LibriVox and Wikipedia Links (Working Thread)

[msfry]

Next question is how do we keep it current?

Beats me. I haven't come up with a workable suggestion.

I've worked through the audiobook list, added LV links on the lines where there was a Wikipedia link (except for LOTE wiki pages, and Bible books, and maybe a couple other exceptions), and added a few lines of more recently cataloged works that were part of a series or were a Version X of something already linked.

And I put "yes" on ones that already had links on the Wikipedia pages, added by someone else.

I did not add my name to every line I edited. I did add several notes to various project lines, if there were warnings on the Wikipedia page about not adding more external links, or for whatever reason something should be noted.

Lines that were questionable, I left the Yes/No field blank. Ones that for whatever shouldn't get a LV link, I put "no" with a note.

I found it surprising that many formerly valid Wikipedia pages are no longer existent. I guess they're not kidding with those warning messages that say that a page may be deleted if it isn't improved!

And like the author list, I am not sure how to keep the audiobook one current.

You have worked through the entire audiobook list? I just visited and saw David adding some things, so I got out, afraid it would mess him up. But I got this much information:
There are 15,577 lines filled in, presumably one for each book. But the home page reports 16,623 completed projects. That's a difference of 1046 titles.
The book numbers range from 47 - 17,558.
There are lots of numbers missing in this sequence, blanks are scattered throughout, but are more toward the end than the beginning. For example, just in the 17000's, there are only 5 #'s:
17072, 17089, 17125, 17218, 17558. Huge gaps between them. I don't know how to explain this.
I don't know how the numbers are assigned -- I presume the computer does this automtically.

So our problems are threefold:
1. Understanding the system.
2. Catching it up.
3. Keeping it up.

At this point I don't think it is feasible to aim for perfection or completeness. Every link we successfully add is a plus.

I would like to see BC's encouraged to add whatever links are associated with their project when it catalogues, and report them here. It's just one more logical step in the process, and the instructions are right there for them to follow.

[TriciaG]

Yes, there are a lot of projects missing. I'm not sure how David adds them - if it's manual or some kind of automated system.

I went through the entire existing list and basically checked the projects that had Wikipedia links. Because so many don't have one, it went fairly quickly.

I didn't check the ones that didn't have links, to see if there was a Wikipedia page for them. (I did add Wikipedia links to projects that were version X or that were Volume X, but I didn't actively search for projects that were missing Wikipedia links.)

Project numbers are assigned sequentially, when the project is set up. When a project gets a MW, it gets the next number. Aside from the abandoned and on hold projects, projects still in progress are obviously not on this spreadsheet. And I think it's just not up to date on completed projects.

If there's a semi-automated way to add cataloged projects, that's definitely preferable to manually entering them.

[dlolso21]

Because Authors are created at the beginning of a project and basically "done" at that point the Author spreadsheet is easier to update for an MC using a report MC's can run on the database. My method for updating this spreadsheet is as follows.

• run the report
• reformat the results
• paste new authors on to the end of the list

Project numbers are assigned at the beginning of a project as well, but projects finish at vastly different speeds (from weeks to years), or don't finish at all, so the Audiobook spreadsheet will have gaps in the ID numbers even if it is current. There are more gaps in the higher project ID numbers, because I am working from the oldest date to present and am currently up to July 2021; projects completed after that have been added to the list by Tricia or Michele. My method for updating the Audiobook spreadsheet is much more manual in nature and slower.

• open the Librovox Home Page https://librivox.org/
• click on the link more audiobooks >>
• sort the results by Release Date
• find where I last stopped in this list
• open each project listed
  scroll through the spreadsheet to find the place for the project ID number and see if it is present
  add the ID number and other information if it is not already there
• move to the next completed project
• record where I stop

David O

[msfry]

I didn't know about the "more audiobooks" link on the home page. Turns out it continues the list of 10 most recent releases showing on the home page. Neat!

[TriciaG]

In the author Google sheet, I added a filter, "en.wikipedia, blank column I"

This will show only authors with an English Wikipedia page listed and nothing in the "External link to Librivox" field, making it easier to find entries that need to be checked/linked.

[dlolso21]

In the author Google sheet, I added a filter, "en.wikipedia, blank column I"

This will show only authors with an English Wikipedia page listed and nothing in the "External link to Librivox" field, making it easier to find entries that need to be checked/linked.

Tricia,

Thank you, that is a great idea,

[TriciaG]

Thanks. I got interrupted before being able to edit my post to explain how to use it!

Go to Data / Filter Views and select it from the list.

[msfry]

No idea what this means. Is it that we do show links to foreign author pages in another language if there is one, but we don't place links on that Wikipedia page back to LV?

To show authors with Wikipedia pages that have not gotten a link back to LV, wouldn't a simple 'SORT BY COLUMN x" have done the trick, sifting Yes's from No's?

I'm no Excel aficianado, so please explain.

[TriciaG]

Generally we don't link on non-English Wikipedia pages back to LV, because those sites aren't as friendly to us - have different rules and standards. So the "low-hanging fruit" to do are the English ones.

One could simply sort by Column I (the Yes/No for whether the Wikipedia page is linked back to us), but then you must page through all the lines that have no links or other links besides English Wikipedia. Alternately, you could sort by the external link column (Column H?), but then again you'd have to page through all the Yes and No entries in Column I.

I have not discovered how to sort by more than one column, such as sorting by Column I to get all the blank ones up top, then sort by Column H to get all the http://en.wikipedia.org together. So I set up the filter instead.

[msfry]

Generally we don't link on non-English Wikipedia pages back to LV, because those sites aren't as friendly to us - have different rules and standards. So the "low-hanging fruit" to do are the English ones.ch as sorting by Column I to get all the blank ones up top, then sort by Column H to get all the http://en.wikipedia.org together. So I set up the filter instead.

With luck we will eventually attract a foreign speaking volunteer or two to approach Wikipedia regarding those hundreds of foreign recordings we are amassing at an ever-increasing rate. They deserve a link, too, and the same rules should apply over at Wikipedia. Meanwhile, low-hanging fruit IS English - the language thee and me speak.

Thanks for the explanation re Data Filters. Sounds good, also I think there is a way to sort by multiple filters. I looked it up:
Select Custom Sort.
Select Add Level.
For Column, select the column you want to Sort by from the drop-down, and then select the second column you Then by want to sort. ...
For Sort On, select Values.
For Order, select an option, like A to Z, Smallest to Largest, or Largest to Smallest.
For each additional column that you want to sort by, repeat steps 2-5. Note: To delete a level, select Delete Level.

[dlolso21]

Generally we don't link on non-English Wikipedia pages back to LV, because those sites aren't as friendly to us - have different rules and standards. So the "low-hanging fruit" to do are the English ones.ch as sorting by Column I to get all the blank ones up top, then sort by Column H to get all the http://en.wikipedia.org together. So I set up the filter instead.

With luck we will eventually attract a foreign speaking volunteer or two to approach Wikipedia regarding those hundreds of foreign recordings we are amassing at an ever-increasing rate. They deserve a link, too, and the same rules should apply over at Wikipedia. Meanwhile, low-hanging fruit IS English - the language thee and me speak.

Librivox volunteers have tried with French and Spanish Wikipedia in the past. The problem is not with volunteers wanting to add links to Wikipedia, the problem is that Wikipedia page/site owners see the links as "advertising" and not "information". This does occasionally happen with the English Wikipedia as well, but we have become more accepted there.

David O

[msfry]

Librivox volunteers have tried with French and Spanish Wikipedia in the past. The problem is not with volunteers wanting to add links to Wikipedia, the problem is that Wikipedia page/site owners see the links as "advertising" and not "information". This does occasionally happen with the English Wikipedia as well, but we have become more accepted there.

David O

Well, hopefully one day someone with strong connections over at Wikipedia will iron out these difficulties. Our links do nothing but enhance the usefulness of their pages to those seeking information on a topic.

[TriciaG]

Report on update progress:

The audiobook spreadsheet is updated through project #18445, The Swine-Gods and Other Visions, cataloged on 2022-10-07, with links made at Wikipedia for those that have a page. (Use the LV catalog, sorted by catalog date, to find ones not done yet.)

The author spreadsheet has authors added through #17155 (the newest is around #17171). Those that have a Wikipedia page and a completed project (aside from those who have only one section in a collection) have been back-linked through author #17052.

[msfry]

Thank you, Tricia! You have got us almost all caught up. Now if we can only entice each of our BC's to create these links as each of their projects "rolls off the press", we can stay caught up. How to create these links is explained at Wikipedia Links (in the Librivox Wiki).

[TriciaG]

Honestly, for the cataloged books, I think it's easier for someone to periodically update them than it would be to get BCs to do it on their own. It doesn't take long to do even 10-15 books at a time, as long as you know where to start. Authors are harder.

Authors added through 17177 Johann Gabriel Seidl. Links added through 17147 Henri Cazalis. (The rest are pretty much too new to have anything cataloged yet.)

Audiobooks added and linked through "The Analogy of Religion to the Constitution and Course of Nature" cataloged today.