Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

I just added this book:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64...

I was not able to add the ISBN, because it is taken by this book:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50...

I double checked the ISBN in the book I added, and it was correct. When I tried to create it, I was told to tell this group. Is there something I can do to fix it?

Lianne

Though ISBNs are supposed to be unique, every so often one gets reused on a completely different book. That may be the case here...I don't have time at the moment to poke around and check, but hopefully someone else will be able to do that.

If it is a case of multiple books for one ISBN, then standard procedure is to leave the ISBN field blank on the book you added and to add a Librarian's Note in the description stating the issue and listing the ISBN. It is also helpful to add that same note in the Librarian Note feature which is linked above the title area on the edit book page.

Both books have come out from the same house, so it's possible this is a reused ISBN. There are two copies of the "Cookies" book on Amazon.com, one of which has that ISBN (that's where the book's been sourced for GR) and the other of which has an ASIN. Altho' many online sources attribute the ISBN to the Cookies book, WorldCat has it for the wildlife book. Might be worth seeing what the LoC has to say.

Thanks for the tips! I didn't know ISBNs could ever be reused. I should tell my databases professor that next time he uses ISBNs as an example of a primary key. I'm new here, so I don't have librarian status, but I'm going to apply for it. Thanks again!

You're welcome! ISBNs should be unique. The system doesn't really work if they aren't. As you've seen!

I've seen it once or twice, in my old job as a bookseller. It's rare, but it happens.

We've seen a rash of it around here lately - apparently a line of totally different books were published very 'economically' at WalMart and all used the same ISBN!