Importing Your Books from LibraryThing
If you've catalogued your books on LibraryThing, you can bring your library, ratings, reviews and reading history into Book Assembly. This guide walks you through the whole process - including exactly what does and doesn't come across.
What You Can Import
From a LibraryThing JSON export, the following comes across:
- Book details - Title, author(s) and ISBN (the 13-digit ISBN is preferred)
- Your ratings - 1 to 5 stars, including half-stars (e.g. 3.5)
- Your reviews - Written reviews
- Your comments - Public and private comments become notes on the book
- Reading status - Read, currently reading, or to-read, worked out from your collections
- Reading dates - Start and finish dates
- Tags - Your tags can become lists in Book Assembly
- Custom collections - Favorites and any collections you've made can become lists too
- Genres - Your LibraryThing genres are matched to your existing genres (or created if new), then added to each book
- Ownership - Whether the book is in your library (owned)
- Format - Hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, and so on
- Page count, publisher, and publication year
What Doesn't Get Imported
Some LibraryThing data is left out, either because Book Assembly doesn't have a place for it or because it's library-cataloguing detail rather than personal reading data:
- Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classification - Book Assembly is a reading tracker, not a cataloguing system, so these aren't imported
- LCCN, OCLC and LibraryThing work numbers - Internal catalogue identifiers
- Series - Not yet imported. Series grouping is a planned addition; for now you can group your books into series yourself after importing. (Genres are imported - see the list above.)
- Physical dimensions and weight
- Subjects, awards, and price
- Cover images - These aren't in the export; Book Assembly looks them up by ISBN instead (if enabled)
Before You Start
You'll need to export your library from LibraryThing as a JSON file. LibraryThing offers several formats - please choose JSON, not the tab-delimited text option, as JSON keeps your data clean and complete.
- Go to LibraryThing (opens in new tab) and sign in (on the website, not the app)
- Open the More menu, then Import/Export
- Under Export, choose JSON
- Save the file to your computer
The Import Process
Step 1: Upload Your File
- Go to Dashboard > Data in Book Assembly, then open the Import tab
- Click Import from LibraryThing
- Click Select JSON File or drag and drop your file
Book Assembly reads your file and shows you what it found. Nothing is imported yet - you're previewing.
Step 2: Select Books to Import
You'll see every book found in your export, each with a checkbox. Untick any you don't want to import. You can search by title or author, and filter by status or tag. The header checkbox selects or deselects everything currently visible.
The count at the top shows how many books will actually be imported.
Step 3: Map Your Tags & Collections
Your LibraryThing tags and custom collections (like Favorites) can become lists in Book Assembly. For each one, choose to:
- Skip - Don't make a list; books are still imported, just not added to a list
- Create new list - A new list with that name is created
- Use existing list - Add the books to a list you already have
Built-in collections like read, To read, Currently reading and Your libraryaren't shown here - they're handled automatically as reading status and ownership.
Step 4: Match Authors
If you already have books in your library, this step keeps author names consistent - for example, matching "J.R.R. Tolkien" to an existing "J. R. R. Tolkien". For each author you can keep the imported spelling or use the one already in your library.
Step 5: Import
Click the import button and your books are added in the background - you can keep using Book Assembly while it works. Duplicates are skipped, new lists are created as needed, author names are updated to your choices, cover images are looked up (if enabled), and you'll get an email summary when it's done.
Understanding Reading Status
LibraryThing uses collections to track reading. Book Assembly works out a single status from them:
| LibraryThing collection | Book Assembly | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Currently reading | Reading | You're partway through |
| read | Finished | You've completed the book |
| To read / Wishlist | TBR | On your list to read |
Note:a book can be in several collections at once. If so, the most active status wins - currently reading first, then read, then to-read. "Your library" marks a book as owned.
Handling Duplicates
Book Assembly automatically detects books you already have, to prevent duplicates. It checks:
- ISBN - The unique book identifier (most reliable)
- Title + Author - As a fallback when there's no ISBN
Some LibraryThing books - especially older or rarer ones - have no ISBN, so they're matched on title and author instead. Duplicates are marked with a badge and deselected, but you can re-select any you'd like to import anyway.
Ratings
LibraryThing ratings (1 to 5 stars, including half-stars like 3.5) map straight across - Book Assembly supports half-stars too, so nothing is lost.
Reviews, Comments and Notes
LibraryThing keeps a Review, a public Comment, and a Private Comment. Your review imports as a review on the book; the public and private comments import as notes, so nothing is lost.
Import Limits
Books per import: up to 1,000 books at a time, to keep the import fast and reliable.
If you have more than 1,000 books: import the same file again after the first batch finishes - Book Assembly skips the books it already imported. Two or three imports usually covers even a large library.
File size: the maximum file size is 50MB, which is plenty for a typical library.
If Something Goes Wrong
File won't upload:
- Make sure it's the JSON export (not the tab-delimited text, Excel, or MARC option)
- Check the file isn't larger than 50MB
- Try exporting again from LibraryThing
Books are missing:
- They may have been filtered out - try resetting the filters
- They may have been detected as duplicates
- Check they weren't unticked before import
Missing covers:
- Books without an ISBN can't have a cover looked up automatically - you can add one from each book's edit page
After Importing
Once your books are imported, you can:
- Group your books into series - Series aren't imported yet, so you can set these up yourself (genres come across automatically)
- Add or change covers - From each book's edit page
- Edit details - Fix anything that didn't come across the way you wanted
Your LibraryThing account is completely unaffected. You can keep using LibraryThing alongside Book Assembly, or move across fully - it's up to you.