Question: Series vs Publisher's Series

Hi there! I'm pretty new to LT. I've read everything I could find on the wiki about what constitutes a publisher's series vs a regular series, but I'm still a little unsure about the case I'm working with: https://www.librarything.com/nseries/375084/Websters-Comprehensive-Desk-Referenc...

With the exception of Webster's Dictionary, Webster's Thesaurus, and Webster's Medical Dictionary, I haven't found alternate editions of the volumes in this set: they exist only within this series. I personally think that the dictionaries and thesaurus are shortened and abridged enough that it would be okay to separate the ones from this set from other editions of the text, but I haven't done so, nor have I added the dictionary or thesaurus to the series yet. Currently I have marked the series as a publisher's series.

I would like to know from folks who have been on this website for a while:
1) Are these editions different enough to justify separating them from other editions?
2) If not, would it cause any problems for me to add the "Webster's Dictionary"/"Webster's Thesaurus" entry at large to this series?
3) Would this series qualify as a regular series or should it remain a publisher's series?
4) If this series remains a publisher's series, is there a way for me to make that information display on my collection under the 'series' column, or does that column only work for regular series?

Thank you for reading and for your help.

>1 GraceCollection: I'm not sure why this is a publisher's series. I'd change it to series. No one else published those works, right? Standalone edition from the same publisher shouldn't matter.

I expect more problems in distinguishing that particular Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus from many others under same titles. As long as they are separate, as they should be, they are a part of this series. Adding a disambiguation notice how these specific editions are to be recognized is advisable.

If you add the links to the Dictionary and Thesaurus, we can comment more specifically.

If you create the situation where LT tells a user that their book is in a series when it isn't then you need to make the series a publisher series. The problem seems to be the dictionary and thesaurus and I have no idea whether the ones inside and outside the series are the same or not

>2 SandraArdnas:
>3 jjwilson61:

I created the series; I wasn't sure whether it should be publisher's series or not, so I put it as publisher's to be on the safe side until I got advice.

The works that would need to separated in this case are:
Webster's Thesaurus (the copy that is part of this set is ISBN 1-881275-01-9) https://www.librarything.com/work/38508/book/264147648
and
Webster's Dictionary (ISBN 1-881275-00-0) https://www.librarything.com/work/10806808/book/264148255

I've never done separating/combining, and it seems like a big project to do for my first time, especially when there's no credited author/editor (at least for the ones in this series), which from what I'm reading seems to be the easiest tie to get separated editions combined.

(Edited because I accidentally added the thesaurus twice instead of linking the dictionary)

Actually, I'm looking at the dictionary right now — this might be a big project if someone felt the need to devote to it. What counts as an edition vs a separate work in LT's eyes is a little confusing, at least for me, when it comes to something like a dictionary, which is formatted the same is every edition, as opposed to the examples which are given on separation wiki pages/FAQ which usually have to do with more traditional books (for lack of a better term) that are generally meant to be read from beginning to end. The experience of using two different Webster's dictionaries is not that great; hell, for that matter, the experience of using a Webster's vs a MacMillian is not that great. However, the content of the book itself probably changes quite significantly between all the 'authors' I'm seeing listed for this entry alone - at a glance I see Allee, Kauffman, two different Nichols, Landoll (which I believe refers to the publisher and not an author, although I'm not positive), and Noah Webster himself. I've seen at least one unabridged edition in this list, which I would strongly consider to be a different work than any traditional dictionary. A Webster's published in 1924 is likely to diverge in more entries than it shares with a Webster's published in 2024, but where would one draw the line on that?

I've rambled a bit, thank you for your patience. I can see the merit for both sides on separating or not separating a book like this, but again, I'm new to LT and have little familiarity with how things are run.

>5 GraceCollection: If I tell you that I own an Webster dictionary, are you going to ask which edition I have and does it really matter? That is how we determine if something stays together or needs separating in such cases... It matters when we talk about desk vs pocket and so on (and these stay separate) but the editions can be tricky inside of the same size.

The problem with works that go through a lot of editions is that while 1 - 2 and 2- 3 and so on are minor changes, 1-20 is now a major one but they will all be together because the increments are small. But where do you draw the line? I tend to be on the "lump them together" camp for the most part - unless it is definitely considered a new edition and not just an update, I'd leave them together. But I don't go to war about that - if someone wants to split, be my guest.

>6 AnnieMod: Thank you for weighing in! This definitely makes sense. The volumes I was debating on splitting that started this whole thread are probably the order of magnitude between a pocket dictionary or thesaurus and the real deal, so if I can figure out how to do it without collateral damage, I think I'll go ahead with that particular split, but you're right - I think for most people, a dictionary is a dictionary is a dictionary, and the part that matters is size. (:

If you separate that particular edition, which should be possible with ISBN (and is desirable if we can differentiate different works), then that work will be a part of the series. After separating, I'd put a disambiguation notice that it's only that ISBN and/or anything else that helps identify it. It also helps to put some canonical title that would be more specific than just Webster's Dictionary, eg adding Comprehensive Desk Reference Library. Same goes for Thesaurus.