Unable to search

I'm unable to search my library. Only occasionally will a book be found with the search function. Any help will be appreciated.

We're going to need more details, if you can, please.

Which Collection/s are you searching?
Are you searching "Your books" on the website, or are you using the LibraryThing App? If the latter, iOS or Android?
What are some of your most recent failed searches?
Are you seeing any error message/s and if so what do they say?
What browser and OS (operating system) are you using (e.g. Google Chrome, version 90 and Windows 7, etc.)?

I'm searchin my library ("Your Books")
I'm using the web platform, macOS Monterey 12.6.3, Google Chrome
It looks as if some books entered in December 2022 are not showing, specifically any books by Joel Salatin.
I'm not getting an error message. I'm just being told that there is "No books found." However when I manually scroll through the library by date when book was added I find the said books that haven't been found.

Okay, try now, I think I've fixed it (cleared your caches and reindexed your catalog).

>4 kristilabrie: You fixed it! Thank you!!!

Hello, I am having search issues too. It seems to start after item 2425. I seem to be able to search anything prior to that, but not after. This started today. Some added today are below 2425 and are searchable. Please let me know what information you need from me to help diagnose/fix. Thank you.

>6 Kaycee17: Hello, I am having search issues too. It seems to start after item 2425. I seem to be able to search anything prior to that, but not after. This started today. Some added today are below 2425 and are searchable. Please let me know what information you need from me to help diagnose/fix. Thank you.

First off, are you searching your library (I would guess so) or all of LibraryThing? What page are you on when you search?

And any bug report should always include:
1. Software you are using (web site or phone app or something else)
2. Device (Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android phone)
3. OS version (e.g. Windows 11, MacOS 13.3.1, iOS 16.1, Android 11.1)
4. If a browser, which browser and version (e.g. FireFox 111.0.1, Chrome 101.3)

Screenshots are always helpful (though I realize they can be hard to supply), as are links to problem items, e.g. your "item 2425" -- I can't look it up because yours is a private library. So we don't know what book it is or anything peculiar about how you entered it. (LT staff has more power than I do, but the more information you supply, the less work they have to do.)

I would add that my search attempts have not given me any problems. But, of course, that's just me.

>6 Kaycee17: Have you tried manually reindexing your books? https://www.librarything.com/elasticsearch_reindex_books.php

What does item 2425 mean? Sorted by entry order? Give me an example of something that cant' be found?

>9 timspalding: I believe they were referring to book # in catalog as they have 2432 books...

>7 waltzmn: Yes, I am searching my library. I am on page one. I entered a grouping of 6 Nancy Drew books. I tried to search specifically on those 6 to update the titles to my format. Only 5 pulled up. After troubleshooting, I could narrow it down to the books added after the 2425th added book. So from 2426 to 2432 (all added today) are not searchable.

1. Website and Phone App are having the same issue
2. Windows PC and Android phone
3. Windows 11 and Android 8.1.0
4. Chrome 112.0.5615.87

My searching work fine for all items entered prior to the 2425th. It just says "no books found.

>8 Taliesien: No, I did not know about reindexing. I tried this, but it did not resolve the issue. When would I use this function? What does this do specifically? I am new to the site and learning.

>9 timspalding: I have 2432 books entered. They are currently sorting by entry date, so that I can update like items to my preferred title format. Specifically, I entered a grouping of 6 Nancy Drew books today. 5 pulled up in the sort, but 1 did not. Then I further tested and all the books after that missing Nancy Drew that were entered did not pull up either during a search.

In the original post above, someone cleared the cache and reindexed. How can I clear the cache??? Or does that happen automatically during the reindex?

Thanks, Kelly

>14 Kaycee17: Clearing your cache -> http://www.librarything.com/user_expireCaches.php

ETA: As to your question of why you would use the reindex tool and what it does, think of it like an index at the back of a physical book. If you're looking for something specific the index is the best way to find it rather than scanning through the book page by page. Your books on LT are stored in a database, that database is indexed (many times over) on various keys to make searching the database easier. Sometimes when adding batches of books the indices are not re-built in real time and there are caching delays.

It may or may not help you depending on what the root cause of your issue is. It's typically the first thing I try when I have issues after adding batches of books, which is the only time I ever have that problem. Since your library is private, only LT staff can look at your books, and they would need to know which specific Nancy Drew book is "missing", and is it just missing from search or also when you browse your catalog?

Books that have just been entered sometimes need a bit of time before they can be searched. In fact, a work that is new to LT can take a day or two to be available in site search.

>15 Taliesien: Ah, Thank you so much for the explanation!! It is now back to working. Not sure if it was the reindex or if LT just caught up with my entries. I will make note of both the cache and reindex tools for future needs.

>16 MarthaJeanne: Ok, thank you, this is good to know. It was the first time I have had an issue and I entered them as a group in one sitting. So, I did not think this could be the issue, but it may have been. It is now back to working, so I am not sure if it was the reindex or time for LT to catch up. Thank you, Kelly

>17 Kaycee17: Great! Marking this one as fixed, but let us know if you see further search issues. Could be a simple reindexing/clearing of caches.

For what it's worth, saying "the 2425th book" could mean so many things depending on who's looking at your catalog, how they have their catalog pages sorting (you can view all catalogs how you want, so you're probably not looking at a catalog in the same way and with the same sort order as another member), etc. Identifying specific titles or barcode numbers in your library are good bets, so we can see which items you're specifically having issues with. I hope this helps! Welcome to LT!

I'm having the exact same trouble. I cleared my cache, but it didn't help.

I am searching "Your Library" for the author "Rowling", "Harry", and even "Potter", and only getting two entries from Rowling's Harry Potter series, despite having several that show up if I browse through the pages in alphabetical order. Other names/titles seem to be searching fine. I'm currently cataloging the "R" section of my library, and am wondering if something is going wrong with my cataloging.
I am using Windows 10 and Chrome.

Thanks for any help!

edit: One hour later, I have entered novels by Barbara Pym into my catalog, and am having the exact same problem. It seems to be any that I have put into "Your Library" today are not showing up in the search feature in my books.

You have entered many of these today. Search is not always immediate. Try again tomorrow.

timspalding is running a reindex on everyone who's added books in the last 48 hours, for what it's worth. Please bear with us and try again in the next day or so. If you're still having search troubles please tell me what search/es are failing for you and we can take a closer look!

I have added some comments on various books as an index for books I want to show up on a particular search, but they are not showing up when I actually search for them, even after refreshing the page

>22 kristilabrie: Thank you for checking into it for us. This morning, all are showing up like they should. Either the reindex took care of it, or as MarthaJeanne suggested, it was taking a bit to show up. I'll be sure and wait a day or so before panicking next time. Thank you again!

>23 Robertgreaves: I need some specifics. What search/es are failing for you, and which record/s (title/s and author/s) are they failing to find? Are you searching LibraryThing or TinyCat?

>25 kristilabrie: Whatever the problem was it seems to have sorted itself out now. I had used RandomKIT as a comment for some books in my LT library but when I tried to search for books with that comment, nothing was showing. As I say, whatever the problem was, the search brings up the books it should do now

Okay, thanks! I've still been getting reports of slow indexing, but I don't have any current examples so I'm waiting to see if they were indeed fixed by timspalding's reindex or not. Hopefully so!