Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Further to your announcement here ( https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ): will changes also be made to the unjust adding of ISBNs belonging to ebooks (epubs) when importing Kindle digitals?
This is still happening....

Example: this Kindle edition, imported on Sep 04, 2023 04:24PM
https://www.goodreads.com/book/edits/...

Upon my requests to the GR Expert Staff to move wrongly added ISBNs from Kindle to ebook, I now already twice received a comment from the GR Experts staff - although my request was handled -, telling me that
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Librarians normally fix issues like this, so in the future feel free to post in the Librarians Group, where our volunteer librarians will be happy to help you out with any requests like this. To do so, just join the group by clicking on Join Group under the group profile photo. From there, you can simply post a request by starting a new discussion thread here.
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Are they not aware that Librarians are not authorized to edit existing ISBNs/ASINs or has something changed in the restrictions?

Emmy wrote: "Upon my requests to the GR Expert Staff to move wrongly added ISBNs from Kindle to ebook, I now already twice received a comment from the GR Experts staff - although my request was handled -, telli..."

Whenever posting to Support, always mention that you are a librarian yourself. Referring to the Lib Group seems to be their standard response.

In that respect it would be helpful if the option 'Librarian' were added to the question:

Are you reaching out as a publisher, author, neither, or both?

I've been in contact with Support many times during the past months, but have never received the comment as stated above but for the past couple of days.

Emmy wrote: "In that respect it would be helpful if the option 'Librarian' were added to the question:

Are you reaching out as a publisher, author, neither, or both?"

Yup.

Thanks for the report Emmy, I'll check in with the team on this import issue.

I'll also follow up on that response from support, Librarians should obviously not be receiving instructions asking them to reach out to Librarians, and requests to change ISBNs/ASINs should not be directed to this Group.

Thanks, Jaclyn :)

Thanks from me too, Jaclyn!

Emmy wrote: "In that respect it would be helpful if the option 'Librarian' were added to the question:

Are you reaching out as a publisher, author, neither, or both?


I've been in contact with Support many ti..."

Can I add a +1 to the suggestion of adding Goodreads Librarian to the options?

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Can I add a +1 to the suggest of adding Goodreads Librarian to the options?"

Yes, please! Add my voice to the gentle clamor, if you would.

Dobby wrote: "Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Can I add a +1 to the suggest of adding Goodreads Librarian to the options?"

Yes, please! Add my voice to the gentle clamor, if you would."

+ 1 from me as well.

My first sentence, every time I contact support is "I'm a GR Librarian." just because of those redirected standard replies.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Emmy wrote: "In that respect it would be helpful if the option 'Librarian' were added to the question:

Are you reaching out as a publisher, author, neither, or both?


I've been in contact with Su..."

oh yes, that would be great.
I've sent that as a suggestion to support in the past already because it would be really helpful - it's annoying to have to choose "neither" and then mentioning in text "I'm a librarian blabla"

They also mention to “check out Goodreads Help for many issues” which is ironic because if it was on Help we wouldn’t need to write in, but that’s probably helpful for non librarians

Hi all! Can you please let me know if you see any further Kindle editions that have been assigned ebook ISBNs by the Amazon import?

These should preferably have been created within the last couple of months, and not have been corrected by staff.

Thank you!

I just made an ACE and the original edition had the isbns added on October 1 2023, which of course are now on the new edition. I was just about to write to support. Hopefully it'll be fixed when convenient.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... old edition
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... ACE edition

Jaclyn wrote: "Hi all! Can you please let me know if you see any further Kindle editions that have been assigned ebook ISBNs by the Amazon import?"

Oct 3rd example:
Kindle record with both ASIN and ebook ISBNs: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Ebook edition with that ISBN listed on a non-Amazon retail site:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/part...

https://www.goodreads.com/work/editio...

the bot added the isbn's in september

Isbns added August 12 2023

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

ISBNs added 26 Sept. 2023:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

ISBNs added 14 Sept. 2023:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Already requested Support to move the ISBNs to the resp. ebook editions.

P.S.:
For unknown reasons (and not traceable in the change log) these Kindles were also set to 'deleted status'. I reverted them to 'public status'.

Yesterday I created a Dutch Kindle edition with ASIN only ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...), as well as the appurtenant Dutch ebook edition with ISBN13 only, because I could not find the accompanying ISBN10 (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).

Today I discovered that the amazon catalog_bot promptly - i.e. 40 minutes later! - added an ISBN10 to the Kindle edition

as well as a Librarian note "The ISBN13 9789464641387 for this book was also used by another book." Why o why ???

I have not yet reported this to Support.

Thanks for the link, @Corinne. I bookmarked it right-away.

Isbns added 15 August 2023

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Isbns added 25 September 2023

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... Old Edition

Author has just asked for an ACE.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... New Edition

Presuming ebook isbns added when amazon catalog created kindle edition on 7 September 2023

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...

ISBNs added just now (8th Oct.) by amazon_catalog bot

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Have not yet requested Experts Staff to move these ISBNs to newly-added ebook record https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I'm not a librarian so I hope it's ok for me to post here.
I like to enter for books on the giveaways page and I've noticed that when I go to the actual page for the book all of the Kindle editions have ISBNs. Example below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

ISBNs wrongly added by amazon_catalog bot today, 12th Oct. (4 hours, 53 min ago (#645515945) to this existing Kindle edition:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Have not yet requested Experts Staff to move these ISBNs to newly-added ebook record:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Today, Oct. 16th, I created a new record for this Dutch Kindle edition, inserting only the asin in the approprate field:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Just one minute later, before I even had a chance/the time to add the ebook edition as well, the amazon_catalog bot managed to update the Kindle record with the isbn10 and isbn13 belonging to the epub.

Thus I had no alternative but to add the ebook edition without isbn's:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
This is só very annoying!

I have not yet contacted Support to move the isbn's, enabling you to check the change log.
Jaclyn, will you please take the appropriate action?

Thanks for the added reports, I'm in conversation with the team about this.

Good luck, Jaclyn!

This Kindle edition ttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54482408-... had the ebook ISBN added on October 26.

An update: these ISBNs are being attributed to the Kindle edition when added to Amazon (by publishers, authors, etc.). This means that it's not a bug with the Amazon > Goodreads import. Support can manually fix these when we find them. Thanks again for reporting, and sorry I didn't return with better news!

Head->desk

Thanks anyway for checking into this for us, Jaclyn.

Strange, though...

The ISBNs (belonging to the epub-versions of the work) do NOT show on the Amazon webpage where the Kindle version is presented and Amazon does not even sell the epubs. Paperbacks and hardcovers: yes, but no epubs.

So why would publishers, authors, etc. add these ISBNs to Amazon and why do the Amazon bots then import these (epub) ISBNs to the Kindle bookrecord?

Shakes head in disbelief, well, as about 70% of kindles I come across have isbns for various editions, I'll be sending a lot more to support for fixing then.

And totally agree with Emmy & Dobby.

Sandra wrote: "[...] well, as about 70% of kindles I come across have isbns for various editions, I'll be sending a lot more to support for fixing then. [...]"

Yeah, same here... *sigh*

And apparently the examples that I summed up here during October and of which I wrote 'Not yet reported to Support' have not been fixed :-(

So I now requested Support to move these ISBNs to the epubs as yet...

I come across ebooks when requested by my fellow countrywomen as that's what they are reading. I say women because none of the blokes have requested changes.

Also when doing kindles etc of authors I like, I often see the ebooks, sometimes the paperback isbns.

And the last time I looked none of my reported editions on this thread have been fixed either, Emmy. I'll have to go back through & request them soonish.

I must say that reported mixed isbns are fixed same day or next at most, by support.

And just reinstated a kindle edition, which had the paperback isbns.

According to the log the amazon bot had deleted the paperback edition and added the isbns to the kindle edition, then invalidated both editions in one.

I work a lot on Harlequin/Mills & Boon titles and see this a lot. There have been times I've sent messages to support with 20+ editions needing ISBNs moved/removed because for each book I work on there's usually a US edition, UK edition, & an Australian edition that all have the eBook ISBNs on the Kindle editions.

Melanie wrote: "I work a lot on Harlequin/Mills & Boon titles and see this a lot. There have been times I've sent messages to support with 20+ editions needing ISBNs moved/removed because for each book I work on t..."

I had seen that but had no idea it was widespread.

I'm now surprised if I see a kindle without isbns. Of course 5 mins later it could have isbns.

And not always ebook isbns either.

Sandra wrote: "And just reinstated a kindle edition, which had the paperback isbns.

According to the log the amazon bot had deleted the paperback edition and added the isbns to the kindle edition, then invalidated both editions in one."

Oh good grief. When will those bots ever be stopped!?

*headdesks so hard I am hurting*

Since
Jaclyn wrote: "[... This means that it's not a bug with the Amazon > Goodreads import. "
I think there's little to no chance of this (stopping the bots) ever happening , although I have my doubts about the assessment and conclusion.

@Corinne re post # 40: I'm a digital (epub) reader myself . Whenever I'm being asked to add a new book/new edition and I notice on the publisher's webpage that there are more editions than just a hardcover or paperback (e.g. ebook, audiobook...) I add these as well, but in many cases stumble on the fact that the epub ISBNs are already taken by the Kindle edition and have to ask Support's assistance in moving them. I have to agree with Sandra that Support handles these requests usually within a couple of hours...

And I also come across this when I want to add an ebook to my shelves, search for the isbn and find the Kindle instead... This can very well be a record created years ago but only recently (wrongly) "completed" by the bots with ISBNs.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Closing this thread as it's been answered.