CABI imports erroneous data

hortilla
When trying to download references from CABI, I encountered the following errors:
1. A multiple-reference icon is not available in address bar when viewing search results.
2. An embedded RDF icon is seen when viewing a single reference.
3. When that icon is pressed, zotero imports data, but the first author is always CAB International instead of the real author. The item type is listed as a web page (also an error), so there is no publication data.

URL: http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20063184178.html?resultNumber=23&start=20&q=%28raspberry+bushy+dwarf+virus%29

I have checked the site translator troubleshooting page and everything is fine, except I did not do point #10. Should I do this?
  • adamsmith
    that means there is currently no translator and the embedded RDF is faulty.
    Apart from writing a translator, not much Zotero can do. You can try to get in touch with the CABI people, though, pointing them here:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/make_your_site_zotero_ready
  • hortilla
    Okay, thanks.

    Is zotero still maintaining a list of compatible sites? I saw one this morning but now I can't find it. I know there are a lot of translators, too many to update manually. But is there some central place where people can document which sites are working and which are not?
  • adamsmith
    well, the site is here
    http://www.zotero.org/translators/
    but "maintained" would be a bit of a euphemism. It hasn't been touched in about two years. It's also pretty useless in that form - listing all those libraries is a bit silly (they all use the same 6 or 7 library catalogue translators)

    I think what would be a good idea is to replace it with a list of existing Zotero translators, so that people know which sites are _supposed_ to work with Zotero.
    If you're interested in working on that - the page is maintained as a wiki, you can certainly contribute.
  • hortilla
    Adam, are you saying that www.zotero.org/translators/ is maintained as a wiki or that your proposed "new" list of existing zotero translators is maintained as a wiki?

    I will look into contributing - depending on which it is.
  • adamsmith
    oops sorry - I thought it was a wiki - the rest of the documentation is - but that page isn't, my suspicion would be that that's for no good reason.
    I looks like Debbie has been working a lot on the support pages - maybe she could chime in on this? I'd assume she reads along, but I don't know, she doesn't post on the forum much.
  • dstillman
    It's auto-generated from a database (that hasn't been updated in years).
  • adamsmith
    OK, we'll just leave it alone then...
    I was going to suggest to just create a site /support/translators but then found out that already exists
    http://www.zotero.org/support/translators
    and that is indeed a wiki - hortilla, see here for instructions on how to contribute:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/writing_documentation
    You can find all existing translators in the translator folder of your local Zotero data directory to give you a sense:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/zotero_data?s=export#elements_of_a_zotero_library_-_data_and_files
  • Sophie Cornu
    I have also a problem with CAB abstracts translator. Thanks to adamsmith tips, I found this translator in my local Zotero data directory : CABI - CAB Abstracts.js.

    But when I am in the "search results" page of CAB abstracts on cabdirect site (www.cabdirect.org), I can't see any Zotero icon in the address bar.

    When having a look in the CABI - CAB Abstracts.js :
    - the target is http://www.cabi.org/, so it seems it can't work on cabdirect site, where CAB abstracts database is now located
    - the translator is only designed for "book" entries, what is not very useful in fact...

    I suggest to rename the translator...
  • ajlyon
    It looks like the site has changed a fair amount, and it will be necessary for someone to significantly rework the translator to re-enable support. Adamsmith has provided all the information there is on how to make that happen.
  • Sophie Cornu
    Thank you for your answer.
    If I understand well, the person who could significantly rework the translator, could be :
    - the editor, that means CAB
    - the developer-team, that means "you"
    - the users, that means "me"

    The best solution seems to be the first one. Perhaps could you give me some advices for my request to CAB ? I could for instance cite this page :
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/translators
  • adamsmith
    Yes, do contact CAB - also, talk to your librarian about this - they make the purchase decisions for databases, so they're the ones with the most leverage.
    Point to the large and increasing user base of Zotero - at least a quarter of a million people, probably many more, use Zotero regularly. You can mention that more and more database providers - large and small - assure that their sites are accessible to Zotero (EBSCO and Wilson, e.g., have provided their own translators, other sites expose their metadata so that no translator is needed).
    The page to point them to is here:
    http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/exposing_metadata
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