internetarchive / internetarchive/openlibrary

Open Library search bar displays random books instead of error message for non-existent titles

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#9,288 8 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Lead: @cdrini Needs: Breakdown Needs: Investigation Priority: 4 Theme: Search Type: Bug
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Python
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Description

### Problem

Below is a screenshot of the conducted test.

![resultadoCaso11](https://github.com/internetarchive/openlibrary/assets/141163236/6ab026f4-38aa-488a-9c7a-917506b9dbba)

### Reproducing the bug

1. Go to the Open Library website.
2. Navigate to the search bar.
3. Enter a non-existent title, such as "a12b3c4z", in the search bar.
4. Observe the search results displaying random books instead of an error message indicating that the title was not found.

◦ **Expect behavior**: When searching for a non-existent title, the system should display an error message indicating that the title was not found.
◦ **Actual behavior**: The system displays random books.

### Context

I’m a software engineering student and while conducting tests on the Open Library search bar, I discovered a flaw in how the system handles non-existent titles. When searching for a non-existent title, such as "a12b3c4z" instead of returning an error message indicating that the title was not found, the system presented a list of random books, such as "Retórica" by Aristotle and "The Hunger Games." This indicates a failure in identifying and handling non-existent titles by the system.

I think this issue can lead to confusion and frustration among users, as they may expect accurate feedback when searching for specific titles.

### Notes from this Issue's Lead

_No response_

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Assessment

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