Does Internet Archive Want a Book

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A BETA TESTED FEATURE - IT SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN OFFICIAL INTERNET ARCHIVE PRODUCT OR PROJECT.

The Internet Archive accepts donations of books, especially hardcover books, for the possibility of scanning them in and being made available (in general) at the Open Library site. Several major sources provide donations of books by the thousand to the Archive, and there is a large backlog of books to be scanned. However, at the rate of roughly 3,000 books scanned in a day, there is always a search for new unique books not already scanned or prepared to be scanned.

The primary API for dealing with knowing if a given book is scanned or waiting to be scanned is called the Do We Want It API. It returns the status for an ISBN number for a book including "We want it", "We have it", as well as "We have it but we could use a second copy" (as well as others). Documentation about this API is here: https://archive.readme.io/docs/book-do-we-want-it-dwwi-api

However, this is an attempt to produce a simpler, slicker way for a donator with a lot of books to quickly check if they have materials the Internet Archive wants, or even to find if there is an electronic Open Library version of their book. This approach is still being tested.

Instructions for Testing The Do We Want It Scanner

• If you are using an Android phone:
  • Install the bar code reader software here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamma.scan&hl=en_US
  • This scanner has a free and pro version, and the free version works fine.
  • Choose Settings, go to down to Custom search URL, and add the following URL, including the %s characters: https://archiveteam.org/ia/index.php?q=%s
  • When the scan finishes, hit "CUSTOM URL" in the menu, and it will call up the web page and tell you if the Internet Archive wants the book or not.
• If you are using an Android phone and the above app seems different:
  • For some versions of Android, the above app will not give you a Custom search URL.
  • If this is the case, try using this app instead: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teacapps.barcodescanner
  • For this version, set the CUSTOM URL in the settings to be: https://archiveteam.org/ia/index.php?q={code}
• If you are using an iOS phone:
  • Install the bar code reader software here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/barcode-scanners/id504201315
  • Go to Settings then Result Settings then Search Using and then Add Another Search Engine.
  • Fill out the form with Name set to "Does IA have it" and the URL to "https://archiveteam.org/ia/index.php?q=".
  • Under Result Settings, turn on Search Barcode Automatically.
• Now, use this application to scan the ISBN of books.
• Bear in mind that ISBN is not as dependable a system as it could be: Sometimes two books were assigned numbers, or there's gaps, and so on. Also, your book might not have a barcode. Setting these aside for manual work will be necessary. You can enter the URL and ISBN numbers by hand here: https://archiveteam.org/ia/index.php?q= and then the ISBN number.

Considerations When You Have a Pile of Donatable Books

• As mentioned above, there is a backlog of books being scanned, in some cases extending to years.
• Shipping containers of books are being sent to be scanned, so your book donations might not be reflected on Open Library for a significant amount of time.
• There might be another reason your books are rejected (state of the book, it is of a set being held out of the system, etc.) that the API may say it's OK.
• In general, hardcover books are easiest to scan. Paperbacks and periodicals are not generally scanned (with some exceptions).
• If you run into problems with all this, please talk to Jason Scott (jscott@archive.org) as opposed to contacting Internet Archive staff.
• Please also talk to Jason Scott if you are now with a pile of books you wish to donate.