Add items by identifier is a wonderful tool--when it works

ChaplainTom
I've had a surprising number of instances when the add-by-identifier feature returns the following: "Zotero could not find a record for the specified identifier. Please verify the identifier and try again." Yet, ZoteroBib finds it immediately. On rare occasions, I have closed Zotero and tried again later. On the second attempt, the tool found the item, but not usually. Different algorithms, I suppose, but it is puzzling and time-consuming.
  • aborel
    I think it's always worth remembering that the preferred entry method is the browser connector https://www.zotero.org/support/adding_items_to_zotero#via_your_web_browser

    This being said, can you give a few specific examples? "add by identifier" includes several different cases, it would be good to determine which one(s) are causing your problems and hopefully reproduce and analyze them.
  • adamsmith
    ZoteroBib doesn't actually use different algorithms -- so (with the exception of URLs which don't work in Zotero by design) if an identifier works there but not in Zotero, that's always worth reporting. The other way around (Zotero works but ZotBib doesn't) may occasionally happen.
  • ChaplainTom
    Thanks for the quick response. I should have mentioned that I have been concentrating on adding books, so the identifier has always been an ISBN. Additionally, the browser connector is rarely the best option when adding a book. For an academic publisher, perhaps you are correct. But for many mainstream publishers, the browser connector enters the item as either a web page or a blog post, so I need to do some significant editing. When the add-by-identifier is able to locate the book via ISBN, the entry is usually much more complete, and I have to do much less editing.
  • aborel
    edited 2 days ago
    I agree that web pages where one can find books are not always the best metadata source (typically: library catalogs yes, major booksellers often yes, publisher websites sometimes, blogs and other review pages not so much), and when they're not it takes time to locate a better one. I understand your point.

    Anyway, specific examples are still essential when it comes to analyzing metadata import issues. Can you post a couple of those and describe what's going wrong with each of them?
  • adamsmith
    edited 2 days ago
    If you don't get ISBNs via Zotero, that's typically some Worldcat issue -- we can say more with details on the ISBNs.

    That said, the browser icon used on books found in library catalogs is indeed one of the best way of adding books, too.
  • ChaplainTom
    Thanks, @adamsmith & @aborel. When I have a few more examples of specific ISBNs that weren't found by Zotero, I'll post them. I can't backtrack to find those that were already an issue. Thanks for the tip about library entries, but that doesn't help me much, either--I don't have access to an academic library. I was able to use Connector to enter an item from my public library. It was helpful, but I had to do some editing. Interestingly, the data pulled over did not include the publisher or ISBN. That was only one book, though. I saw an earlier unrelated post about the Library of Congress catalog--but I don't know if I can access it remotely without an academic affiliation. I have a Library of Congress reader identification card, but I have to go in person to activate it.
  • adamsmith
    All academic library catalogs, certainly in the US, are public, even when the libraries themselves aren't
  • aborel
    "Interestingly, the data pulled over did not include the publisher or ISBN": again, please be more specific so that others can reproduce your problem. What book? From what exact page?
  • ChaplainTom
    The book is "Beastly: The 40,000-year story of animals and us" by Keggie Carew. ISBN 978-1-4197-6703-6. This is the page from my public library that I used with Connect: https://mcpl.aspendiscovery.org/GroupedWork/6e55937c-07fc-10b3-59f4-e681f41efa2b-eng/Home?searchId=28310318&recordIndex=1&page=1&searchSource=local
    I'm guessing you can't access that page unless you have an MCPL library card.
    It might be helpful to you that the Library Catalog info pulled in is: mcpl.aspendiscovery.org
    Is this what you're looking for?
  • AbeJellinek
    Thanks, it looks like we should be able to get better information for books in that catalog (and others powered by the same software). We'll work on that.
  • aborel
    edited 4 hours ago
    Progress :-) Now does this book cause problems if you add it by identifier (the original question)? It's working for me.
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