Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
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FAQ: Why hasn't my request been completed? I see lots of other recent requests which have been.
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There are many reasons a specific request might not have been completed. Because our wonderful Goodreads Librarians are volunteers , each of them decides how many requests to complete, when to complete them, and which ones. We have Librarians who complete hundreds of requests each week, and some who just complete a couple. (And of course, some do not participate in this group at all.)
Some specific reasons that might be factors:
1. Timing and luck: Maybe you posted within the same 10-minute period as 15 other users and your thread has been pushed down the list. Alternatively, maybe you posted at a time of day when no Librarians happened to be checking the group. Librarians live in time zones all over the world, and the ones checking the group today may not be the same as the ones checking tomorrow. A given Librarian might check at noon Pacific today, but at 6 PM Pacific tomorrow. So there's no reliable way to predict the best time to post, and sometimes you may be luckier than others.
2. Following group guidelines: Mentioning specific users (Librarians or otherwise) by name in your request is generally not allowed. Neither are links to their profiles (other than author profiles to which you are requesting a book be moved, etc.), reviews, librarian logs, etc. Librarians are likely to ignore posts which flout the rules, as they know deletion of the problem posts is likely. Phrases like "another user", "a librarian", "someone else" are helpful. As is the passive voice. (E.g.: The edit has been completed.)
3. Timely follow-up: If a Librarian responds to your request with a question, please try to respond with the needed information within a day or two. In most cases your request cannot be completed without the missing details.
4. Number of posts in thread: If a thread quickly has a second post, Librarians paying attention to recent threads are likely to assume someone else has already responded to your request. So if you are posting additional details a few minutes (or even hours) after your initial post, editing the original post is better than posting again to the thread. It's also less confusing to have everything together, rather than spread out in two or more posts.
5. Request density: If you are requesting changes to 20 books, and clump all 20 links together in a single post with no line breaks, many Librarians will pass by the dense block of text. Try breaking requests into smaller groups (maybe 3-5 per post), and/or numbering your individual requests.
6. Ease of requested edits: Some edits take less than a minute; some can take many, many times that. In addition to the actual edits, sometimes research may be required to do the job properly. It is advisable to spend the time to make your requests clear, and provide all necessary information and useful links. (ISBN or ASIN and a link to the Goodreads book page are especially helpful!) Doing so definitely makes completing the request easier. However, some edits will take time no matter how clear and detailed you are. We are blessed with a handful of Librarians who enjoy taking on challenging edits, but many prefer to complete lots of quick ones instead. (And of course, both of those are 100% fine with us!)
7. Type of edit: Some Librarians love to correct page counts. Others prefer to add missing covers, or edit book descriptions, or combine orphan editions with their parent works. Some types of edits, like series, are best completed by experienced Librarians. And some, like awards, are primarily handled by the small number of Librarians who specialize in them.
8. Genre: Some Librarians ignore genre when completing requests. Others prefer to complete requests for YA books, or romance, or non-fiction. Some requests are best completed by a Librarian familiar with the specific author, series, or technical field. If one doesn't happen to be around that day (or week), your request may take a while to get a response.
9. Multiple requests: If you post the same request in more than one thread, or post a lot of closely-related requests (such as multiple edits to the same book) in multiple threads, Librarians may be confused and move on to a less-confusing request. Posting many threads at once can be overwhelming, even if each one is a separate request about a different book. Try to pace yourself.
10. Posting in the wrong place: It is generally best practice to start a new thread. This is especially true for complicated or multi-step requests. It is ok to post to an appropriate general ongoing thread (such as one of the "please combine" threads that tend to pop up and go for 100s of posts), especially if you are making simple requests. However, please do not post a reply in an existing thread whose topic indicates that it is about a specific author, book, or series, or whose header has been linked to a specific book or author. Not only does it cause confusion, it makes your post likely to be overlooked. Posting your thread in the correct folder also makes it more likely to be responded to. (Protip: If you're not sure which folder is the right one, Book Issues is the most likely place for it to go.)
11. ALL-CAPS: It is generally accepted in most online discussions that ALL-CAPS is viewed as SHOUTING! It is thus advisable to avoid all-caps, especially in thread titles.
12. History in the Group: How have you responded to previous requests for clarification or additional information? Requesters who treat Librarians as helpful colleagues are more likely to receive quick responses on future requests. Remember, Goodreads Librarians are required to follow Goodreads policies and practices. Pushing for changes which are contrary to those policies is counterproductive.
13. Language: While you are welcome to post requests in Spanish, Hebrew, Esperanto, or text-speak, doing so may reduce the number of Librarians who are comfortable trying to complete it. (Note: You are welcome to try! We do have a number of active Librarians who are fluent in various languages.) Many requesters use Google Translator (or similar application) instead of, or in addition to, posting in a language other than English.
14. Tone: Tone can be hard to detect in a text-only medium. We therefore suggest you err on the side of caution. Of course, all members of this group are expected to treat all other members with courtesy and to follow the group's rules. But remember, Goodreads Librarians are volunteers. They have volunteered their time and effort to make the Goodreads database better. There's a saying about flies and honey that comes to mind.
15. Bump frequency: If some time has passed and your post has not had a reply, "bumping" it up the list is a good idea. A good guidelines is to bump requests for Adding New Books & Editions after a week has passed since your original post, and 48 hours for all other requests. To do this, just post a reply in the same thread. Please do not start a duplicate thread, which is confusing. Please do not bump your thread if only a few hours have passed. For posts in the 'Looking for a Project?' folder, bumping every one to two weeks is best.
Of course, there may be many other reasons your particular request(s) has (have) not been answered. This list is meant to provide some of the more common possibilities, as well as some suggestions of how to improve your chances. It is certainly not exhaustive.
As this post is not meant to start a debate or discussion, we are closing the thread to comments. You are welcome to email in any comments you wish to share with Goodreads. You are also welcome to visit Goodreads Help for other advice on using the site.