Importing a simple excel-file

sdspieg

My mother-in-law has started putting her (physical) library into a very simple Excel spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuopIuO3xlZsdDU1VXVjMFROZlVzRnpVY08wdnAwaFE). I've been telling her she should do this in Zotero. Is there anybody who can point me to an easy way to import this excel-file into Zotero? Thanks!

adamsmith

that wouldn't be easy to do, no. There are some suggestions on the forum (e.g. going through bibtex as a intermittent format), but none of it is trivially easy and I don't see a way that would preserve all the info in that spreadsheet.

Also, spreadsheet are perfectly fine depending on the desired functionality - why do you think Zotero would be better for her?

aurimas

if you have a list of ISBNs, that could speed up imports into Zotero. Otherwise you can just search for books on worldcat.org and import from there. there is no bulk import solution for your situation.

sdspieg

The reason I suggested Zotero to her is that she could then automatically download all the bibliographical info without having to type it all in manually. I'll take a book at the bibtex-solution. Thanks!

DWL-SDCA

Even with the BibTeX idea, there are several columns of information that will not be transferred. There will still be a need to use notes and tags for that extra information.

I use Zotero primarily as a MODS translator. I import items from databases and export them in MODS format so that I can import them into "my" online database. We import about 700 records a day; so, I know about any effort needed.

Given the number of items on the spreadsheet you shared, I estimate that it would require no more than 3.5 hours to fill a Zotero database by importing from WorldCat, Google Books, and Amazon. Unless her Internet connection is a very slow dial-up, that estimate includes the time needed to add special tags and notes.