Template:PublicationInfo:WhatToInclude

Sometimes it is not clear whether to include a content item in the ISFDB. Some examples:

• Fiction. Included; see NONGENRE, below, for a discussion of non-sf.
• Tables of contents. These are not included. However, a good rule is that anything listed in the table of contents should be included.
• Editorial. Always included. Enter them using the "ESSAY" Title type, not "EDITOR".
• Science fact articles. Always included.
• Blurbs. Magazines often include lead-ins, or blurbs, before a story; these are not indexed.
• Biographical sketches of authors. Include these when they are separate entries. Don't include them when they are part of a blurb or lead-in.
• In Times to Come. Notes about what will be in future issues can be included if they are significant; for example, a single filler line at the bottom of a page, saying "Don't miss Arthur C. Clarke's great new story 'The Pacifist' in our next issue!", doesn't get indexed, but a section titled "In Times to Come", describing future issues, should be indexed. Other pieces may fall into this category; for example, a notice that the editorship is changing, or that a key figure associated with the magazine has died. The boundary between inclusion and non-inclusion is a judgement call here, and depends on length and significance.
• Advertising. No advertising of any kind is indexed, including calls for subscriptions, back issues, and plugs for conventions.
• Essays. Opinion pieces and essays are always included.
• Letter column. Letter columns should be included; index them as ESSAYs.
• Calendars. Calendar pages, such as "The Analog Calendar of Upcoming Events", should be indexed as ESSAYs.
• Artwork. Cover art is always included. Interior art is usually included; see INTERIORART.
• Photography. Treat as artwork.
• Quotes and other filler material. For example, Analog has periodically placed quotes of interest to its readers in filler positions. These are not included unless they fall within some other category, such as the table of contents rule mentioned above.
• Statements of ownership. Statutory statements of ownership and circulation are not included; nor are colophons, lists of editorial positions, and similar material.
• Inserts. An item inserted into a book or magazine should be indexed under the same rules as if it were included in the main body. For example, some David Weber books include an Honorverse CD; this has its own ISBN and should be indexed as a separate title, and a note included in the book to mention that the CD is included. A poster insert in a magazine should be indexed as artwork, and a note would mention that it was an insert.
• Cartoons. Signed or significant cartoons are included; list as artwork.
• Acknowledgments. Generally do not include. Occasionally an acknowledgments section may contain more than a simple listing of copyright dates and thank-yous to friends and researchers; if it contains material such as reminiscences, opinionation or anything else likely to interest a reader or researcher, consider including it.
• Forewords, introductions, prefaces, afterwords, endnotes, etc. These should all be included; enter them as ESSAYs. Occasionally something like an endnote will be set in the fictional world of the novel; these do not get indexed separately as they are regarded as part of the novel's text.
• Story introductions. In some cases, anthologies or collections include introductions (or, less often, afterwords) to individual works. If these are short and amount to blurbs, they should not be indexed separately. When they amount to critical essays or otherwise have significant content, they should be included. This is always a judgment call. Such story introductions are often unsigned and untitled. If they occur in a single-author collection without a separate editor, they can usually be safely attributed to the author. If they occur in a collection or anthology with a single editor, they can usually be safely attributed to the editor. In an anthology (or collection) with multiple editors, such introductions (if they are being entered into the database) should be attributed to "uncredited" if there is no clear indication of who actually wrote them. If untitled, such items should be listed as "Story (Introduction)" (where "Story" represents the title of the story being introduced) or some similar form. In borderline cases, signed intros are more worthy of inclusion than ones which would need to be attributed to "uncredited".
• About the author. Biographical notes are included; enter them as ESSAYs.
• Dedicatory material. Not included. This comes in two kinds: dedication statements made by the author, and material from other writers used as dedicatory or other introductory material. For example, Denise Levertov's poem "Come into Animal Presence" is printed near the begin of Le Guin's collection "Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences". It appears in the table of contents, as well; so this is a borderline case. However, unless there appears to be some strong reason to include it, do not index these items.
• Reader polls. A clip-out coupon (or something similar) for readers to send in to vote on their favourite stories should not be included. A significant amount of text accompanying the poll coupon may be worth indexing, per the other rules above -- e.g. whether or not it is mentioned in the table of contents. The results of reader polls are likely to be worth recording, however; they will be ESSAYs.