Keeping the catalog accurate

Every book has one shared page, seen by every reader who shelves it. Reviewers check each addition and correction against these rules.

The short version

  1. Each book has one page. Formats, translations and narrated audiobooks are editions on that page. Dramatized audio is a separate book.
  2. Confirm every fact in two independent sources, and say where you found it.
  3. A blank field is better than a guess.
  4. Descriptions carry no spoilers and no marketing copy.
  5. Report duplicates and mistakes. Never overwrite a book to fix one.

A book and its editions

The book holds what is true however you read it: title, authors, series, description, genres and characters. An edition holds what belongs to one printing or recording: format, ISBN, publisher, language, pages, narrator, runtime and cover.
Unsure? Ask whether it is the same text. The same text in another binding, language or voice is an edition. A new script, new art or a performance is a separate book.

Add as an edition of the existing book

Other formats
Hardcover, paperback, ebook and Kindle, including reissues, new covers and anniversary editions.
Audiobooks
Read by a narrator, even a famous one. A novel read aloud is still a novel.
Translations
The edition takes the translated title and its language. The book keeps its original title, original language and first publication year.
Retitled editions
The same book under another title in another market, such as Shadow and Bone, published in the UK as The Gathering Dark.
Abridged editions
Put "Abridged" in the edition's title. There is no separate field for it.
Annotated, illustrated and large print editions
Same text, so same book. Credit the annotator, editor or illustrator on that edition.
The Editions tab of The Hobbit, listing a hardcover, a paperback, the Kindle ebook, a French audiobook and a Dutch paperback
One book, many editions: The Hobbit's hardcover, paperback and Kindle sit on the same page as a French audiobook and a Dutch translation, each with its own publisher, translator or narrator.

Add as a separate book

Graphic novel and manga adaptations
Rescripted and redrawn, with their own readers and ratings. They are linked to the original, never merged with it.
Full-cast and dramatized audio
Performed rather than read, so it is its own book. Set the kind of book to Audio drama. If the recording is released in parts, follow the split-volume rule below too. Link it to the source book through Add an adaptation on that book's page, under Audio dramas.
Omnibuses and box sets
Books first published on their own, bundled together. Set the structure to Several books and list what is inside.
Split volumes
A book released in parts, such as part 1 of 3. Set each part's structure to Part of a book. For GraphicAudio's Fourth Wing (1 of 2) and (2 of 2), keep each part as a separate Audio drama with its own ISBN on its edition. Both parts stay in the dramatized series without a number; Fourth Wing is book 1 of The Empyrean.
Companions and retellings
Study guides, companions, retellings and continuations by other authors share a subject with the original, not its text.
The Hobbit graphic novel's book page, crediting J.R.R. Tolkien first and two adapters after him, and marked Graphic novel
The Hobbit graphic novel is its own book: Tolkien is credited first, the adapters after him, and the kind is set to Graphic novel.
Moon Called Dramatized Adaptation's book page, crediting a cast of narrators and marked Audio drama
A full-cast production of Moon Called is its own book, set to Audio drama. A single-narrator audiobook would be an edition of the novel.
Films, TV series, plays and games are not books Add them under Adaptations on the book page, never as a book.

Structure and kind of book

Structure says how a book is put together. Kind of book says what it is.
Single book
One complete book, including one in a series. Story, essay and poetry collections count as single books.
Several books
An omnibus, box set or anthology of books that were each published separately first.
Part of a book
One volume of a single book the publisher split up.
Several books and Part of a book have no series number Setting either removes the book's series position, so a reviewer always checks that change first.
The Hunger Games Trilogy book page, marked Several books
The Hunger Games trilogy in one volume is its own book, set to Several books.

Kinds of book

Choose one: Novel, Novella, Short story, Narrative non-fiction, Reference, Manga, Graphic novel, Comic, Poetry, Essays, Picture book, or Audio drama.A novella runs about 50 to 150 pages; a novel runs longer. Comic means single issues; a collected run is a graphic novel.

Series

A gap in the numbers does not mean a book is missing It is usually a novella, a retitled book, or a book we already hold that is not attached yet. Search before you add.
Follow the publisher's numbering
When publication order and story order differ, the publisher's order wins.
Novellas and prequels take a decimal
A story between books 2 and 3 is 2.5. Prequels before book 1 go below 1, such as 0.5.
Omnibuses and split volumes have no number
An omnibus or a split volume stays in the series without a position.
Same name, different author
Two series with the same name by different authors are two series.
Publisher lines are not series
Penguin Classics, Puffin Classics and similar imprints are not series.
Count what is published
The number of books counts what is out, not what is planned. A series is complete once its final book is out.
Throne of Glass series page listing the novellas at 0.4 and 0.5, followed by book 1
Throne of Glass: the prequel novellas take positions 0.1 to 0.5, ahead of book 1.
The Assassin's Blade listed under Collections and split volumes on the series page
The Assassin's Blade collects those novellas, so it stays in the series without a number.

Authors and credits

Wrong role? Change the role, don't remove the person. A translator credited as an author is still the translator. Removing them loses the credit altogether.
Cover order
Credit authors in the order the cover lists them. The first one is the primary author.
The right role
Translators, narrators, editors, illustrators and foreword writers each have their own role, never Author.
Book or edition
Illustrators of picture books and graphic novels are credited on the book. Narrators, translators and editors are credited on the edition they worked on.
Pen names
Pen names and names in other scripts are alternate names of one author, not separate authors.
House pseudonyms
Keep them as printed. Every Nancy Drew book is credited to Carolyn Keene, whoever wrote it.
Names
Jr. and Sr. are different people. Leave out degrees and titles such as Ph.D. or Dr.
Not an author
Anonymous is correct for a book published anonymously. Various, Staff or a publisher's name is not an author.

Titles, dates and numbers

Copy ISBNs digit for digit Take them from the book or its listing. Never work one out from another edition.
Titles
Use the title as the publisher prints it. Put an edition's subtitle in its own field, and leave labels such as (Book 1) out: the series carries the number.
First published
The year the book first came out anywhere, in any language. Each edition keeps its own date.
Books not out yet
Use the announced date and the edition shows as coming soon. A date several years away is usually a placeholder, so leave it out.
Pages and runtime
Take the page count from the edition itself or its copyright page. Audiobooks take a runtime instead.
Language
The language of the text in that edition, picked from the list.

Descriptions, genres and tags

No spoilers Keep the ending and every twist out of descriptions. Mark a character as a spoiler if knowing they exist gives something away.
Descriptions
Say what the book is about in plain, neutral language, in under about 1,500 characters. No emojis.
No marketing copy
Leave out review quotes, bestseller claims, prize lists and "perfect for fans of".
Genres
Up to four that honestly fit. A book is fiction or nonfiction, never both.
Content warnings
Only what is actually in the book, stated plainly and without judgment.
Tropes, moods and pace
Describe what happens on the page, not what the marketing promised.
Characters
Use the full name the book gives them. Leave out unnamed figures such as the narrator.
Awards
Only prizes the book won. Shortlists and nominations don't count, and a career prize such as the Nobel belongs to the author.

Covers

A wrong cover is worse than no cover If you are not sure it matches the edition, leave it out.
The real cover of that edition
From the publisher, a retailer's product image, or the book's Goodreads or Open Library page.
Never
A mockup, a 3D render, a photo of the book on a table, a box-set composite or a "cover coming soon" placeholder.
Box sets
Use the publisher's product image of the box itself. For a set, that is the cover.
Audiobooks are square
Use the square artwork, not the print jacket.
Big and sharp
Upload the largest clean image you can find. Images under 100 by 120 pixels are refused.
Removing a cover
Always goes to a reviewer.

Where to check facts

Two independent sources, and say which Check that the title and author match in each. With every edit, add a link or a photo of the copyright page: it is the strongest evidence you can give.
Roughly in order of trust:
  1. Publisher and author websitesThe first word on titles, release dates, series order and covers.
  2. Open LibraryEditions, ISBNs, publishers and covers.
  3. WorldCatLibrary records for editions and translations worldwide.
  4. Library of CongressAuthoritative records for US editions. Other national libraries are as good for their own countries.
  5. ISFDBScience fiction, fantasy and horror: editions, series order, short fiction and awards. Unusually reliable.
  6. WikipediaPublication history and awards, where the article cites a source.
  7. WikidataAwards and identifiers.
  8. GoodreadsBook and series pages for series order, editions and covers. Reviews there are opinions, not facts.
  9. Fantastic FictionBibliographies and series order for genre authors.
  10. AudibleNarrators and runtimes for audiobooks.
  11. Literary pressPublishers Weekly, Kirkus, Locus and newspaper reviews, for release dates and awards.

Not sources

  • AI-written summaries and "book facts" sites.
  • Pages that copy other listings, including many retailer and aggregator sites.
  • Memory, including your own.
  • Forum threads and reader reviews. They can point you to a fact but cannot confirm it.

The Librarian bookmarklet

One bookmark that reads the Goodreads or Audible page you are on and fills Seekquel in for you. What it does depends on the page.

What it does on each page

A Goodreads book page
Opens the add a book form filled in: title, authors, ISBNs, publisher, date, pages, format, language, series and position, description, cover, genres, moods, characters, settings, awards, translators and illustrators. The book's other editions come too, each removable. Sending to the catalog is on and adding to your library is off.
A book the catalog already has
Seekquel says so before the form and offers what the book is missing instead: editions, the cover, description and other details, series and position, authors the catalog already has, and new characters (a librarian checks each one first).
An Audible audiobook page
Reads the runtime and every narrator, and offers the audiobook to its book when Seekquel already has it.
A Goodreads series page
Reads every book in the series one at a time and lists them on Add a series as they arrive. New books are offered as new, known ones get their missing details and editions, and the series can gain its description and book count. Numbered books are ticked; omnibuses and box sets are left unticked. The run is kept for 30 days, and clicking again on the same series offers anything still missing.
Imported books with only a title (librarians)
On Add a series, tap Open Goodreads, then click the bookmark. It reads the next 100 books that readers' imports brought in with only a title, most-shelved first, and lists them the same way as a series.

Install it

  1. Show your browser's bookmarks bar: Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows and Linux, Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac.
  2. Drag the button below onto the bookmarks bar.
Seekquel LibrarianDrag it, don't click it.
Can't drag it? Copy the code, create a new bookmark and paste the code as its address.

Use it

  1. Sign in to seekquel.app in the same browser.
  2. On Goodreads, open the page of the exact edition you want to add (its address contains /book/show/) or a series page (/series/).
  3. Click Seekquel Librarian in your bookmarks bar. Seekquel opens in a new tab and the Goodreads page stays open. If your browser blocks the tab, use Open in Seekquel on the Goodreads page.
  4. For a long series, choose Skip other editions in the Goodreads panel. Each book then brings only the edition on its own page, and the series reads twice as fast.
  5. All missing editions start selected. Search or filter the list, deselect any you do not want to add, check the fields, then send.
The add a book form with the cover and title of Project Hail Mary already filled in
After one click on a Goodreads page, the form opens filled in.
The Send to the catalogue switch already turned on, with Add to my library off
Adding it to the public catalog is already switched on.
Goodreads makes mistakes too The form copies whatever the page says, including marketing blurbs, wrong series numbers and loose genres.
It reads only Goodreads and Audible pages, one request at a time with a pause, and nothing reaches the catalog until you send it. On other sites it offers to open the feedback board so you can ask for that site.

How edits are reviewed

Points
An accepted edit earns 5 points; a rejected one costs 2. Points move you from Reader through Scribe, Curator, Editor and Archivist to Librarian.
Instant edits
From Curator, at 50 points, most of your edits apply the moment you send them.
Still reviewed
When the book is on 50 or more readers' shelves, when more than 1 in 10 of your recent edits were rejected, or when you send more than 25 edits in 5 minutes.
Always reviewed
A new book, a new series, moving an edition to another book, changing what an omnibus contains, clearing a cover, and any field a librarian has locked.
Checked automatically
Page counts, titles, publication dates, publishers and ISBNs are also compared against outside sources.
See your contributions

Duplicates and mistakes

Never overwrite a book to get rid of it Blanking a book or rewriting it into a different one breaks the shelves of everyone who has it. Report it instead.
The same book twice
Use Report duplicate on its page. A reviewer merges them, and everyone's shelves, ratings and reviews move to the one that stays.
An edition under the wrong book
Open the Editions tab and choose This is a different book.
Unpublished work
Fan works, personal documents and anything unpublished stay in your own library as a private book.
A case these rules do not cover? Ask on the feedback board and we will add the answer here.Open the feedback board