Textbooks discussion

[seabelis]

Question

Continued discussion from community call 21 Nov 2023.

Should numbered editions of textbooks each be considered a different work?

Examples for consideration will be posted to this issue.

[cdrini]

Here's one example of software 'textbooks': https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25985924M/Blender_3D_2.49_Architecture_Buildings_and_Scenery

This books was first published in 2008 for some version of the software Blender, then updated in 2010 for Blender 2.49 . I think this is an example of something which should be one work ; they likely updated some of the images in the book to match the new Blender UI, and might've had to change some techniques, but it is largely the same content.

[cdrini]

Here's an ambiguous example: The Joy of Cooking https://openlibrary.org/works/OL267968W/Joy_of_Cooking

First published in the 30s at 628 pages, it has since evolved through an number of editions. One of the more recent editions, the 7th edition, has 1132 pages and totes "500 new recipes".

I'm not sure where the divide would be, but somewhere here a new work might be warranted.

[cdrini]

On Cooking: Techniques from Expert Chefs: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22858872M/On_cooking

First edition: 1995, by Sarah R. Labensky and Alan M. Hause; 1080 pages

Fifth edition: 2014, by Sarah R. Labensky, Alan M. Hause, and Priscilla A. Martel; 1224 pages

Fifth Canadian Edition: 2011, by Sarah R. Labensky, Alan M. Hause, Priscilla A. Martel, Fred L. Malley, Anthony Bevan, and Settimio Sicoli; 1015 pages

Flipping through them, the Canadian 5th Edition has a pretty different table of contents ; these would be candidates for separate works for me.

[davidscotson]

I filed #8601, partly inspired by this topic. It address the problem when, if it is a complicated or involved process to decide whether the different works get merged or kept seperate, how do you maintain the seperation decision over time as later librarians may propose merges.

[seabelis]

The title changes slightly over editions, but TOC is structured the same for the editions I can access. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL710818W

[seabelis]

I feel less sure about calling these editions of each other.