WorldCat/Firefox/Chrome

edited November 5, 2021
The Connector/Translator for Worldcat does not work properly any more, both in Chrome and Firefox. Names are not correctly split in name/first name, place of publications and publishers are often dropped. This was not the case a year ago, I think.

Example:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/medieval-science-technology-and-medicine-an-encyclopedia/oclc/994342191&referer=brief_results

Zotero 5.0.96.3
  • That's the data from Worldcat -- not sure we can do much about this (It's under Cite --> Export the Endnote/Reference Manager):

    TY - ELEC
    DB - /z-wcorg/
    DP - http://worldcat.org
    ID - 994342191
    LA - English
    UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315165127
    T1 - Medieval science, technology and medicine : an encyclopedia
    A1 - Glick, Thomas F.,, Livesey, Steven John,, Wallis, Faith,,
    Y1 - 2017///
    SN - 9781315165127 1315165120 9781351676168 1351676164 9781351676175 1351676172 9781351676151 1351676156
    AB - "First published in 2005, this encyclopedia demonstrates that the millennium from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance was a period of great intellectual and practical achievement and innovation. In Europe, the Islamic world, South and East Asia, and the Americas, individuals built on earlier achievements, introduced sometimes radical refinements and laid the foundations for modern development. Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine details the whole scope of scientific knowledge in the medieval period in more than 300 A to Z entries. This comprehensive resource discusses the research, application of knowledge, cultural and technology exchanges, experimentation, and achievements in the many disciplines related to science and technology. It also looks at the relationship between medieval science and the traditions it supplanted. Written by a select group of international scholars, this reference work will be of great use to scholars, students, and general readers researching topics in many fields, including medieval studies, world history, history of science, history of technology, history of medicine, and cultural studies."--Provided by publisher.
    ER -

    I suspect it's particularly bad for e-books, though. If you import the print version (https://www.worldcat.org/title/medieval-science-technology-and-medicine-an-encyclopedia/oclc/1018399170?referer=br&ht=edition), that looks a bit better, though still the same issue with authors

    @AbeJellinek might be worth exploring if the double commas in the RIS from Open WorldCat can be cleaned out. I don't really see any scenario there should be a double comma there.
  • I'll take a look, thanks.
  • Then, I am almost certain that WorldCat changed their data or syntax. I imported hundreds if not thousands of titles in 2019, and this error did hardly if at all occur. Adjusting the import would be great. Also strange that info on place/publisher is not (I'd say: no longer) part of the RIS.
  • We've pushed an update to the translator. Your Zotero Connector should auto-update within 24 hours, or you can update manually by clicking Update Translators in the Advanced pane of the Zotero Connector preferences.
  • there is at least one more issue: some characters are not processed correctly, see the editors' names, e.g., for this item: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1001708153
  • I would add that the translator is not working for the # of Pages field nor does it add subjects to the Tags field.
  • OpenWorldcat just doesn't have great metadata -- tags and # of Pages just aren't there.
  • @c-sander sorry, the character encoding is broken in both RIS files they provide. Non-ascii names have always been wonky in Worldcat, but they've apparently decided to break it completely now.
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