Request for help on adding FS books to LT

I have quite a lot of FS volumes and I would like to add them to LT, BUT I'm hoping that there are some way I can add them without typing in the details of each one manually. Any tips on short cuts or pointers to fast upload approaches I could take would be very much appreciated.

One way is to browse the library of a member who has a lot of the books, such as the aptly named folio_books. They you can click on the "add to your library" icon at the end of each title listing.

I'd do what >2 Shadekeep: suggested. As an alternative, it's a bit perverse but you can add the books on GoodReads then export the Goodreads library and import it at LibraryThing. GoodReads usually has the details for Folio editions, although perhaps not for older or more obscure titles.

>2 Shadekeep: That does not help though - it does not add the book from the member's library but merely sends you to the usual sources (Amazon directly if there is ISBN, an error message otherwise).

There is a browser plugin that will copy the exact book's details but it is not from the site directly - LT cannot use LT records as sources.

>1 Amarisy: I add them manually - I can copy some elements from other records or from the Folio site but I find it faster for Folio books to just add it manually than to add from elsewhere and then fix what needs fixing.

>2 Shadekeep: >3 ubiquitousuk: - that sounds very advantageous to myself, and provided the member mentioned doesn't object to my hijacking their hard work of listing their volumes, then that would be very much appreciated as I have circa 1000 FS books, (I believe).

>4 AnnieMod: Our postings must have just crossed. I guess I'm being lazy but I'm looking for some shortcuts - coulds I edit/delete entries from the Folio 75 into some form for upload?

>4 AnnieMod: Hmm, I thought I got it to work before, but maybe not. Now that I think about it, it might have been a feature I requested LT to add, since it seems damned stupid if you can't do it that way.

Anyway, most of my library was uploaded from a self-made spreadsheet, and the rest added one title at a time. Probably not workable for >1 Amarisy: , though. Sorry about that.

>7 Shadekeep: Maybe you have the greasemonkey plugin/script from the Hacks group? :)

But yep - it is something a lot of people had requested. But LT cannot be used as a source for LT so... no go (for now).

>6 Amarisy: Well, there is the universal import - which can bring in some values (and because you do not have ISBNs, it will import them as is). But it does not have all fields - you can download the example though and see if it will work for you.

As I said - I found it easier to just get a few of my books on my table and work through them one by one. :)

>5 Amarisy: that sounds very advantageous to myself, and provided the member mentioned doesn't object to my hijacking their hard work of listing their volumes

I absolutely have no objections but, as >4 AnnieMod: has pointed out, I don't think it'll work. I have over 1900 Folios listed, including a complete run from 1947-2006 (ie Folio 60), every one entered manually (yes, it took a long time!) Good luck with your project. Let us know how it turns out

>10 folio_books: A copy/paste works though - open the manual add page in one browser, your book details in another and split screen them so you see both -- and it does not take that much time :)

I tend to pull from the site/Folio 60/the book itself but sometimes I will copy from the details of other members here when they had done most of the heavy lifting.

>10 folio_books: thank you for your response, and kind offering, even though it would be thwarted.

I'm starting to think my LT FS listing has to be a one by one entry. This winter would have to be a very cold one....

>8 AnnieMod: That's possible, I do run a number of Greasemonkey scripts!

I'm wondering if the Export feature here on LT might help, at least for large collections like Folio Society. Someone with a representative collection could export all their FS titles into a file which other folks could then theoretically trim down to just their list and then Import. I haven't tested this, but it seems like something that could work. It would be ideal to only export the columns that are universal to the books and not user-specific ones, but this could be done in the cleanup phase too. In theory a master list of all FS titles could be created this way, for new librarians to use as a baseline for their own collections.

>11 AnnieMod:

If only someone had suggested that to me at the outset!

Just checking and it seems it took me a little over three months to load my collection, as it then stood, onto LT. Not even a whole winter!

>13 Shadekeep: You will hit another existing challenge - an exported library cannot be imported back cleanly. The only format you can use is the universal import one - and it has a lot LESS fields than the export. :)

Now - if someone wants to create an import file for people to use, with the format that the site uses - that can work. But as I said - it is limited. :)

>14 folio_books: I have probably less than half of mine in LT for now - because I keep changing my plan on what I want to do. :) 3 months for the size of your library is not bad at all :) But on the other hand - as long as you do not try to do 100 in a day, it is not that tedious. :)

>15 AnnieMod: Argh. Designs like that make the programmer in me most unhappy. But it is what it is. I'm guessing a generalised master file would be the way to go. I did write a parser that turned Folio 75 into a spreadsheet, so maybe I can adapt that into a load sheet as well for LT. I'll see what columns it wants.

>1 Amarisy:: "I'm hoping that there are some way I can add them without typing in the details of each one manually"

I suppose it depends on what you consider to be “the details”. Title and author?

Go to the “Add Books” tab and select a library source that’s likely to have a large selection of FS volumes. The British Library has worked well for me for older Folios, and maybe Amazon for some of the newer ones (although I prefer having my bibliographic data created by professional librarians rather than some random Amazon seller).

As a test, I just now randomly entered “Torrents of Spring, folio” using the British Library as a source - and up popped the proper 1967 FS edition. I tried again with “name of the rose, folio” and the proper 2001 edition appeared among the ten hits returned. How about “the folio book of comic short stories” added just today to The Folio Archives by Dr. Carter–? It’s there too – it took me all of 10 seconds to search and add it to my library.

Your success hinges on selecting the proper source. I’ve entered over 5000 volumes in my LT collection, and only had to enter about a dozen “manually” – the odd volumes I could not find in any library collection. That number includes 189 Folios – not a single one of which I had to enter manually.

Yes, it’d be great to have the Folio 75 able to import into your library. Will the data include the Dewey/ LC classifications? That’s one of the most useful features of my LT library – the ability to sort and display my entire collection on any given subject.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'll have a go with >18 BangkokYankee: approach of using a library source and see how I progress.

These are the columns I extracted from Folio 75. Whether that's a useful enough subset depends on one's requirements.

Number
Year
Book
Author
Size
Pages
Type
Display Type
Title Type
Other Type
Typesetter
Printer
Binder
Plates
Details
Editions

>19 Amarisy: Great! Let us know how you’re making out, and what works and doesn’t work for you.

Ninety percent of the posters to this group on this cataloging website don’t bother to catalogue their books on LT- maybe your experience will encourage a few to give it a try.

I find LT perfect for my needs (getting a handle on my 10,000+ book collection and discovering what key volumes I may lack on any given subject by rummaging through the libraries of others). I tried out other sites and wasted money on other programs. Cataloguing here could not be easier and I find it enormously satisfying.

If you plan to enter a lot of books with barcodes, get a handheld barcode scanner. If I find myself with 30-40 minutes to spare I’ll clear a shelf or a box of 30 or more volumes, entering them into my LT collection with the correct edition and cover photo (longer if I can’t find my particular cover and have to scan, photoshop and add my own).

Sure beats 30 minutes of aimless web-surfing.

>21 BangkokYankee: Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I had a go today with locating a volume, (Goodbye to Berlin), on the British Library. I'm trying to figure out the meaning of various fields (e.g. first FS publication date vs edition?) and looking at other members libraries to try and suss out some good tips for how FS books have been recorded. I'm not going to aim too high on volumes entered each day.

I have to say, I'm very impressed with the detail members go to with their entries!

>22 Amarisy: Record the dates that make sense to you. The "publishing date" in the catalog is meant to be the date of your book - but you decide if you want the date of the printing (if known) or the date Folio published the book initially. It depends on how you want to use the date later.

>22 Amarisy: If you wanted to display the full description from Folio's own bibliography, simply download Folio 75 - it's free from the FS website - find your title (Goodbye to Berlin is there on page 177, item #385), copy the description, and paste the whole thing right in your "comments" field. Your comments will then display under "Your Books", depending on the style you select. The whole operation takes less than a minute.

Here is the direct link to the Folio 75 complete bibliography:

https://issuu.com/thefoliosocietymagazine/docs/folio_75_text

There is also the FSD wiki complete list of FS books, which also includes the latest titles, pictures of every book, and reviews of over 300 books.
See https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Groups:BOOKS_PUBLISHED_BY_THE_FOLIO_SOCI...

>20 Shadekeep: I didn’t realize there was so much info available about types in FS75. Out of genuine curiosity, why are the different types so important?

>26 wcarter: Wouldn't it be cool if there was an "add to collection" button after each entry in the wiki that invoked a script to add the book to a users collection? I can dream.

I've been enjoying this topic. Inspired me to resume cataloging my collection here. I started with my private press and LEC books as the number is more manageable than my Folio books and I thought I could get a gauge on how long it would take to enter things. The private press books generally had an entry in the British Library search, so were convenient to enter. The LEC books were hit or miss and after awhile I just resorted to manual entry. It took me a day and a bit to enter 160ish books, with minimal information on each book. Makes the 900 or so Folio books seem doable.

Having my collection catalogued has become invaluable while browsing used bookshops worldwide.

>27 bacchus.: Some people (myself among them) are avid typophiles, though it is interesting to see FS catering to that demographic by providing the info. It's much appreciated, but not something I imagine matters much to the typical customer. It's possible the author(s) of the Folio bibliography are into typefaces and thus wanted to be sure to capture the information.

As for your broader question, typeface gives the text its character (no pun intended), and can create a mood and feel for the text. It's subtle at times, but if you see comparisons of the same text in different typefaces, you can appreciate how each gives it a specific timbre.

There is an excellent book by Simon Garfield for typophiles - it's called "Just My Type: A Book about Fonts". It does what it says on the tin - the best thing is that the text uses the fonts that are being discussed so you can gauge their effect. I have a copy catalogued here.

>32 appaloosaman: there's also the big daddy private press version: https://youtu.be/xfvSQI3uwjg

>23 AnnieMod: Thank you for your advice on the LT catalog.

I'm enjoying a laid back approach to adding my FS books. Having added some outlier volumes, (aka not shelved), as practice, I have started with the Poetry section of my bookcases.

My current strategy is to pick up the BLib. entry, where possible, as a first pass, and then my plan is to, shamelessly, copy and paste from the Folio 75 or FSG wiki entry.

I am fine tuning the process. So far I have added a glass of red wine to the mix.

If you want to make a list of your FS collection in a Word document, you can copy the relevant entries from the FSD wiki list (see here) and paste them into Word then sort alphabetically. The advantage is that the links will still work and you can instantly click on a link beside the entry and see a picture of the book, and in 300+ cases, see a review.

>31 Shadekeep: Thank you! I’m not a “typophile” myself but now that I know the term, I might start giving types more attention.

>32 appaloosaman: >33 ubiquitousuk: Thanks for sharing! I’ll make some time to explore.

>32 appaloosaman:

Very good to know old friends are still around...

>20 Shadekeep:

Five type-related elements in your extract (I note remarks at >31 Shadekeep:), but type is nothing without some paper to appear on. Is the omission of paper indifference or oversight?

Edited to include a mea culpa: it seems paper data are not routinely included in Folio 75, which is a great pity. I include it my own data base.

>38 affle: That omission is indeed a shame. I've come to an appreciation of paper much later than my standing love of type, but am now firmly in the camp that it makes a great deal of difference. I'm glad someone is capturing that information, even if FS is not doing so consistently.

You will find some paper data in the extract I created. It typically lands in the Details column, depending on how the parser interpreted the entry text. There you'll find occasional specifications for paper, like "Printed on cream Mohawk paper" or "Printed on white Magnani mould-made paper". Any information on the binding materials ("Quarter dark blue buckram, blue paper boards with a pattern in gold by Anna Murray; dark red endleaves.") is usually there as well.

A bit over 2,500 books with many being FS with some details are loaded manually. However, from boredom, I would sometimes revert to a version of the book that popped up from the Amazon search. The WIKI was not as elaborate as it is now for accurate cover pictures and my particular edition details may vary. There are maybe another 400+ physical books not counting audio books and record/CDs not entered yet.
My efforts waned.
I decided to not catalog my professional books.
The task of weighing how to locate the books physically remains unsolved since I double shelve and don't always replace a book back in the same shelf and bookcase. A big benefit to cataloging is to be able to readily find the book.

>1 Amarisy: I've just started a clean catalogue and I'm adding Folio first. Some good suggestions above.

I tend to have two LT tabs open at the same time. The first is the reference page at the pinned post at the top of the group with every book on it by Folio. CRTL F quickly gets me to the book I want.

The second tab is the add books page where I search always with the prefix "Folio society" then the book title. I find this to be a largely successful method and saves lots of time.