Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

I feel like there's already a policy for this, but I can't remember what it is and I'm not turning up anything in search....

If there's a book which needs new alternate cover editions and it already has editions with a 978- ISBN13 and a 294- BNID, do we create two new ebook alternate cover editions, one to be an alternate cover edition for each of these editions, or can we combine into one alternate cover edition which serves as the alternate for both ebook editions?

E.g.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...

I'm not sure about that one either. Guess I'll wait for someone to point out a missed thread or rivka/staff to weigh in definitively.

I don't think it impacts the book/purchase links either way because alternate cover editions do not have anything entered in the isbn/asin fields.

CON: Some members are very meticulous about shelving exact formats and covers.

PRO: A note that it's an alternate cover edition listing all the isbn/asin would be clear. "Ebook" in format is pretty straightforward too. (Print, audio or other non-ebook formats of course would still need own editions.)

I have and seen others create two editions and I think that is correct.

There was discussion a while back when it was suggested by the PTB that we stop creating alternative covers and just change the cover on the book and people wanted their cover with ISBN/ASIN

Two alternate cover editions sounds fine to me; the only time I encountered same situation their covers requested wound up being different instead of identical so I did not have to think about it.

I am absolutely positive there is a policy against overwriting the existing covers. One or more alternate covers are needed and the PTB now allow authors to set which edition/bookcover (most want the newest of course) to be the featured/primary/default edition.

Overwriting older covers with the isbn's would absolutely destroy the book catalogues of members already shelving.

I think the new set-primary-edition feature for authors is a good compromise. Doesn't bother shelves of members with older editions but allows authors to feature the newer covers/editions on their author page, series lists, and what shows up in simple search.

Fairly recently on a thread, I even thought one PTB weighed in that if the author was concerned about it then when author made a new edition author should consider getting a new isbn.

[And I doubt the cover being overwritten was coming from the PTB side (possible, haven't read every thread and newish but except for authors and some members seems very ironclad to do the alternate cover editions). Almost always that has been author request,and usually from the ones that want the older covers overwritten to never be seen again— less from the traditionally published authors who take years between cover changes than from indie ebook authors that conceivably can upload a new cover every few days who feel that because they can update their covers on the retail sites selling only the current edition of their ebook that they should be able to do the same on the book cataloguing sites that deliberately want to track every book edition. I can see potential changes only if the programming got changed for how the alternate cover editions were handled or displayed or a new set of options for isbn handling; I seriously don't expect anyone to be allowed to overwrite or alter/move/remove published covers, isbns, etc. As is, gets abused enough or attempted to be with all the attempts to shove in isbn and other numbers to get around the requirements, change the numbers, covers, etc. that a lot of time is spent undoing or correcting the changes]

Paula wrote: "I have and seen others create two editions and I think that is correct."

That`s what I`ve been doing. It does get annoying on multiple author anthologies though.

I don't remember a policy about this ever being raised. It's only in the last year and a half or so that that this has become an issue.

I hear you, Iafon, about how recently the issue has nearly exploded! No doubt the sheer volume of new writers and publishers; all the new ebook possibilities…