe it's me, but I can't figure it out.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    The link is on the search results page, it's called "create a new book". Hope that helps!

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  khabira 

  thanks. you're the best.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

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  Michael O 

  What about books with different translators, meaning different texts? For example, Brothers Karamazov as translated by Pevear & Volkhonsy as opposed to by Constance Garnett? Should they be combined or separated?

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    Typically, yes. We would consider the translations as different editions and combine them. Within the Contriutor's section on the book detail page you can add translators. Any individual who translated the book could be included here.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  ashu3009 

  I Created a book and then found out that it already existed on shelfari.I want to delete the book i created.How to do that??

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 3 replies

  • 

    Jess 

    Just a suggestion -- you should probably start another discussion topic for this particular question, rather than putting it on this one. It's a good question; good enough that it deserves its own thread.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    I tried hunting for an answer, but didn't find one here or in FAQ's. I vaguely remember this coming up before and that the book itself can only be removed by Shelfari staff. I hope I am remembering correctly. If you just want it off your shelf, I believe you can remove it like you would any other book, by clicking on the arrow next to the Edit button and then clicking on Remove

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Amanda 

    We don't have a button on the book page to indicate that it needs to be deleted (ie, is a duplicate). Feel free to email me a link to the book page: feedback@shelfari.com.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

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  Dr. J. G. 

  I am unable to find the particular edition of a book I have just finished reading and trying to create it becomes a problem with the site not accepting the isbn number, while I have copied it from the book sitting before me.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 26 replies

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    There has been some issues with the ISBN, but previously it hindered adding a cover. Have you tried creating a book without the ISBN? I would like to put one in, if I have it, but sometimes it doesn't work. I'd rather have the book on my shelf regardless, so I skip that part.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Creating a book without isbn did not work before the new system, so if it does now, it is an improvement. I should try - but have doubts it will work. If you do this regularly it probably does work.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    I went to do as you suggested, Patch, and funny, the option to create a book seems to have disappeared from my page, I don't find it anywhere!

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Linda F (edited)

    It seems to be gone from my page as well.
    Patch's suggestion did not work for me - see my posting below.
    My problem is that the book was published under two different names with two different ISBN's - one in the US and one in Canada. I am reading, and would like, the Canadian one with the Canadian cover but this does not seem to be available.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    Dr. J.G. and Linda F,

    I was able to get to the Create a book page. Hmm.. Did you try getting there through the search? This is the link I get to just now:
    http://www.shelfari.com/booknew.aspx

    Shelfari staff usually is not working on the weekends, so hopefully they will clear this up soon.

    Linda F., do you know if Amazon has your edition of the book? If so, I do not know why it is not here, as they are connected in some way.
    I hope they can get this all fixed for you. It is annoying not getting the correct book on your shelf.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Linda F 

    To: Patch Dweller

    You are right - that is the correct link to add a new book. Unfortunately, it did not solve my problem.

    Re my book, "Waiting for the Macaws and other stories from the Age of Extinctions" by Terry Glavin, it can be found on the Canadian version of Amazon (Amazon.ca) but it cannot be found on the American version of Amazon (Amazon.com).

    On the American version of Amazon, for some reason, the book is called, "The Sixth Extinction: Journeys among the Lost and Left Behind".

    It is the same book but it has one title for the Canadian audience and a different title for the American audience. Also, the ISBN numbers and the cover pages are different for both the Canadian and the American audiences.

    The only way to put it on my book shelf is to add the American version but the title and book cover look completely different to what I am reading. You are right, Patch Dweller, it is annoying.

    PS - I tried adding the book without an ISBN but it wasn't recognized and I tried putting in the Canadian ISBN number but that also wasn't recognized.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Patch, I discovered after using the link you gave that when one searches there is a tiny link at the bottom of the page to create a book. Either way, I tried what you said, to create a book without the isbn, and I have no idea if it did get recorded or not. I am unable to sea an edition on shelfari that I have, one published by Penguin. Either it is pushed to back of about a thousand other books or it is not getting recorded.

    This used to be simpler, with a message informing one that the book has been created.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    Dr J.G.
    One way to tell if your book was created is to go to your public profile and right above the shelf is a link that says, "show recent activity ". If this was one of the last 10 things you have done with your shelf, it will show up on that. All of your activity is there, it just shows those last 10. If you want to see older, you have to "hide" the more recent. One at a time.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Now why couldn't I think of that! Thank you.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Unfortunately this time there has been too much activity and hiding seems to mean removing, and I find myself reluctant to do that - so creating once again might be the answer. All this unnecessary trouble only because the site no longer gives a "thank you, you have created a new book" response. Which in this case is even a bit silly to need to create, since this book is very much out there in book stores and is published by Penguin, unlike the remote one about Tibet I had to create a few months ago. Any way, thanks Patch, shall try your suggestion next time.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    Actually, "hiding" only removes the notification of what you did. It doesn't hide the actual book or anything. When I have the time and inclination, I would only like my reviews and ratings to show on the activity. I don't need everyone to know what book I just moved from Plan to Read to Reading. They can see this on the shelf.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Right - so that leaves the question of how one brings things out of hiding. But I expect you are tired of the tutorial to a slow student by now.

    As for public notification, I agree, in fact I don't care to have people see the recent activity much for that matter either.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dog Lover 

    It is this "recent activities" reporting that ultimately caused me to decide against using the "friendship" feature of Shelfari. I find it kinda creepy for such audit trails to be made public that way.

    DL

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    Dr. J.G.,

    I do not mind helping where I am able. At least with the easy stuff.

    I am not sure I understand the question, though. Are you asking about once you "hide" your activity, if you can bring it back? No, you cannot, this is why they have that little pop up. But if you are asking if we can view all past activity without "hiding" the most recent, you can't. It is stored there, being once we hide something, the next oldest will show.

    I wonder if it would be possible to allow us to view our own activity from the beginning. Not for everyone else to see, but like in your case, a way to go back a ways to see the book you created. The info is there and I am not aware they delete it after a length of time. Amanda, could you clarify this, please.

    Would you mind sharing the book title you created? I could search to see if I can find it.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Patch, the book is Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, and my edition is a Penguin which is not offered as an option on the site that I can see. Same is true of many others but trying this one was a bother and I did not try with others. Thanks for all the help, if I have not said it before or even if I have.

    DL, I am not sure if your profile shows your activity only to friends or everyone - for example the public notes are for everyone to see, but you can make your friends list private. And one can make it possible for only friends to send a message on email. The shelf is public unless you choose to hide it book by book, a lot of work. But I don't suppose hiding your shelf has any advantage. Anyway, not having friends is an option of course.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dog Lover (edited)

    It isn't "who" my friends are that I wish to keep private.

    I don't want every thing **I** do to be listed for anyone.That "audit trail" is always available to your "friends". Frankly, I found it annoying on my own home page to see "Joe Schmo added 4 books" and such.

    I perceive no benefit to the friends feature. Other members say that it is nice to see reviews on a book page grouped by the friends link and that the list of friends helps them more easily find a member to send notes. All to the good. This could also be accomplished by having an "acquaintance list" sort of like a member-created directory. It wouldn't require that tracking and reporting thing.

    Not worth the "creepy" aspect of it, IMO.

    If Shelfari allowed me to have absolute control over what was displayed on my home page and what info about me was reported, I wouldn't be so adamant.

    As it is, creepy...

    DL

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    Dr. J.G.
    Here is the link I found
    http://www.shelfari.com/search/books?Keywords=Sea%20of%20Poppies%20by%20Amitav%20Ghosh
    Is yours the first edition showing up in the row? For whatever reason I cannot click on it to go to its own page.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    I looked at the page you gave a link to, and it is one I have extensively gone over with show more books clicked a dozen times, and the edition I tried to create did not show up, so it was too much work. Really it ought to be simpler. In this case it is a penguin book, and even if not one ought to be able to create and be informed of it more easily, as it used to be. The new software is full of glitches.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Marie T (edited)

    Thanks for that info, Patch Dweller. Never knew this - don't know if I need to know it now, but thanks anyway, just in case!

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Marie T (edited)

    Dog Lover, - Why? (Relating to why you decided to not use the "friend" thing. Do we all need to be aware of something?) I know there are lurkers out there....

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Amanda 

    When you create a new book (using the link at the bottom of the search results page), the book is automatically added to your shelf. You should end up on the newly created book detail page after you create it. Is that not happening for your Dr. J. G.?

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Linda F 

    To: Amanda

    I think I have had the same problem as Dr. J. G. At least it sounds similar...

    In my case, the book I tried to add was a Penguin book, published in Canada, under a different name and a different ISBN than the name and ISBN on the book published in the USA. Shelfari said the ISBN number was incorrect (it wasn't) and I simply could not add it, no matter how many different ways I tried. I have had to be content with putting in the American title, ISBN # and cover of the book in order to have the book on my shelf. Is there no way around this?

    I know of another book that had a different name and ISBN# in Canada and the USA but that doesn't appear to have the same problems. That book is called, "Someone knows my Name" in the USA and "The Book of Negroes" in Canada but somehow Shelfari has cross-referenced this particular book and it is possible to add it under either name.

    I wonder if this couldn't be done with other books that have two titles and two ISBN's?

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Amanda, I have not looked at the shelf but first and foremost the "thank you, you have just created a new book" that was in the older system was far more user friendly; second, the newly created book ought to show when I search for a book by name and author and it does not for at least a dozen "show more books" clicked, by which time one is fed up; and third, Linda seems to have the same problem I did, which is the site does not accept a valid isbn number (printed on the book I have just finished reading) which in my case too was a penguin publication. The site keeps coming back with a "please provide a valid isbn number". Then Patch (or dl) suggested one might create a book without the said number, but I have no proof one way or another, except I have not looked at the shelf of course. Shall try now but have not much hope of it having been done.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Linda, we seemed to have had the same problem, and I decided to store my edition information in the notes feature of the edit button including the isbn - at least for one book. The rest I have not tried.

    Last year I spent a great deal of time recording what edition I had or read, attempting to remember when I read it and checking a hundred and fifty editions sometimes to fit one. Now since the site won't recognise a penguin, it seems pointless. For now one can record the particular details of what one is holding in had in the notes feature.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Linda F 

    Yes, I think we have exactly the same problem, Dr. J. G. and I hope it can be fixed.

    I did try Patch's suggestion to "create" a book without the ISBN number but this did not work for me so I will be curious to see if you have any more success with it.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dr. J. G. 

    Linda, you are ahead of me there, I have to guess that Patch's idea did not work with me but have no proof of that. I might go through my shelf and see if it is there, but have not so far. Anyway, all this is if we are particular about being precise as to the editions we own or read, and in that case too the storing of the information in notes is good enough for personal reference. The site ought to display all possible editions but then the site ought to make it easier as it used to be to create a book for a reader.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• Linda F removed this reply 3 months ago.

• 

  Dog Lover (edited)

  It is somewhat disconcerting to find a cover of a book displayed in the "People are Talking About Your Books" section of my home page that is not what is actually on my shelf.

  I just spent about 20 minutes tracking down that book on my shelf (because I have to page through the shelf since we don't have an alphabet key) to ensure the correct cover was there. Yes - I did go to the book page first and it seemed to indicate all was well but I just wanted to be certain. Note: I happen to REALLY LIKE the way that other editions are displayed on the search book page!

  One of the small, very small, consequences of this combining editions design.

  DL

  posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    LaserWraith 

    I had something similar one time...the book on "People are Talking About Your Books" section was one I once had but didn't have anymore (I removed it by unchecking all options). I looked all through my waiting to read, reading, and read lists but it wasn't there. I found it in the All Books section.

    Guess I forgot to click Remove Book.

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Amanda 

    Our developers have been working on better consistency between the cover you see in search results, on the book page, etc. and the edition you selected for your shelf. You should have less of these issues going forward where you see a different cover on your home page (most likely the popular cover) then you've chosen for your shelf. It doesn't have too much to do with book combining. Sorry for the scare!

    posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  James F 

  Please combine http://www.shelfari.com/books/6587801/The-Book-Thief?uid=28371 with the other editions. No matter what I search by, I can't get this edition to come up on the same list as the other editions to combine them.

  posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Onnovdw 

  Is it possible to combine books that don't show up on the same page? For example: http://www.shelfari.com/books/12733606 is a dutch version of http://www.shelfari.com/books/30884/ but because the writer has so many books they never show up to click combine..

  posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    Not yet, but it's an open issue we're aware of for book combining.

    posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Dog Lover 

  Amanda,

  This book http://www.shelfari.com/books/160093/Purity-in-Death shows up as a stand-alone entry and

  should be merged with the other editions here http://www.shelfari.com/books/160028/Purity-in-Death/editions.

  I may have missed it but the stand-alone title doesn't seem to show up on the search-by-title so that I can request the combine from that location.

  Could you start the process using this posting as the initiation cause?

  Thanks,
  DL

  posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    Amanda 

    There isn't a direct way to fix this type of issue right now....I can work around it by making sure the author ID's associated with both books are the same and then combine the books from the author's page. I'll see if I can get that done for this title.

    posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dog Lover 

    Thanks a bunch!

    DL

    posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  James F 

  The book www.shelfari.com/books/50108/William-Faulkners-the-Sound-and-the-Fury-(Blooms-Modern-Critical/editions combines Faulkner's book with various secondary works, which should be separated. When I added Faulkner's book, these were not combined, now my shelf shows the cover for Sound and Fury but the title and author for the Bloom book.

  posted 2 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Amanda 

    Hi James--We recently launched the ability to separate editions that have been incorrectly combined. To fix an edition, go to the book page and click on the Editions tab. Then click "edit this set" next to the set of books that edition is included in (these are language sets). You'll see the option to "move to a different book" which allows you to request that it's separated.

    posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

• 

  Dog Lover 

  I have to continually review my shelf for changes that occur without my knowledge much less my action.

  Why is this happening? One reason, I suspect. is that when a member adds a book and the ISBN is already on the site, when the books are combined, the title used by the member for the new book becomes the default title. Is this true?

  Why else would the title for a book change on my shelf? I've already had to "update" a book page for the same book at least twice now and, guess what? There are two "blue" cover books with that "new" title. Don't know when all these were combined but the linked Amazon page shows the correct title and both are the same Kindle version of the correct title.

  I'm guessing that the member who added the book with the "wrong" title, was doing so because (this is an anthology) that was the story that s/he wanted to track rather than the whole anthology. Especially since this "wrong" title is there twice. I'm thinking that when I put it back to the correct title, s/he then felt s/he had to correct his/her shelf the same way that I do.

  There is so much crap on this catalog. Check out the titles for Jared Diamond some time. You'll see "books" that are actually articles and/or professionally published reviews FOR one of his books. One is even a poster about the book. I know of one item that wasn't a book at all and didn't pretend to be (not a Jared Diamond thing.) If members are using the catalog/site for things other than published books, then, hell, I'll just start cataloging my vast collection of socks! This may be an irritant to me but I'll only get really charged up about it if my suspicion about the impact on my shelf is founded.

  The review process obviously failed on the "new book" additions (for the book I had to correct this morning) because it is clear from the Amazon link what the title should be.

  Of course, my analysis could be all wrong too.

  However, the continual review requirement is getting very old. I spent hours last night cleaning up some Shelfari library issues and, then, when I signed on this morning there were changes to my shelf that were NOT there last night and which I had to correct today.

  What on earth is going on here?

  DL

  posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

• 

  Dog Lover (edited)

  OK - I've been making Tim's life miserable by editing like crazy as I move my thousands of book titles onto Shelfari.

  I'm a little confused though about the result of a combination. How do I edit a specific edition that has been combined? For example, one of the editions may have a different editor or illustrator than other editions that have been combined. I'm thinkin' that either we didn't know what this feature was really intended to be or that something was overlooked in the design part. I would have assumed that a combine request would have been rejected if the requirement was that all the non-primary contributors were the same for each edition in the combination which is obviously not the case. Otherwise, we shouldn't have audio or e-version books included/combined with dead tree books either.

  Also, as I've said somewhere else, how can we update publisher info for a specific edition? I can't seem to find any entry boxes for that stuff.

  It's only when you really use a feature that you come to both understand how it works and why it is provided. I'm gettin' better on the "how" part but am starting to wonder about the "why" part.

  Thanks,
  DL

  posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    Patch Dweller 

    You ask very good questions. I ran into this today, wanting to put in the cover illustrator, when there are a couple of editions, so different artists.

    posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Amanda 

    I think a lot of these questions have been answered in the Shelfari Librarians group....so I'll recommend anyone else reading this thread with similar questions to venture there: http://www.shelfari.com/groups/10713/about

    posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

• 

  Ivan 

  Hi, what is the proper way to combine multivolume books? should each individual volume be combined with the single volume editions? Or should we try to match only the corresponding volumes of an edition and leave them as a separate book?

  posted 9 days ago. ( reply )

  show 3 replies

  • 

    Dog Lover 

    If each volume is separately published it should not be combined with another separately published volume.

    All volume 1 books go together, etc.

    Does that help?

    DL

    posted 9 days ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Ivan 

    Let's see if I got it right, the proper way then would be something like this:

    Author
    +-Book A
    | +-Edition W
    +-Book B (Single volume)
    | +-Edition X
    +-Book B (Vol. 1)
    | +-Edition Y (in 2 Vols.)
    | +-Edition Z (in 3 Vols.)
    +-Book B (Vol. 2)
    | +-Edition Y (in 2 Vols.)
    | +-Edition Z (in 3 Vols.)
    +-Book B (Vol. 3)
    | +-Edition Z (in 3 Vols.)

    Is this ok? it looks ugly, 4 book pages (could be more) for a single book. I wonder if there's any active discussion about the subject.

    posted 8 days ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Dog Lover (edited)

    Sheesh. I have a degree in Math and I'm not following this. Sorry.

    Here's the deal: The purpose of a combined book is based on the content of the book.

    a) If a book IVAN's Life published by Twilight incorporated, paperback has the same content as another book published by WhoKnows,Inc and in hardback (assuming you realize this also means the same author and title) then those two should be combined.

    b) If a book, Ivan's Life (regardless of publisher and format) comes in two separately published volumes - Ivan's Life Vol1 and Ivan's Life Vol2 - then those should NOT be combined.

    However, all such instances of Ivan's Life Vol 1 that meet the requirements of a) above can and should be combined.

    Now - for the wrinkle: If, on the Shelfari Catalog, you find a -- single -- avatar with the title Ivan's Life Vols 1 & 2 You CAN combine it (one avatar remember) under the title Ivan's Life ** if ** other editions in that combined version indicate that Ivan's Life is also published in its entirety as one volume.

    Clear as mud? I can make even more complex if you like! LOL.

    Bottom line: A combined book should include entries that are virtually identical to each other in content. They may have different forewords. They may have special introductions written by someone else. Things like that. But the title and author/contributors found on the page for the combined book must apply to the content of each edition in the combined book. Them's the guidelines.

    DL

    posted 8 days ago. ( reply )

• 

  James F 

  Shouldn't the description in the details sections of a book refer to all the editions -- that is to the book itself? There are 508 editions of Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, and the description for the whole begins, A Tale of Two Cities is a Barnes & Noble Classic . . . and continues on talking about the specific binding etc. for this one edition.

  posted 9 days ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Dog Lover (edited)

    Yes - the combined version should be edition neutral. Go ahead and edit the page! Stuff like was very useful for me when I was trying to find my specific edition but, once it is combined, that information actually is confusing.

    DL

    posted 9 days ago. ( reply )

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