1ptalibrary
Hello! I have several questions re adding new books :
1- Often when I am on the page of a book I would like to add to my collection, and I click on the "Add to Your Books" at top right (green cross), it brings me to the "Add to Your Books" pages, and when I click on that, I get no results - even though I just saw the book in the LT general catalog. When I change the database, it might still not show up. How do I get the book I just saw on LT? If I try to see from which database that exiting LT book is from, I can't find that info.
here is an example: Dual Volume Nature's Children: Frogs / Squirrels
https://www.librarything.com/work/476463
"Add Books" page
https://www.librarything.com/addbooks.php?plusbook=Dual+Volume+Nature%27s+Childr...
1- Often when I am on the page of a book I would like to add to my collection, and I click on the "Add to Your Books" at top right (green cross), it brings me to the "Add to Your Books" pages, and when I click on that, I get no results - even though I just saw the book in the LT general catalog. When I change the database, it might still not show up. How do I get the book I just saw on LT? If I try to see from which database that exiting LT book is from, I can't find that info.
here is an example: Dual Volume Nature's Children: Frogs / Squirrels
https://www.librarything.com/work/476463
"Add Books" page
https://www.librarything.com/addbooks.php?plusbook=Dual+Volume+Nature%27s+Childr...
2lilithcat
That can happen for a variety of reasons.
In this particular case, it looks as though someone has given the book a canonical title that isn't actually the title of the book, so that is bound to mess things up.
It can also happen if the source you're using doesn't have the book. The only way to tell which data base it was entered from is to check the catalogs of members who have the book and see what source they used; different members may have used different sources. Often, for more obscure books particularly, you'll find that members used the "manual entry" option.
In this particular case, it looks as though someone has given the book a canonical title that isn't actually the title of the book, so that is bound to mess things up.
It can also happen if the source you're using doesn't have the book. The only way to tell which data base it was entered from is to check the catalogs of members who have the book and see what source they used; different members may have used different sources. Often, for more obscure books particularly, you'll find that members used the "manual entry" option.
3ptalibrary
>2 lilithcat: Ah, thank you Lilithcat! I see what you mean about searching under a non-canonical title. Once i removed the "heretical" addition, I got many hits.
Re finding the source, I see that it does show up on the listed matches when I click on the question mark on the top right of the entry. So two new things learned! Great!
Re finding the source, I see that it does show up on the listed matches when I click on the question mark on the top right of the entry. So two new things learned! Great!
4Keeline
The default "Add to Your Books" button has been a source of confusion for newer members for at least a decade and perhaps a decade and a half.
Although we might wish for other things, the way it works (by design) is that when you click it, a title search is performed (probably without enclosing quotes) against your default data source (e.g. Library of Congress).
What the average user would like is the ability to duplicate the record they see that seems to have the details of the work they want to catalog. This is reasonable. There is a workaround but it involves installing a browser plugin (TamperMonkey for Chrome) and a script into the plugin (LT Copy Book). Then the green button is "rewired" so that when you are on a book detail page and click it, many key fields are copied to a blank "manually add books" form on a new tab. You can make edits there and submit to add the work to your collection. It should be used with care and it is not for everyone. But if you really want this feature, it is there today where the RSI may not be added for a very long time. Look at the "Hacking LibraryThing" group for more details on this plugin.
I note that this is a TinyCat group. It is my belief that TinyCat is a view into an LT catalog and that the process of adding items to the catalog remains the same. if I am wrong on this, someone will let me know, I'm sure. :)
James
Although we might wish for other things, the way it works (by design) is that when you click it, a title search is performed (probably without enclosing quotes) against your default data source (e.g. Library of Congress).
What the average user would like is the ability to duplicate the record they see that seems to have the details of the work they want to catalog. This is reasonable. There is a workaround but it involves installing a browser plugin (TamperMonkey for Chrome) and a script into the plugin (LT Copy Book). Then the green button is "rewired" so that when you are on a book detail page and click it, many key fields are copied to a blank "manually add books" form on a new tab. You can make edits there and submit to add the work to your collection. It should be used with care and it is not for everyone. But if you really want this feature, it is there today where the RSI may not be added for a very long time. Look at the "Hacking LibraryThing" group for more details on this plugin.
I note that this is a TinyCat group. It is my belief that TinyCat is a view into an LT catalog and that the process of adding items to the catalog remains the same. if I am wrong on this, someone will let me know, I'm sure. :)
James
