Fetching Metadata¶
Bookcard allows you to enrich your library by fetching high-quality metadata and covers from external providers.
How It Works¶
When editing a book, you can click the Fetch metadata button in the header. This opens a modal where you can:
- Search: Bookcard automatically searches using the book's title and author, but you can refine the query manually.
- Review Results: Results from configured providers (e.g., Google Books, Open Library) are displayed in real-time.
- Import: Click on a result to expand it. You can then selectively choose which fields to import (e.g., Title, Author, Description, Publisher, Tags, Cover) using checkboxes.
Providers¶
Metadata providers are external services that Bookcard queries to find information about your books.
Managing Providers¶
You can configure which providers to use in your user profile settings under Metadata Providers.
- Preferred Providers: Select your favorite sources. Bookcard will prioritize results from these providers.
- Enabled/Disabled: You can enable or disable specific providers if you find their results irrelevant or if you don't have an API key (for providers that require one).
Common supported providers include:
- Google Books: Extensive database for general books.
- Open Library: Open, editable library catalog.
- Comic Vine: Specialized for comics and graphic novels (requires API key).
- Amazon: Good for covers and commercial metadata.
- Hardcover: Community-driven book database.
- Google Scholar: Academic publications and papers.
- Douban: Popular Chinese book database.
- Lubimyczytac: Popular Polish book database.
By tailoring your provider list, you can ensure the search results are relevant to the types of books in your library.