Quote:
Originally Posted by rolgiati
I have been asked to install Calibre under Linux on the self-service computers in a public library.
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Since you are wanting multiple computers to access Calibre (which would of course be the case in a library), then you are realistically talking about using the Content Server part of Calibre. I would love to have multiple full Calibre interfaces running against the same database at the same time (in read-only mode), but Calibre does not support that.
If each Calibre access station in your library is a full fledged PC, then you could have your one main database on a machine not accessible to the public, then rsync that over to EACH individual PC running its own individual copy of Calibre. But, each of those individual PC's would be able to modify their individual database (you would overwrite those changes with the next rsync though). Still, in a public setting, I don't think you'd want to expose yourself for such potential abuse of the individual databases. You could maybe use the OS to mark everything Calibre can access as read-only, but I imagine that would make for some pretty problematic error messages/behavior that you wouldn't want to put in front patrons of your library.
So we're back to using the Content Server part of Calibre. It is not as full featured as the main Calibre interface, but the main Calibre interface would probably blow away 99% of your library patrons anyway. They wouldn't know how to use it. The Content Server interface does have a small learning curve, but nowhere near like the main interface. I would STILL maintain your main database separate from the database exposed by the Content Server. The main database should never be touchable, in any way, by the general public.
I am wondering a bit why you'd be asked to put up Calibre in a public library. Will this be used to distribute only non-DRM'ed and freely available books? Because with Calibre, either the main interface or the Content Server interface, you can download books. If the library patron has access to a USB port on the library computer, they can stick their personal thumbdrive in there and download the books from Calibre and permanently walk off with them, never to have to return them. That's not what you typically expect in a library setting, but maybe that's what you're after in this case.