Multiuser library?

[Patrick Derwael]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Yeah, its on the todo list.

Hi all,

I have read a significant number of posts warning about what might happen when sharing libraries
Message received, but... I still have the need to share ebooks with the family

What I'm doing so far is a (more or less) regular export/import of the library
Not very complicated, but time consuming and frustrating for the users of the "slave" libs: information such as book read and rating are individual by nature and not related to a specific book, so several persons might have different opinions about the same book
Using Dropbox or other sync tools does not help keeping track of individual stuff like this

Anyway, I'm not the only Calibre user in desire of a true multiuser design, I would like to know if there is any progress since this post from Jan 2010

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=67717

Thanks!

[theducks]

The Content Server
Use Calibre with an (LAN Public) Auto Add folder that anyone drop new books into.
The newer Content server allows some basic MDE actions

[Patrick Derwael]

Originally Posted by theducks

The Content Server
Use Calibre with an (LAN Public) Auto Add folder that anyone drop new books into.
The newer Content server allows some basic MDE actions

Thanks, but the Auto Add Folder is exactly what I don't want to do as I want to keep very strict control on the metadata quality
In other words, I'm adding books to the lib, and my family make use of it

I have had a look at the Content Server and I was not really convinced, especially because it does not runs on a real server (such as CentOS and the like), but on a Winstuff workstation...
Anyway, I will have a closer look at the functionalities (but just in case I really fall in love with it )

[PeterT]

I duplicate my calibre library to a QNAP NAS using FreeFileSync and then have COPS running in a container to share my library.

[Tarana]

I am the keeper of the family library. I found early on that it was better to have a central library and share copies of it to family members. If you have additional books, put those in Dropbox and they can add it to their libraries. By letting them have their own libraries vs. slave libraries, they not only make their own comments, but can delete books that they have zero interest in. Add new acquisitions lets them keep their libraries current with yours. In addition, if you are incapacitated or drop dead, they don't need to figure out how to get the stuff off your computer to get the books back.

[Patrick Derwael]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I duplicate my calibre library to a QNAP NAS using FreeFileSync and then have COPS running in a container to share my library.

Dups, dups, dups... I don't want no dups... this is wasted energy, disk space... lots of useless bits (even if they are recycled)....

Now, seriously, I understand I won't be able to make it without dups... but yerk anyway...

[Patrick Derwael]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I am the keeper of the family library. I found early on that it was better to have a central library and share copies of it to family members. If you have additional books, put those in Dropbox and they can add it to their libraries. By letting them have their own libraries vs. slave libraries, they not only make their own comments, but can delete books that they have zero interest in. Add new acquisitions lets them keep their libraries current with yours. In addition, if you are incapacitated or drop dead, they don't need to figure out how to get the stuff off your computer to get the books back.

Not another suggestion to duplicate stuff...

Ok, I understand and I appreciate the idea, thanks for the concept

Now, just between you and I, if I drop dead, I think (well actually I hope) that recovering the ebooks will not be the main worry of my family

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Patrick Derwael

Not another suggestion to duplicate stuff...

Ok, I understand and I appreciate the idea, thanks for the concept

Now, just between you and I, if I drop dead, I think (well actually I hope) that recovering the ebooks will not be the main worry of my family

Yeah. For me, it's simple. No one else in my family reads. Not even paper books. So no one will be interested in the stuff on my PC, including ebooks. Still, I have several back-ups on external drives, so if by any very remote chance someone in my family wanted to get their hands on my stuff, they could.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by Patrick Derwael

Dups, dups, dups... I don't want no dups... this is wasted energy, disk space... lots of useless bits (even if they are recycled)....



Now, seriously, I understand I won't be able to make it without dups... but yerk anyway...

Don't think of it as unwanted / unneeded dup's. Think of it as a backup of your precious library.

[BetterRed]

@Patrick Derwael - you can run the calibre-spy plugin on multiple clients against multiple server-hosted libraries. There's a catch22 - its a read-only solution, but it seems that you want fine-grained selective write capability.

BTW : your dismissive attitude towards suggestions given in good faith is unlikely to win friends and influence people, some might be tempted to add you to their ignore list. If you're as smart as you're projecting yourself as being - start coding. As Kovid Goyal is wont to say: "Patches are welcome."

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I am the keeper of the family library. I found early on that it was better to have a central library and share copies of it to family members. If you have additional books, put those in Dropbox and they can add it to their libraries. By letting them have their own libraries vs. slave libraries, they not only make their own comments, but can delete books that they have zero interest in. Add new acquisitions lets them keep their libraries current with yours. In addition, if you are incapacitated or drop dead, they don't need to figure out how to get the stuff off your computer to get the books back.

I'm the keeper of the libraries. I manage the one for me, for my wife, and for my mother-in-law. I also do all the side loading. It wasn't intended to do it that way, it just happened. I don't mind at all. I was also the keeper of my mother's library when she was alive.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Patrick Derwael

Dups, dups, dups... I don't want no dups... this is wasted energy, disk space... lots of useless bits (even if they are recycled)....

Now, seriously, I understand I won't be able to make it without dups... but yerk anyway...

What I do is I have separate libraries for myself, my wife, and my mother-in-law. While there is some overlap, it works out better that way. I can manage everything without getting mixed up.