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So you've been browsing Open Library for a while and noticed something that could be better — a missing cover, a wrong publication date, an author with no biography. Good news: you can fix it. This guide walks you through your first contribution, from creating an account to saving your first edit. |
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So you've been browsing Open Library and noticed something that could be better — a missing cover, a wrong publication date, an author with no biography. Good news: you can fix it. This guide walks you through your first contribution and, if you'd like to go further, how to join the Librarians-in-Training (LIT) program. |
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Open Library has three main types of records, and you can edit all of them: |
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Open Library has three main types of records, and any account holder can edit all of them: |
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- **Works** — The abstract idea of a book (title, subject, description). One work can have many editions. Work IDs end with `W` (e.g. `OL5731538W`). |
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- **Works** — The abstract idea of a book (title, subject, description). One work can have many editions. Work IDs end with `W` (e.g. `OL5731538W`). |
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- **Editions** — A specific physical or digital release (publisher, year, ISBN, cover image, page count). You may also see this called a **manifestation** in library cataloguing terminology. Edition IDs end with `M`. |
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- **Editions** — A specific physical or digital release (publisher, year, ISBN, cover image, page count). You may also see this called a *manifestation* in library cataloguing terminology. Edition IDs end with `M`. |
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- **Authors** — A person's name, bio, birth/death dates, and links to external databases like Wikidata. Author IDs end with `A` (e.g. `OL4586796A`). |
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- **Authors** — A person's name, bio, birth/death dates, and links to external databases like Wikidata. Author IDs end with `A` (e.g. `OL4586796A`). |
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If you see an **Edit** button on a page, you're allowed to edit it. |
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If you see an **Edit** button on a page, you're allowed to edit it. |
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**A note on author disambiguation:** Sometimes books by different authors with the same name end up combined under a single author profile — this is called conflation. If you notice an author profile that seems to contain works from more than one person, do not try to fix it yourself. Report it by emailing [openlibrary@archive.org](mailto:openlibrary@archive.org) instead, as resolving conflated profiles requires elevated privileges and care to avoid data loss. Reviews can take a while, so please be patient. |
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### Understanding identifiers |
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Each record has a unique ID — works end with `W`, editions with `M`, and authors with `A` — that permanently identifies that specific record. These IDs should never be repurposed or reassigned to a different record, as doing so can corrupt reading logs and lists for existing users, and break integrations for anyone using the API. |
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Any time you see a pattern like `OL123A`, you're looking at a unique Open Library identifier. The prefix `OL` marks it as Open Library's own ID (distinct from ISBNs and other identifiers). The number is a sequential record count, and the final letter is the record type: `A` for author, `W` for work, `M` for edition, `L` for list. These IDs appear in the page URL when you visit a record. |
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**Important:** Record IDs should never be repurposed or reassigned. Doing so can corrupt reading logs, break lists, and damage API integrations for other users. |
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### A note on author disambiguation |
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Sometimes works by different authors with the same name get combined under one profile — this is called *conflation*. If you notice this, do **not** try to fix it yourself. Email [openlibrary@archive.org](mailto:openlibrary@archive.org) instead, as resolving conflated profiles requires elevated privileges and care to avoid data loss. |
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## 3. Find something to improve |
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## 3. Find something to improve |
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You don't need a plan — just start with something you notice. Your own bookshelf is a great place to look for books that might be missing or incomplete. Some easy first contributions: |
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You don't need a plan — just start with something you notice. Your own bookshelf is a great place to look. Some easy first contributions: |
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You can also browse [Recent Community Edits](https://openlibrary.org/recentchanges) to see what others are working on and get a feel for the kinds of changes people make. |
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You can also browse [Recent Community Edits](https://openlibrary.org/recentchanges) to see what others are working on. |
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--- |
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## 4. Make your first edit |
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## 4. Make your first edit |
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> **A word of caution:** Before changing existing metadata, make sure the record is actually wrong and not simply a different edition than the one you have in mind. The same work can have many editions with legitimately different publishers, dates, and page counts. When in doubt, check the edition's other details or review the edit history to see where the existing metadata came from before making changes. |
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> **A word of caution:** Before changing existing metadata, make sure the record is actually wrong and not simply a different edition than the one you have in mind. The same work can have many editions with legitimately different publishers, dates, and page counts. When in doubt, check the edition's other details or review the edit history before making changes. |
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### Editing a book record (edition) |
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### Editing an edition (book record) |
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1. Find the book page you want to improve. |
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1. Find the book page you want to improve. |
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2. Click **Edit** in the top-right area of the page. |
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2. Click **Edit** in the top-right area of the page. |
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3. You'll see fields for publisher, publication date, ISBN, language, pages, and more. Fill in or correct what you can. |
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3. Fill in or correct fields for publisher, publication date, ISBN, language, pages, etc. |
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4. Scroll down to the **Add a note** field and briefly describe your change (e.g. *"Added publication date and publisher"*). This helps other contributors understand your edit. |
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4. In the **"Please, leave a short note about what you changed:"** field, briefly describe your change (e.g. *"Added publication date and publisher"*). |
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5. Click **Save**. |
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5. Click **Save**. |
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### Editing a work |
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### Editing a work |
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On a book's main page, look for the **Work Details** tab in the edit view. Here you can update the description, subjects, and series information. When adding or editing an author, type their name into the author field and make sure to select them from the dropdown menu that appears — if you just type the name without selecting from the dropdown, it will not be saved. |
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On a book's main page, look for the **Work Details** tab in the edit view. Here you can update the description, subjects, and series information. When adding or editing an author, type their name and select them from the dropdown — if you just type without selecting, it won't be saved. |
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### Editing an author |
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### Editing an author |
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Navigate to the author's page and click **Edit**. You can add a bio, birth and death dates, Wikipedia link, and identifiers like their Wikidata ID. |
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Navigate to the author's page and click **Edit**. You can add a bio, birth and death dates, a Wikipedia link, and identifiers like their Wikidata ID. |
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**If the work doesn't exist at all** (no page for the book in any edition): |
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**If the work doesn't exist at all:** |
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1. Click **Add a Book** in the navigation menu (under "Contribute"). |
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1. Click **Add a Book** in the footer menu. |
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2. Fill in the fields: title, author, publisher, publication date, format (hardcover, paperback, ebook, etc.), and ISBN if you have it. |
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2. Fill in the fields: title, author, publisher, publication date, format, and ISBN if available. |
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3. Click **Save** to create the record. This creates both a work and an edition at the same time. |
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3. Click **Save**. This creates both a work and an edition at the same time. |
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**If the work already exists but your specific edition doesn't** (e.g. the 1995 paperback is listed but not the 2003 ebook): |
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**If the work exists but your specific edition doesn't** (e.g. the 1995 paperback is listed but not the 2003 ebook): |
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1. Go to the work's page. |
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1. Go to the work's page. |
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2. Click **Add an Edition** near the edition list. |
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2. Click **Add an Edition** near the edition list. |
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3. Fill in the details specific to that edition — publisher, date, ISBN, format, language. |
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3. Fill in the edition-specific details — publisher, date, ISBN, format, language. |
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4. Click **Save**. This adds a new edition under the existing work, without creating a duplicate work record. |
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4. Click **Save**. This adds a new edition under the existing work without creating a duplicate work record. |
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1. On a book's page, click the cover placeholder (or the existing cover if you have a better one). |
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1. On a book's page, click the cover placeholder (or the existing cover if you have a better one). |
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2. You can upload an image file or copy and paste one directly. |
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2. Upload an image file or paste one directly. |
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3. Use the front cover only. If a cover is already present, do not replace it unless it is clearly incorrect. Make sure it matches the specific edition you're editing, not just any edition of the work. |
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3. Use the front cover only, and make sure it matches the specific edition you're editing. |
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4. Do not replace an existing cover unless it is clearly incorrect. |
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## 7. Check your work |
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## 7. A few good habits |
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After saving, review the page to make sure everything looks right. Click **History** at the top of the page to see a log of all edits, including yours. You can compare versions to verify your changes. |
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- **Cite your source.** Note where you found a fact (e.g. *"Publication date from copyright page"*) in the edit note field when saving. |
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- **Check your work.** After saving, click **History** to see a log of all edits and compare versions. |
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- **Merging duplicates requires additional privileges.** If you find duplicate records, focus on reporting them rather than trying to merge them yourself — that requires elevated permissions (see the LIT section below). |
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## 8. A few good habits |
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- **One change at a time.** Smaller, focused edits are easier to review and less likely to accidentally break something. |
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- **Cite your source.** If you're adding a publication date or ISBN, note where you found it in the **"Please, leave a short note about what you changed:"** field when saving your edit (e.g. *"Publication date from copyright page"*). |
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- **Merging duplicates requires additional privileges.** If you find duplicate records, merging them isn't something new contributors can do right away — access to the merge request tool requires elevated permissions. Focus on getting comfortable with basic edits first, then look into requesting merge access once you've built up some experience. |
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- [Editing FAQ](https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing) |
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- [Editing FAQ](https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing) |
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- [Open Library on GitHub](https://github.com/internetarchive/openlibrary) — for reporting bugs or contributing code |
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- [Librarians Portal](https://openlibrary.org/librarians) |
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- **Slack** — Open Library has a Slack community for contributors. Email [openlibrary@archive.org](mailto:openlibrary@archive.org) to request an invitation. |
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- [Open Library on GitHub](https://github.com/internetarchive/openlibrary) — for bugs or code contributions |
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- **Slack** — Email [openlibrary@archive.org](mailto:openlibrary@archive.org) to request an invitation |
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Ready to go further? See the [Librarians-in-Training Guide](https://openlibrary.org/librarians-in-training). |
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