a specific ebook type?

m.lana

hi everyone,
i wonder if we could have a new, specific "ebook" item type which should provide a DOI field.
fact is that now it is not possible to include in the description of a "book residing online" its DOI. actually in Zotero only an article can have a DOI.
if an object has a DOI i think we should be able to properly include it in the description without recurring to the Extra field.
best
maurizio

adamsmith

All item types will get DOIs in the future. Until then, putting that information in the Extra field is the way to go.

m.lana

thank you adamsmith.
my basic question - which ended a little disguised under the DOI question - is: what about an "ebook" item type?
because an ebook is not simply an instance of a printed book.
in fact there are lots of ebooks without a corresponding printed book.
best
maurizio

adamsmith

I'm skeptical about an ebook item type. I think an ebook is just a book that's published differently, just like a journal article can be print, print&digital, or just digital and all still be a journal article.

m.lana

hi adamsmith,
i disagree with "an ebook is just a book that's published differently"
it's not that an article is an article is an article be it published in a journal or in a newspaper or in a magazine. in fact we have in Zotero 3 different types of item article.
we strongly need an item type ebook because its editorial and industrial and management process is deeply different from that of printed books. and consequently the way of describing it is different from the one of a printed book.
ciao
maurizio

adamsmith

How is an ebook described differently? It has a title, an author, a publisher, a publishing location, and a date of publication. In addition it may have a DOI and/or a DOI and an edition marker such as "Kindle edition". It may or may not have an editor and it may or may not have a translator. All of this fits neatly within the book template. (All article types that you list exist as digital and print, too, and we only have one item type for each of them).

steamboat28

Not to necro this post, but ebooks have inherently different qualities to physical books. Would you cite a web article and a print article the same way?

Even if there's not a new type for ebooks, at least put fields in the "Book" type that will suit things like ASIN in addition to ISBN, or somesuch.

bwiernik

Yes, you generally would cite an electronic and paper journal article in the same way—most “paper” books and articles are also available online. See my response to your other post here: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/334490/#Comment_334490