Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Thank you for all of your thoughtful feedback on how we should classify Audible Originals going forward. To formulate this new policy, we met with the Audible team and we took into account the feedback we received from our volunteer librarians and the Goodreads community. Here's our policy regarding Audible Originals you encounter on the site:

Which types of Audible Original content can be included in the database?

Audible Originals qualify for inclusion in the database if they are structured like a conventional book. For instance, the content lends itself to print or ebook format, and would not merely be a transcript (i.e. not an interview, a podcast, or a theatrical production/play). This applies to the following types of Audible Originals that could theoretically be published as a print or ebook if they were in text form:

      * fiction and non fiction titles
      * short stories and novellas
      * memoirs

Format: Audible Originals should be classified as “Audible Audio”.

If you come across an Audible Original book record that does not qualify for inclusion in the database, please NAB it if there are reviews, rather than deleting the book record.

For clarity, does "not … a theatrical production/play" apply to such plays as have already been published as books, e.g., William Shakespeare, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, &c.? Or does Audible Originals not do those?

It is our understanding Audible Originals are not drawn from existing print works. Thus, this scenario should be moot.

rivka wrote: "It is our understanding Audible Originals are not drawn from existing print works. Thus, this scenario should be moot."

Thanks, rivka. One follow-up: if an Audible Original ever catches on enough to reach print as a proper book, would we then un-NAB the original AO listing, or just merge-join the records as editions and leave the AO edition as is? I can't recall if a non-book record can be an edition of a book, or if NAB applies at the Work level rather than at the Book level.

That's an interesting question. Since it's hypothetical at the moment, let's revisit this if it happens and there's an example to look at.

rivka wrote: "…let's revisit this if it happens and there's an example to look at."

Squad goals ;-)

I know the thread is initially about Audible but should we understand those are also the rules for what is or is not acceptable as an audiobook, at large, or only when from Audible?

No. We have made no recent changes to our policies regarding audiobooks in general.