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A new feature will show up soon, along with user-defined columns, that may help here.
A user will be able to 'restrict' the books viewed in the library display to those that match some arbitrary saved search. The restriction does not appear in the search bar, but is instead combined with other searches as needed. When a restriction is first applied, the search box remains empty, the library shows only books that match, and the tags browser reconfigures to show only authors/tags/etc that appear in the selected books. While a restriction is in effect, the 'count' area next to the search bar turns yellow, and the count indicates the number of books matching the restriction. Searches from the search bar, including saved searches, will find only books that match both the search and the restriction.
One can use this feature to get a form of multiple libraries. For example, the OP could create a saved search that uses a set of tag and user-defined column values to match 'Debra's mysteries' and nothing else. To make it more interesting, we could also have saved searches that match 'Charles' science fiction' and 'Books Charles hasn't read'. If I set the restriction to 'Debra's mysteries', then I will see only those books. I can sort, search, edit, copy to device, and otherwise use the library as I want, all the while seeing only books that match the restriction.
I could then change the restriction to 'Books Charles hasn't read', and operate on that collection. Should I want, I could remove the restriction and see the entire library. If for some reason I want to restrict my view to books Charles hasn't read yet that aren't Debra's mysteries, I can define a new search for books that match one but not the other, such as 'search:"Books Charles hasn't read yet" and not search:"Debra's mysteries"'.
A book can be matched by more than one restriction, which is a great advantage over real folder hierarchies while providing equivalent organizational capability. For example, I might create a column called 'Folder'. For each book of interest, I put into this column the path to a 'folder' that I want to believe the book is in. For example, I could put 'Charles' books/SF' on some books, 'Debra's books/Mystery' on others, and so on. I could then define saved searches that match these folders, or even prefixes of the folders. This technique gives me a virtual folder hierarchy that is changeable at will. If I use a tags-like user-defined column (multi-valued), I can even put a book into multiple virtual folders.
To forestall a question: no, the restrictions do not appear on the library bar. Kovid has reserved that space for other things. The restriction is set using a box found below the tag browser.
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