Handy Library Manager
 for Windows


Help, how to topics > Auto-catalogue, Import > How to Export Book Data from Goodreads and Import it into Handy Library Manager?


How to Export Book Data from Goodreads and Import it into Handy Library Manager?

Goodreads is a popular website for book lovers to track their reading, discover new books, and share their thoughts. If you manage a library or want to keep a digital record of your personal book collection, exporting book data from Goodreads and importing it into a library management software like Handy Library Manager can save you time and effort. This guide will walk you through the process step by step.


Exporting Book Data from Goodreads:

Go to the Goodreads website (www.goodreads.com) and log in to your account.

Click on the "My Books" link in the top navigation menu to access your bookshelves.

Choose the bookshelf from which you want to export data (e.g., "Read," "To-Read," or a custom shelf).

Scroll down on the bookshelf page until you see the "Tools" section on the right-hand side.

Click on "Import and Export" (1).


Click on "Export Library" (1) to download your book data in CSV format.


The CSV file is in the download folder on your computer.


Preparing the Excel Spreadsheet:

Locate the downloaded CSV file and open it using Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet program.

The CSV file may contain multiple columns such as "Title," "Author," "ISBN," and more.

Organize and customize the data in the spreadsheet as needed, adding or removing columns to match your library's requirements.

Rename the column headers, use field names from Handy Library Manager (1). It will define the data mapping. (TITLE, AUTHOR, COAUTHORS, ISBN, PUBLISHER, ISBN, FORMAT, PAGES, PUBLISHED).

Go to "File" and select "Save As."

Choose a location to save the file and select "Text (Tab-delimited) (*.txt)" as the file format.

Click "Save."


The text file (Tab-delimited) in the Windows Notepad application.


Check the folder and the name of the text file in the File Explorer.

Note: columns with header names that do not match any data field name from Handy Library Manager will not be transferred.


Importing Books into Handy Library Manager:

Open Handy Library Manager on your computer.

Navigate to the "Add Library Items" window and click the "Add Items From Text File" button (1).

Select the text file (2) and click "Next".

The "Import From Text File" window will prompt you to select the "Field Mapping" options.

Select "First Line Contains Field Name" (1), click "Preview On Screen" (2).

Review the import settings in the "Preview Import" box (2).

Click "Next".


After setting the mapping, start the import process.

The software will read the data from the text file and populate your library new items database.


Once the import is complete, review your library new items catalog to ensure that all books and their details have been imported correctly.

Use the "Move Items" (1) feature to transfer all new items to the main library table.



Related Question:

I want to add good reads to our search. They always seem to have the correct and complete answers, whereas sometimes the other sites are incomplete.

Answer:
Goodreads does not allow the use of the ISBN in the search link. We cannot create and use a script in the Handy Library Manager auto-cataloging feature. To move book data from Goodreads, import from Goodreads and export into Handy Library Manager.




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