How ISBN search works and which sources provide the data

PowerBK includes bibliographic search procedures that automatically retrieve from the Internet the information required to catalogue books, magazines and other publications. The most immediate search criterion is the ISBN code, which can be entered manually or read using a standard USB barcode scanner.

The search is not limited to ISBN. Depending on the options provided by the selected source, searches can also be performed by title, author, publisher, keywords and other bibliographic data. This flexibility is useful when the ISBN code is unavailable or unreadable, or when cataloguing older publications.

The information that may be retrieved includes title, subtitle, author, publisher, publication year, language, series, number of pages, description, bibliographic identifiers and other available metadata. When the queried source provides it, PowerBK also downloads the book cover and associates it with the relevant record.

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1. Enter the ISBN or search criteria.

2. Query the selected search engines.

3. Collect the bibliographic results.

4. Combine them using the Merge function.

5. Check the existing database.

6. Add or update the record.

Google Books makes it possible to search for books and retrieve a wide range of bibliographic metadata. Depending on the book, the available information may include title, authors, publisher, publication date, description, categories, identifiers, number of pages and cover images.

🔗 Official Google Books API documentation

The OPAC of the Italian National Library Service is the collective catalogue of Italian libraries participating in SBN. It is particularly useful for searching Italian editions, older publications and documents held in national library catalogues.

🔗 Visit OPAC SBN

Open Library is a collaborative bibliographic catalogue that provides services for searching and consulting book data. It can supplement results obtained from other sources with additional information and covers available in its archive.

🔗 Official Open Library API documentation

The same book may be available on Google Books, OPAC SBN and Open Library at the same time, but each source may return different or more detailed fields. To avoid showing the user multiple separate results for the same publication, PowerBK includes a Merge function.

The Merge function identifies results referring to the same book and combines them into a single entry. In this way, each engine can contribute the information it holds: one source may provide a more complete description, another the cover, and another additional publishing or bibliographic data.

The final result is a richer and more consistent record than one obtained by querying a single database. Before saving, the user can still verify, edit or complete the proposed information.

During data entry, PowerBK checks whether the identified book is already present in the database. This verification reduces the risk of creating multiple records for the same publication.

When a match is recognised, the software does not automatically add a second record: it updates the existing record with the retrieved data, keeping the catalogue organised and avoiding unwanted duplicates.

This behaviour is particularly useful for libraries that import large quantities of books, perform repeated searches or update information already stored in their archive over time.

PowerBK allows users to configure which engines are used for searches. Users can choose the sources best suited to their catalogue and change the configuration whenever necessary.

For example, this makes it possible to prioritise Italian sources, extend the search to multiple services or temporarily exclude an unnecessary engine.

Response times may vary depending on the Internet connection, the load on external services and the temporary availability of the servers.

PowerBK allows users to configure timeouts, meaning the maximum time allowed for a request before it is interrupted. This enables the procedure to be adapted to connection quality and user requirements.

In addition to Google Books, OPAC SBN and Open Library, other catalogues and bibliographic services can be used to search for books.

For future versions of PowerBK, we are evaluating and implementing additional engines with the aim of expanding search coverage and further improving the completeness of the retrieved data.

From a technical standpoint, PowerBK uses curl to communicate with the servers of bibliographic services, including Google Books, OPAC SBN and Open Library.

curl is a widely used software project for transferring data through URLs and network protocols such as HTTP and HTTPS. PowerBK uses it to send requests to remote servers, receive responses and acquire the bibliographic data returned by each service.

The management of timeouts and other communication settings makes it possible to control request behaviour when connections are slow, services are temporarily unavailable or responses are incomplete.

🔗 Official curl project website

The available information depends on the records held by the queried services. Not all sources return the same fields, and not all publications have a cover or description.

The retrieved data should therefore be regarded as a cataloguing basis that users can verify, correct and complete before or after saving.

PowerBK is Windows software for cataloguing books, magazines and ebooks and managing loans, barcodes, labels, Dewey classification, OPAC catalogues and shared databases.

📚 Visit the main PowerBK page

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Technical content written by Antonio de Francesco, developer of PowerBK and founder of PowerWolf Software Solutions.

PowerBK has been developed since 2010 and is regularly updated according to the evolution of bibliographic services and user requirements.

👤 Antonio de Francesco LinkedIn profile