If you look in the help center above I think there are instructions there to put new stuff in the catalog.

If you have an ISBN # the site should pull it up even if it isn't currently available.  Then you can add it to your WL.

Is that what you mean?  If it's a book without an ISBN you probably can't do it because those books have to be posted using "post a book without an ISBN" and then your copy gets a one use ISBN number.  You could try searching by the book name/author and see if anything comes up.

Charles, I don't see anything in the help other than the standard how to post a book you already have or to request one already listed in the system.

Lisa N., thanks, but, yes I know about all that. Read statement to charles above.

Dale, you will have to manually add the ISBN to the database.  Search Amazon or try Worldcat to get the ISBN.  Enter ISBN in the search box,  if it works, add it to your wl.  It may take 24 hours or more for the ISBN to show up in the database.

How do I add a book that is not in the database to my Wish List (or other list)?

A book (with an ISBN listing) must be known to the PBS database in order to be added to a Wish List.

You can try to add the ISBN to the system - this is as easy as searching for the ISBN (putting the ISBN into the space at the top of any page on the site and clicking Search).

• This will sometimes add the listing to the database, and you will be able to Wish List the book from the added listing.
• You can find the ISBN for the book by searching for the book on another (non-PBS) internet archive.

We (The PBS Team) can't add the item to the database manually - if you can't add it by using the method above, the item can't be added yet.

• Our database is regularly updated.
  • if your book is not in the database, it could be added at any time by a routine update.
  • You can used "Saved Searches" to check on this easily--save the search for this item and run the search every now and then to see if it comes up in the search results.
• You should be sure that your Search terms are accurate
  • You may not be finding the book if you are spelling the author name or title wrong
• If a book was published without an ISBN
  • it will not be possible to put that version of the book onto your Wish List, since the Wish List functions by ISBN
  • if a non-ISBN version of the book has been Posted into the database in the past, it can be added to your Wish List, but this means that ONLY that specific copy of the book will trigger a Wish List offer
  •  The "PBS ISBN" (the short, usually 5-digit number attached to a non-ISBN listing to keep track of the book in the PBS database) applies to only that particular copy of the book; only if that particular copy is reposted into the system by a previous receiver of that particular copy will you be alerted to its availability.

How can I add an item to the database?

If you have a book you want to Post or want to add to your Wish List and you can't find it in the database, you should:

Search for the book by ISBN

• put the ISBN into the Search space at the top of the site and click Search.

• If you are searching Posted Books and you get no results, make sure to widen your search to All Books and try it again.

You can get the ISBN by doing an internet (eg, Google) search for the book and finding the ISBN on another archive (eg, the publisher's site).

If this does not work to bring the listing for the book up, then that means the item can't be added manually at this time. Items are added routinely and automatically by our database provider.  We do not add them manually ourselves - if you can't add the item by searching for the ISBN, the item can't be added manually by anyone at this time.

• To post the item if you have not been able to add it to the database, use the Post a Book without an ISBN link on the Post Books page to create a listing that matches the book
• To Wish List the item: this can't be done until there is an ISBN listing in the database for the book.
•  

You might try using the 'contact us' button and asking that the book be added to the data base. That will only get you as far as being able to add the book to your WL. I can't see how it would be possible to encourage someone else to post it so that you can request it.

Another option would be to post about it in the Book Bazaar, somethig aking to: "I'm looking for this book and would like to request it if anyone else has it available".

I've done this with DVDs on the sister site and they did add them the same day.

Also if a listing is incomplete or incorrect you can edit book data.  You need to research the book info and have it ready to make an edit.  

At bottom of page 

Click - Member Tools

Click - Edit Book Data 

As Valerie said, to try to add a listing to the database (when you are not posting the book), do a search for the ISBN (without hyphens or spaces.) Then wait a day or two. Your search will make the software search for information on that ISBN and try to add the listing to the database. If the listing isn't added, it means that it can't be added at this time. The Admin Team doesn't add listings to the database manually.