Better default cover images?
There are a few small, but cool things about Google Book Search. I'm fond of book covers they show when a book doesn't have a cover.
It's quite a simple trick—a series of default images with HTML text over them. Here's my shot at the same technique, using an image I found online, doctored somewhat.* (I've put it on the new work page I'm developing, a much simpler one.)
I think it would be cool to have a bunch of these, including ones with more personality, and to allow people to choose among them if they want.
Personally, I'd love to make one for my Loeb Classical Library books. Those are the read/green Latin/Greek books you've seen racked up at well-stocked Borders. I've got dozens of them. Most of mine are old and don't have ISBNs. They show up as identical beige rectangles now. In the real world, they all look the same too, but they're much more distinctive. (Martha Stewart Living** has a great photo of a set she bought for her daughter's East Hampton cottage.)
This isn't a priority obviously.*** But I think it would be fun to do at some point, I think—and to get others involved with. If anyone wants to help out, let me know. Either way, maybe we can do a contest for it later.
*Copyright doesn't protect a faithful photograph of a cover such as this. Copyright requires an element of originality. Scans--such as the scans used by Google books and others--can't be separately copyrighted either. The underlying book can be, if it hasn't expired, but a perfectly faithful scan cannot. Sites like Google get around this problem by writing restrictions into the terms of use.
**Not a common read for me... I love the web. I found a reference here. Apparently decorating with Loebs is a fairly common thing. According to this link, Martin Scorsese has a decorative set as well. According to this link, Oprah has one too. She should do a Book Club on Silius Italicus.
***And no criticism about blogging this instead of doing [fill in bug or feature here], please. I'm pushing 14 hours today! :)
It's quite a simple trick—a series of default images with HTML text over them. Here's my shot at the same technique, using an image I found online, doctored somewhat.* (I've put it on the new work page I'm developing, a much simpler one.)
I think it would be cool to have a bunch of these, including ones with more personality, and to allow people to choose among them if they want.
Personally, I'd love to make one for my Loeb Classical Library books. Those are the read/green Latin/Greek books you've seen racked up at well-stocked Borders. I've got dozens of them. Most of mine are old and don't have ISBNs. They show up as identical beige rectangles now. In the real world, they all look the same too, but they're much more distinctive. (Martha Stewart Living** has a great photo of a set she bought for her daughter's East Hampton cottage.)
This isn't a priority obviously.*** But I think it would be fun to do at some point, I think—and to get others involved with. If anyone wants to help out, let me know. Either way, maybe we can do a contest for it later.
*Copyright doesn't protect a faithful photograph of a cover such as this. Copyright requires an element of originality. Scans--such as the scans used by Google books and others--can't be separately copyrighted either. The underlying book can be, if it hasn't expired, but a perfectly faithful scan cannot. Sites like Google get around this problem by writing restrictions into the terms of use.
**Not a common read for me... I love the web. I found a reference here. Apparently decorating with Loebs is a fairly common thing. According to this link, Martin Scorsese has a decorative set as well. According to this link, Oprah has one too. She should do a Book Club on Silius Italicus.
***And no criticism about blogging this instead of doing [fill in bug or feature here], please. I'm pushing 14 hours today! :)
Labels: features
posted by Tim at 11:41 PM
37 Comments:
Pretty! Yes, it would be nice to have to have options like this for coverless books.
I have many beige rectangles, some standing in for books that even if I were to scan them would appear as little more than differently coloured rectangles. Your proposal would certainly make my catalogue more attractive -- not the highest of priorities, but it would be nice.
This would be a splendid thing to have - especially if you could chose the style from a library of options.
It might be cosmetic, but it would be way cool!
Love it. Makes them look like books which works better with the rest of the covers especially in cover view.
Oh yes, I love this idea! Especially with choices! Although I'm one of those who will probably scan every book I own, even if it's a completely blank cover (i.e. a cloth cover with no writing on it, without dustjacket).
In one case, I scanned and uploaded the title page because it had a nice little illo on it and I couldn't resist. It exhibited some of the book's personality, whereas the blank cloth cover did not.
I totally agree that copyright law shouldn't protect a scan of a cover, but have you noticed how many websites with scans of public domain books put up a copyright notice? I asked a copyright lawyer about this during a Q&A at library school, and he said that in this crazy world, decisions such as brightness/contrast settings and DPI would probably be considered "creative" enough in court for copyright on those images to be upheld. So, if the person who scanned that picture you found felt like suing you, they probably could (according to the the copyright lawyer I talked to, anyways.)
That said, I'm sure plenty of LT folks would be happy to scan some pretty, generic book covers and donate them to the public domain for you to use.
I like your quarter-leather book image. It actually looks like a book, rather than a place holder.
I like the new default cover images.
I really DON'T like the glimpse of the recommendations section on the new works page. It looks like the recommendations list is going to be in the form of cover images rather than text, which is just bad. It's hard to read the title or author on a cover image, so covers are only useful if you've already seen the book, whereas the point of recommendations is to suggest books that you aren't already familiar with.
Could you tell us more about what you're going to be doing to the work pages?
I like the way you let us see a preview of the new work page.
_Zoe_: I think you're right. It needs to be a choice, at least. Covers by themselves aren't right. At the same time, vertical lists the way we have it now take up a LOT of room.
I'm working on the work page today. I'll post things when I can.
I wasn't sure where to comment, and I'm not sure if this is the right place, but have you all considered posting a link to the free Talking Books program for blind and physically handicapped persons, or persons with reading disabilities? There is a blog that discusses this info and the program at http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com/
This is a great and free book related program, and it would be great to see LibraryThing promote it. Keep up the good work!
Marvelous! Having a choice would be lovely - I have far too many beige rectangles :-) not to mention the ones where the cover art attached to the record I've imported is the wrong edition.
The more choice the better, as far as I'm concerned. It would be nice if the work page had more options in general, like the ability to minimize the review section and set it to be minimized by default.
Very nice!
I would rather it look like a placeholder than a real book cover, or somehow be indicated as a placeholder. Placeholders don't have to be ugly, and I'd rather not be fooled into thinking there's a beautiful limited edition of Everything Is Miscellaneous I need to get my hands on.
Recommendations/covers: I agree with _zoe_ that covers as the default is bad, for the reasons she gave. I'd rather Recommendations be at the end of a Works page anyway (and then a long vertical list wouldn't matter) -- if I'm looking up a work, I want to see the info about that work FIRST, and then, maybe, look at what other books might be recommended if one likes that work.
I, too, immediately preferred Google's default images to LT's, and now I feel somewhat less disloyal for it. I have a set of pre-ISBN items (English Men of Ltters) that actually are all burgundy cloth, and a burgundy rectangle with gold/buff lettering would nicely fulfill my need to find covers for them.
Drats! Been searching for "book porn" in the form of that picture in Martha Stewart Living. That's ten minutes I'll never get back...
Very simple and easy to read book covers look better than the originals. As the text inside of the book is simple also. 14 hours and how many cups of coffee equals a work day complete?
I also love this idea. I've never liked the blanks for unfound covers.
I think the cover looks "fakey" enough I can tell it's a placeholder, if that makes sense -- mostly because the cover is obviously beat up and the writing doesn't even try to be faded.
(And while Silius Italicus has the best name for a Roman author ever, I don't think that all the Loeb Library books at Borders that aren't green have been read.)
These look very nice, but on the other hand they look too much like real book covers.
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I'd really love a range of plain coloured default covers, as I am more likely to be able to find a book if the cover 'illustration' is at least roughly the right colour! I haven't the time to scan all my boring old jacketless hardbacks.
MyopicBW: Do you find the Google ones "plain," or to you want what LT has now—plain boxes of color?
Yes, I meant a choice of colours for each book, like the Google Books ones (which I have gone back to admire properly: I use Google Books a lot, but always in List View). I haven't the time to scan all my books that don't yet have covers in the LT system, and I'd like at least to be able to select (say) red, green, blue, or light brown as a default "no cover" placeholder. At the moment, the "Cover View" of much of my library looks like "welcome to the beige zone".
PS ... and I do like the little detailing on the Google Books covers which makes them look a bit like books, not just rectangles.
1. I can live with anything as long as it's my choice for the books in my catalog.
2. I think the 1/2 leather example is a fine 'dummy' cover format. I'd like to see one variant, and that would be for an e-book so that it is visually distinct from a hardcopy book in a catalog.
3. For my personal catalog, I wouldn't want to use a variety of dummy covers (simply one for all real books; one for all e-books), as varieties would make it more difficult to find them all later when I'm ready to add the real cover images. I'd prefer one color, style, size, etc., that I can easily spot in my catalog.
4. I would suggest that the letters "LT" appear on any dummy cover, just to make it readily identifiable as a dummy cover.
Os.
>4. I would suggest that the letters "LT" appear on any dummy cover, just to make it readily identifiable as a dummy cover.
That's an interesting idea.
>4. I would suggest that the letters "LT" appear on any dummy cover, just to make it readily identifiable as a dummy cover.
That would make me happy (see my prev. comment, above)
I agree with selkins that placeholders, if used at all, should look like placeholders.
But, as someone with a home page that's still in black and white, I recognize that I'm going to be in the minority on this... The Harvard Classics series also have nice leather covers you could scan.
Two things have happened today to my dummy covers:
1. A Corn of Wheat by E H Young. The cover shows her name as Emilia - a mistake copied from Scottish library catalogue. I know I am the only owner of a copy of this very rare book, but I keep trying to correct the image so that it is in line with the correct boook description. My Aunt's name was Emily whatefver the Scots may think.
2. My First UK Edition copy of Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford has been changed to the US title.
I am sure there will be other examples when I get round to looking. Is there a cure?
I'm sorry, but the faux Franklin Library covers just don't do it for me. I feel as though I ought to be sitting here with a snifter of brandy and a mahogany chamber pot.
So imagine my chagrin when these eyesores starting turning up today as the default images! If my own cover is not available, I would rather leave the image blank. But I'll be damned if I can figure out how to change the default image (or any other image for that matter) to blank. Somebody help me! A pleasurable activity has turned to a VERY irritating exercise.
We're going to give you the option of what default cover you want. Sorry it's bothering you.
I'm aware that a lot of LTers like these covers. They just remind me of all those Easton Press / Franklin Mint books that sit unread on the shelves because no one wants to crack the lovely binding (I just unloaded a bunch of those for 5 bucks a pop).
Thank you, a choice would be good. Keep up the good work.
I'm confused about this. When I look at an individual book with no cover image, I see the new default image; when I look at my library in Cover View, I still see the same old beige rectangles.
No confusion. We haven't rolled them out throughout the site yet.
A choice of pictures to use instead of scanning books is a great idea. I have lots of old books with no covers.
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