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Show HN: See library availabilities for your Goodreads want-to-read list
This is a Goodreads + Libby app integration which shows you the library availability for each of the books on your Goodreads want to read list.
Basically, I got sick of manually looking up each book on my Want to Read list on the Libby app to see if it was available or how long the wait was. So I made this site which easily gathers all that info for me.
At this point, I'm scraping Goodreads to figure out the "Want to Read" list. Libby provides a nice API though.
Any feedback is appreciated!! I also have a substack that I'm going to use to post updates, so follow along there if you're interested :) projecttbr.substack.com
- topherjaynes 3y agoNo notes other than add a tip jar, I didn't know I needed this, but amazing work.
- bellamk 3y agothanks so much!!
- koch 3y agoTakes a bit to load but looks straightforward and useful!
- prepend 3y agoHow do I find my Goodreads profile id?
- bellamk 3y agoit's everything after show/ in the link to your profile! e.g. the link to my profile is https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547-bella-vice-van-heyde https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547-bella-vice-van... and my id is 121455547-bella-vice-van-heyde you can also post a link to your profile or to your want to read shelf and the site will parse the id from that!
- prepend 3y agoHrm, I’m trying https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9499790-brian https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9499790-brian And keep getting an “error, failed to load books” message. Am I adding my profile incorrectly, or is something else going on. When I try with your id, it works. Great idea, btw, I can’t wait to try it
- bellamk 3y agodoes this link work for you? https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=9499790-brian&library=spl&format=ebook-kindle https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=9499790-brian&libra... I assume you'll have to change the library -- I'll try to repro and fix that issue! That shouldn't happen and thanks!!
- prepend 3y agoThat works, but when I try my library, I get the same error “ Failed to load books. Please try again or contact support@projecttbr.com if the issue persists.” https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=9499790-brian&library=fulcolibrary&format=audiobook-mp3 https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=9499790-brian&libra...
- brocket 3y agoThe profile ID is actually just the number, 12145554. You can verify this yourself by going to https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547 https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547 or https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547-hello-world https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/121455547-hello-world.
- brocket 3y agoIf you're interested in library integration with Goodreads there are a couple browser extensions that work pretty well and have unofficial best effort to stay compatible with: - Library Extension https://www.libraryextension.com/ https://www.libraryextension.com/ (closed source, works on Amazon too, lots of features and supports multiple browsers) - Available Reads http://rhollister.github.io/goodreads/ http://rhollister.github.io/goodreads/ (open source, specific to Goodreads and Chrome)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- karaterobot 3y agoThat first extension also works with Librarything.
- Pelerin 3y agoThis is great but why isn't "physical book" an option?
- bellamk 3y agounfortunately the API I'm currently using only searches audiobooks/ebooks. I'll definitely consider doing this in the future though! It's just not trivial
- tayo42 3y agoGoogle search does it somehow. Any idea how?
- bellamk 3y agoNope lol. Can you give me an example of a search that shows physical book availability? I’d definitely be interested in figuring out how they do it bc it seems like people are interested in this!
- tayo42 3y agowhen you search a book title it'll usually show it on the main search https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-library-book-availability-35500.html https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-library-book-avai...
- voisin 3y agoHow challenging is it to add new libraries?
- bellamk 3y agoThe API I'm using searches all libraries that use Libby/overdrive (https://www.overdrive.com/ https://www.overdrive.com/) to distribute eBooks. So if your library isn't on there then they probably don't use Libby and the way to get them on this site would be to have your library start using it. Lmk if they are on Libby and not showing up bc that would be an issue and I can fix it :) Another option is to get a library card at a library that does use Libby -- there are some that offer cards to non-residents solely so you can check out library books but idk exactly which ones
- sphars 3y agoMind if I ask what API you're using? Is it from Overdrive's API or a third-party? Have an idea I want to explore if there's a decent API.
- JZL003 3y agoYeah me too, I've scraped libby pretty easily but didn't know there was an API. A niche thing which can affect stuff is some libraries only show their full catalog if you're logged in (and potentially which partner library you're a part of, if the library offers multiple). I don't remember if I just read this in their documentation or when scraping, found at least a few difference so logged in first
- sampling 3y agoWhat are some ways to find libraries that issue cards to non-residents?
- visviva 3y agoI've been wishing for this for years!
- mparnisari 3y agoHow do I find my profile Id on mobile? It takes me to the app and I can't find it there
- jazzlw 3y agoIf you go to the my profile page and the click share button it gives you a link, which ends in the profile id number.
- bellamk 3y agoif you have an Android, then you'll need to go to Goodreads on your browser, bc the Goodreads Android app doesn't have a way to get a link to your profile as far as I could tell. If you have an iPhone there's a little snippet of instructions on the home page of projecttbr.com (it's not visible when you look at the example I linked to)
- mparnisari 3y agohttps://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=7203584&library=vpl&format=ebook-epub-adobe,ebook-kindle,audiobook-mp3,ebook-epub-open,audiobook-overdrive,ebook-pdf-adobe https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=7203584&library=vpl... Gives me zero results :(
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- danielskogly 3y agoI'm also getting zero results, even after adding the books I currently have on hold in Libby to my "To-Read" list on Goodreads! Here's some info for bellamk's debugging :) Search query[0] My Goodreads "To-Read" shelf[1] The books on Libby[2][3][4][5] [0] https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=48792727&library=deichman&format=audiobook-mp3,audiobook-overdrive,ebook-epub-adobe,ebook-kindle,ebook-kobo,ebook-media-do,ebook-epub-open,ebook-pdf-open,ebook-overdrive,magazine-overdrive,ebook-pdf-adobe https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=48792727&library=de... [1] https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/48792727?shelf=to-read https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/48792727?shelf=to-read [2] https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-6414418/page-1/6414418 https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-6414418/page-1... [3] https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-2001573/page-1/2001573 https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-2001573/page-1... [4] https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-2259750/page-1/2259750 https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-2259750/page-1... [5] https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-3326143/page-1/3326143 https://libbyapp.com/library/deichman/similar-3326143/page-1...
- bellamk 3y agoThank you both for the links!! I’ll look into this
- danielskogly 3y agoHope it helps! A cool feature might be to be able to select which shelf to check as well, for giving recommendations to friends from my "Read" shelf, etc. :) Btw, I was curious to see how it looked when it works. I hope you're not planning to borrow "The Great Believers", "Watchmen", "The Paper Palace" or "Harlem Shuffle" from the New York Public Library[0]. It currently has a listed wait time of 9007199254740991 days, or ~652,615.4 cosmic ages. [0] https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=121455547-bella-vice-van-heyde&library=nypl&format=ebook-epub-adobe,ebook-kindle,ebook-kobo,ebook-media-do,audiobook-mp3,ebook-epub-open,ebook-pdf-open,audiobook-overdrive,ebook-overdrive,magazine-overdrive,ebook-pdf-adobe https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=121455547-bella-vic...
- imrehg 3y agoThis is amazing initiative, thanks for doing it! I like Libby is an amazing "best kept secret". Also Goodreads used such as this "database" is exactly as it should (at least partially) be used. If I could also connect it with my local _physical_ libraries as well + book stores, etc... it would make discovery so much easier - and I had even bigger piles of books to read than now. ;) So cheers for this! On the user experience feedback: - I keep getting "failed to load books", though some stuff did succeed (with libraries I don't care about, not my actual ones), so I wonder where the issue is (The query is https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=3669238-gergely&library=biboroughuk,camdenlibrary,taipei,tlc&format=ebook-epub-adobe,ebook-kindle https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=3669238-gergely&lib... for reference; I'm guessing the libraries are giving the grief) - "loading" is good, but it would be good to have some kind of indication of progress (is it loading my want to read list? is it going through checking the books? what is it doing?) - it's nice to see that the settings are saved in the query parameters so one can just bookmark the page and don't have to fill in things again. This could be made more explicit, though, as it might not be obvious or guessable to people - choosing the ebook type got me stumped a bit, even though I do use Libby for ages and e-readers of all kinds: "which one would I need to choose to be able to read in the Android app?" etc... This might not be this page's issue, but some clarity and UX help could be welcome!
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bellamk 3y agoThanks so much for the feedback! Those are good ideas. And thanks for sharing the link where it failed to load books! I’m going to try and figure out what’s going on with that so the link is helpful
- bellamk 3y agoBTW I was able to consistently repro that link not loading. I made a couple changes and it seems to be loading now. Want to try again? Lmk if it still fails for you
- habosa 3y agoJust wondering what people think: I’m lucky to be able to afford all the books I could ever read (high pay, cheap books, medium reading speed) so I choose to buy books rather than borrow them so that I can support authors. Is this a common opinion? Should I just borrow from the library, does that support the author in some way I don’t know about?
- pj_mukh 3y agoWhat happens when you move? Or are you buying ebooks.
- TedDoesntTalk 3y agoYou donate them if they are physical books.
- bellamk 3y agoI also often buy books! Especially if I really like the book or the author. I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion. I don’t think that borrowing from the library supports the author in some way you don’t know about — it shows interest in the book and leads to copies being purchased but buying the book directly definitely seems like it would have a bigger impact. But borrowing from the library does support the library! And libraries can be really great for their communities :)
- LorenDB 3y agoI like to buy books, but mainly because I like having a physical book collection. In the past year, I've probably ordered 40 or 50 books from Thriftbooks (yes, I am a fast reader). My bookshelf is now getting full with quality books that I can read again and again, or loan out to friends if they want to read one of my books.
- johngossman 3y agoI often borrow books to "try" them and then buy if I like them. Also a surprising number of Library ebooks I can't find otherwise.
- eiiot 3y agoReally cool project! Libby is such an underrated tool for reading things for free, especially with the number of online libraries where you can sign up for free in the US.
- TedDoesntTalk 3y agoExcept the wait list to read any book I’ve ever tried to read is typically weeks or months.
- abid786 3y agoYou can filter by books that are available immediately too I think
- bellamk 3y agoThank you! Agreed, it’s awesome!
- mwexler 3y agoYou mean, outside of your physical address geo region's local library system? Is there a list you could point me to?
- raybb 3y agoThis is quite nice! Now that I know there's an overdrive API maybe I will pitch adding a functionality like this to Open library :) Or would also be nice if your app supported an openlibrary.org list and checked against that!
- bellamk 3y agoThanks! I hadn’t heard of open library before but it seems pretty cool - what’s an open library list? Are you also able to track books you’re interested in there?
- raybb 3y agoA list is just what it sounds like, a set of works or editions. But OL also has the concept of "reading log" which is specific lists that are read/reading/want to read that are preset for people. You can learn more about lists in general here https://openlibrary.org/lists https://openlibrary.org/lists This is a list I created recently titled "Understanding the Latin American City" https://openlibrary.org/people/raybb/lists/OL235745L/Understanding_the_Latin_American_City https://openlibrary.org/people/raybb/lists/OL235745L/Underst... If you want to access the api for lists the docs are at https://openlibrary.org/dev/docs/api/lists https://openlibrary.org/dev/docs/api/lists but it's also as easy as tacking .json to the end of a url like so: https://openlibrary.org/people/crowmax22/lists/OL226172L/editions.json https://openlibrary.org/people/crowmax22/lists/OL226172L/edi...
- bellamk 3y agoawesome! Thanks for the info, I'll look into this
- chrisshroba 3y agoThis is amazing, thank you so much for creating this!! I'm going to use this all the time. I have a huge number of books in my want-to-read list; have you thought about adding an option to sort by added date? (or by other things like goodreads rating?)
- bellamk 3y agothank you!! So glad to hear that. I hadn't thought of doing that, but will definitely consider it!
- karmajunkie 3y agoabsolutely love it, wouldn’t change a thing. the estimates on availability are really great to see.
- bellamk 3y agothank you!!
- activatedgeek 3y agoLibraryThing [1] also has a local book search on each book's page. [1]: https://www.librarything.com/home https://www.librarything.com/home
- raptor99 3y agoHi there! I will echo what most others are saying and tell you this is really cool! It doesn't hurt that I am just trying to get back into reading a bit more also. I wanted to ask, would the code of this be available? I would love to use this, but I don't use GoodReads to track my to-read list; I have started using bookrastinating.com to track my reading list and activities, and would love to integrate what you've built with bookrastinating (and possibly more since it seems that it is some sort of mastodon/activitypub thing). Awesome job!