Exploring Google Books, Open Library, and Wikipedia as Sources for Book Metadata: The UK and Lithuanian Cases

Abstract:  This paper investigates the potential of Google Books, Open Library, and Wikipedia as sources of metadata for scholarly books, focusing on publications from the UK and Lithuania. Utilising ISBNs as unique identifiers, the study analyses the availability, accuracy, and completeness of metadata across these platforms. Initial findings reveal significant disparities between UK and Lithuanian book metadata, with UK publications exhibiting higher coverage and consistency. The research highlights the limitations of these sources, particularly for non-English language publications, and underscores the need for further investigation to develop a more comprehensive and reliable book metadata ecosystem. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion about improving book metrics and enhancing the evaluation of scholarly outputs.