Import Data Source Best Practices

I want to import >400 books from my GoodReads account. I will be following the links on the "Add Books" page for importing from "GoodReads."

What is the "best practice" as far as selecting the "Data Source" to use. When reading thru some the various topics here on LT, there seem to be implied suggestions against using Amazon -- implying that an actual library would be a better source. Would the Library of Congress be better?

Any suggestions? Or can anyone point me toward materials that may discuss this topic?

As an aside, I tried the import and limited my Data Source to just the Library of Congress. Of the 467 books that I tried to input, 263 failed.

Depends on what you're importing. For general American fiction and non-fiction, my go-to list is these five:

ILCSO (Illinois Libraries)
OhioLINK
MORE Online Catalog (Wisconsin)
MINERVA (Maine)
Colorado Unified Catalog (Prospector)

YMMV.

LoC tends to be finicky for imports. Good for single searches where you can refine the search query, but not so much for mass import lookups.

Thanks.

BTW -- Should I have post this under "Talk about LibraryThing" rather than books? If so, I am sorry and is there a way to move the thread?

You can't move threads, and it doesn't really matter much, between the standing groups.

I use ILCSO a lot, along with LoC and Oxford. My most used is the Vlaamse Centrale Catalogus because it, naturally, has everything I've borrowed from the library, as well as plenty of others. Is Overcat an option for imports? Lots of stuff is generally in it, because any record previously used is there. I don't do importing, so, no help specifically for that.

I would start with OverCat if possible. I would put OhioLINK before ILCSO, but have had good results from both.

For recent books, Amazon is not bad. Their own data has gotten pretty good, but the data for older books comes from their partners, and can be just awful.

Thanks to all who responded.

When you select one library as a Data Source over another library -- for example, ILCSO over OhioLink or OverCat -- is it because one has different/better data for a particular book or because one is more likely to have a given book?

OverCat is most likely to have anything because it is the set of successful library searches plus a few libraries that have allowed a full dump.

In general, the libraries will tend to have similar data. Today most cataloging is done centrally and libraries buy the entries.

ILCSO, OhioLINK, MINERVA, (the British Talis Union Catalog back when it worked) and a few others are state- city- or countrywide library datadases, and likely to have more popular fiction than some of the academic libraries. Which one matches your reading preferences best is something you have to try out. I started using OhioLINK after my son was enthusiastic about what he could borrow through them while he was at college in Ohio. It often came up with things I had been having trouble finding, so I moved it up my list. If you have a lot of local books, choosing the local one will certainly help, otherwise it is a matter of experience with your entries.

Thanks again. I have a follow up question.

I am trying to add a kindle book to my library. Looking at the copyright page on my kindle indicates the following:

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Mitchell, David (David Stephen)
The thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet : a novel / David Mitchell.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-679-60358-0
1. Deshima (Nagasaki-shi, Japan)—Fiction.
2. Japan—History—1787–1868—Fiction.
3. East and West—Fiction.
4. Trading posts—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6063.I785T47 2010 823′.914—dc22 2009047296

But, if I search the indicated ISBN (978-0-679-60358-0) using the Library of Congress as the Data Source, I get no results. If I search the Library of Congress using the author and title, I get a few results, but none with that ISBN. If the book has "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA," shouldn't it be listed in the Library of Congress database?

As an aside:

If I search the ISBN in OverCat, I get several results, but none with that ISBN.

If I search the ISBN in Amazon, I get a result that matches the kindle book, but in the data fields the ISBN is blank and instead an "AISN" (Amazon Standard Identification Number) is listed.

Oddly, I borrowed this book from my local library and in that library's cataloge information for the kindle edition it lists an ISBN for a hardcover edition?

>8 Gatoruss: Ordinarily the LoC is not in the business of acquiring/accessioning Kindle ebooks (as far as I know, at least!) So I wouldn't expect to see results. For a Kindle e-book specifically, your best source is going to be Amazon, since they are authoritative on their own branded ebooks. For other ebooks, harder to say. You could try searching for holdings in Worldcat using "Just this Edition" option (e.g. http://www.worldcat.org/title/thousand-autumns-of-jacob-de-zoet-a-novel/oclc/668... -- but that doesn't seem to work well (or at all) with most ebooks. Oftentimes a manual entry, or entry of a print version with manual revisions to reflect the ebook version, is going to be your best bet.

Okay -- it must be that it was really early on a Monday morning before the java kicked in, but I just searched that ISBN (978-0-679-60358-0) OverCat again and it found 7 entries with the ISBN. Not sure what I was doing incorrectly earlier? :-)