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6.3. Cover Images
Last Updated 12/22/2025
Adding Cover Images Manually
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Cover Iamages may be added to records that don't already have them, or that show the incorrect cover, by uploading the correct image in the bibliographic Record summary.
When adding holdings, many titles that already exist in the catalog will have cover images. In cases where the title does not have a cover image, you will see the NC Cardinal placeholder:
Manual Upload
You can manually upload the correct cover image from the bibliographic record:
- Select Upload Cover Image from the Other Actions Menu.
- In the pop-up modal, click the button to Choose File.
- Click the Upload Cover Image button.
File Types
Make sure you have the correct file type. The following are all acceptable:
- jpg
- png
- xpm
- xbm
- gif
- bmp
Potential Errors
If there is an error uploading your file, you will be shown error text in the modal. Error messages include the following:
- Not authenticated. Expired login? Not authorized. Check your permissions.
- Not found. Bib record deleted?
- Invalid global compression value.
- Talk to your system administrator.
- Do not know where to upload files.
- Talk to your system administrator.
- Can not save uploaded file.
- Talk to your system administrator.
- File size larger than configured limit.
- Check your library setting or try a smaller file.
- Error parsing the image. Is it a common image filetype?
- Error uploading or processing file.
Note: If you can't see the uploaded cover image, try viewing the record in an incognito window, or clearing your cache.
Open Library
All the cover images that are not manually uploaded in Evergreen come from Open Library, which is an open-source initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Other projects include the Wayback Machine, archive.org and archive-it.org.
Cover images are based on the ISBN in the bibliographic record. Evergreen currently only uses the first ISBN to search Open Library. Some covers may be missing for some ISBNs. Images are updated by registered Open Library users and by bots and may sometimes contain incorrect images.
You can add or correct the image chosen by Open LIbrary by changing the first ISBN in a bib record to one that matches the correct image in Open Library.