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Originally Posted by kklausser

I was told by a friend about Calibre and already love it. My question (and this might be a dumb one) is, when I receive my Nook, can I use Calibre to update it? I have the details for the books set the way I like on it and when I tried to use the B&N reader app I couldn't edit the details (title, author, etc).

I am a relatively new nook owner, but after reading forums here and doing lots of my own testing, here is what I decided to do.

For ebooks purchased from B&N, I use the B&N web site to manage them. (My B&N->My eBooks Library) It's the only way I have found to delete B&N ebooks (and samples) from the nook.

For ebooks with Adobe DRM, I use Adobe Digital Editions to download the books to the nook. (When you don't use the B&N methods to download a book, you will see it called "sideloading" on these forums.)

For ebooks without DRM, I use Calibre to sideload them to the nook.

I have found that I don't need to change metadata for B&N or Adobe DRM books. But, I have many times for the non-DRM books. I use Calibre for that.

Hypothetically, if I had to change metadata on a protected book, I would have to use the various tools available to remove the DRM before Calibre would be able to modify the metadata.

File management is another story. If you start the B&N Reader on your Windows PC, and open a book on your PC, the Reader will put a copy of your book in My Documents\My Barnes & Noble eBooks. Unfortunately, when you delete a book at the B&N site, it is not deleted from this directory the next time you start their PC-based Reader. So, I just stopped using it.

The default directory for Adobe Digital Editions is My Documents\My Digital Editions. It is flexible enough to let you add a book from any directory. It will just remember where the book is. It will not make its own copy of it.

I put all my non-DRM books in My Documents\My Library. When I add them to Calibre, it makes a copy of them and puts them in its own directory structure. I changed the Calibre directory to My Documents\My Calibre Library. (Sorry, I can't remember what the original default was.)

I have been spoiled by Adobe Lightroom's capabilities for my digital photos. I am hoping someone develops a similar database-driven DAM tool for ebooks that will let you keep books in their original directory, let you alter metadata without changing the underlying file, and then export the metadata only to the copy on the nook. (DAM == Digital Asset Management)

Hope this helps.