Goodreads Librarians – Carol

Changes to Goodreads

Are we having fun yet?

For those that don’t know/haven’t realised, anyone used to be able to add a book on Goodreads & would have a limited time to correct any mistakes. & most people did a good or at least reasonable job. Unfortunately the ones that did a bad job were spectacularly bad & often quite prolific!

So I do understand why Goodreads has decided to restrict adding new books, to Librarians, Support (Staff) & Authors, (& the bulk of books added to the GR data base are added by bots) but I am puzzled why they have picked to do it now! Numbers of Librarians responding in the Librarians Group are noticeably down. A lot of reasons for that, other than COVID. (although I believe that is a big one.)

All Goodreads Librarians can ask is;

Please be patient. We are unpaid volunteers. What may have take a few hours to get added in the not so distant past, may take a few days. Just keep bumping up your request every couple of days. Someone will get to you eventually. 😊

Another change, due to start taking effect in July (& they will be fully removed in September) is our lists of our Favorite Authors. Goodreads suggests we follow them instead – but most of my favorites are dead & I find the idea of following deceased people a bit creepy to be honest.

If you object to this change please use GR’s Contact Us link to voice your disapproval.

These are just the main changes – there are more, but to be honest they aren’t issues I care about.

This is the link on Goodreads Help but it may only work for Goodreads Help members.

https://help.goodreads.com/s/article/Why-are-you-removing-multiple-features-on-Goodreads

& finally, please don’t take out your frustration on Goodreads Librarians. We have little to no influence on anything Goodreads decides to do.

Goodreads Support & Goodreads Librarians are not Interchangeable Terms!

I thought I really should start doing more with my blog space then just reposting my Goodreads reviews.

So I’ll start with this:

I was reading some blog posts on WordPress and I came upon one that interested me. This blogger was going to write to Goodreads Librarians about a copyright issue. She duly posted her message which she said she sent to Goodreads Librarians. All well and good – except she didn’t.

She would have sent her message to Support (Staff). Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who do the book cataloging and correct quotes & stuff like that. We don’t receive copies of these messages/emails – ever.

Goodreads Librarians have little to no influence over Goodreads policies. There are many things we can’t help with. I know because I am a Goodreads Librarian!

There are many things we can’t help with:

* Spammers

*Trolls & other bullies

*Any bugs or anything not working properly on the Goodreads

*Book ratings

*Book reviews

*Becoming a Goodreads Author or Librarian

*In most cases Goodreads Giveaways (but if there is some missing information we may be able to fill that in. Usually though you will need Support.)

* Changes to Goodreads Policies about pretty much anything

For all of those issues you need Support (Staff) You have contacted staff already and haven’t heard back? Sorry, still can’t help. With millions of members & a relatively small staff sometimes queries to them aren’t answered the same day – or even the same week. You just have to be patient.

Neither Staff nor Librarians;

“I read this wonderful book over ten years ago and all I remember is that it was set in Canada & the heroine was a florist who always wore pink.”

Try a wonderful GR group called What’s the Name of that Book. They have had a lot of successes. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185-what-s-the-name-of-that-book

Ahhh, I feel better now!

Short Story Review: A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies

From; Apex Magazine Issue 105, February 2018 by Jason Sizemore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review is for A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix Harrow and Interview with Alix Harrow by Andrea Johnson only.

Enchanting

Really the only word that can be used to describe this longish short story. I entered the Witch Librarian’s library – and I didn’t want to leave.

Books can do magic, can create a world for the lost, bewildered and lonely. Ms Harrow understands this.

I’m excited by the depth and complexity of Ms Harrow’s imagination and look forward to reading more of her work.

It’s only September, but I am going to call this my best short story read of 2019.

Great interview by Andrea Johnson – which shows she also has a vivid imagination! Brief, but witty and informative. 5★

I’m a Librarian on Goodreads and I always feel a faint bit of dread when friends review online magazine stories individually on Goodreads. There is always much angst when the story is inevitably merged with the magazine.Want to change Goodreads policy on short stories? I don’t think there is much chance of that, but you need to contact staff rather than posting about it on your review. Here is the link. https://www.goodreads.com/about/contact_us

Librarians are volunteers – we have little to no influence on Goodreads policies. On the rare occasions that Goodreads backs down, you need Librarians prepared to do the reversals and there is usually a consequence where active Librarians either stop doing the edits or only do their own. Just saying.

More chance of success would be to ask if the authors concerned if they would put the short stories on their own website. If the story is on their website, it would have to be unconditionally available. (readers not required to join a mailing list for example) to be added to the Goodreads database.