kobo website - search my library?

rem736 · 07-09-2015, 11:38 AM

is there a reason for kobo to NOT allow us to search through our own libraries on the website?

it is getting increasing hard to find a book when you have a library with hundreds of books. the site allows you to sort. but there is no sort by author. the only feature that makes it easier is to sort by title. and even then, you have to advance from page to page to find what you want (only if you know the title of the book you are looking for).

GeoffR · 07-10-2015, 12:13 AM

My advice would be to download your library and keep it in Calibre, that way you can use Calibre's library management features which are better then any retailer's will ever be.

If you are relying on Kobo or any other retailer to keep your library safe in their cloud then you are leaving yourself open to a big disappointment in the future.

meeera · 07-10-2015, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

If you are relying on Kobo or any other retailer to keep your library safe in their cloud then you are leaving yourself open to a big disappointment in the future.

davidfor · 07-10-2015, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

My advice would be to download your library and keep it in Calibre, that way you can use Calibre's library management features which are better then any retailer's will ever be.

Good advice. Of course, if you miss downloading the a book when you buy it, finding it a few months later in the library is a pain.

rem736 · 07-10-2015, 07:15 PM

i'm not afraid that the library will disappear on me. because i purchase from different sources, i want to make sure that i don't already have the book before purchasing it. and it's getting harder and harder to check on the kobo website.

davidfor · 07-10-2015, 09:04 PM

You don't need to search the library to see if you have the book. If you find the book in the store, when you look at the details it will have a "View in library" button rather than a "Buy now". Of course, if Kobo stops selling the book, or change to a different version, you will still need to search your library.

And I recommend calibre here. You can collect all your books in one easily searched place. And you can add books with no format for paper books.

GeoffR · 07-10-2015, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

i'm not afraid that the library will disappear on me. because i purchase from different sources, i want to make sure that i don't already have the book before purchasing it. and it's getting harder and harder to check on the kobo website.

If you're buying from a lot of different places then it would take a lot of time just to log on to each one and search, even if they do have a search function.

Perhaps you could search your email receipts instead? That will tell you if you have bought the book anywhere with just one search.

rem736 · 07-10-2015, 10:19 PM

thanks all. the consensus seems to be to gather all my purchases into a single location and organized by something such as calibre.

Uschiekid · 07-10-2015, 11:26 PM

Another option is to look in your account under purchases....then select view all. That way you can scroll through all your books from kobo. Only free books will be missing through this method, which may or may not be a problem if you only occasionally buy uncopyrighted works, but sometimes get the free version. or something weird like that.

Ripplinger · 07-10-2015, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

thanks all. the consensus seems to be to gather all my purchases into a single location and organized by something such as calibre.

That seems to be the best option especially since you seem to be purchasing from multiple places, not just 2. For myself, I can often remember whether I purchased from Smashwords or B&N or Kobo or Amazon or a handful of other smaller online sellers, but not always. And to have to check each place every time I want to buy another book would drive me nuts pretty quickly.

Using the "show all" option on one page is doable, and then set up your browser to search as you type to find things quickly even if there should be several thousand books. You don't even have to be bothered to bring up a search box, but I'm not sure all book sellers have that display option.

But ebooks are small in size, it really wouldn't take much room to store all your purchases on your hard drive with Calibre, and they'll be safe forever even if individual sellers go out of business and you can instanly search in one location for the book.

07-09-2015, 11:38 AM	#1
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 645 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, b&n ngp, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	kobo website - search my library? is there a reason for kobo to NOT allow us to search through our own libraries on the website? it is getting increasing hard to find a book when you have a library with hundreds of books. the site allows you to sort. but there is no sort by author. the only feature that makes it easier is to sort by title. and even then, you have to advance from page to page to find what you want (only if you know the title of the book you are looking for).

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07-10-2015, 12:13 AM	#2
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	My advice would be to download your library and keep it in Calibre, that way you can use Calibre's library management features which are better then any retailer's will ever be. If you are relying on Kobo or any other retailer to keep your library safe in their cloud then you are leaving yourself open to a big disappointment in the future.

07-10-2015, 07:15 PM	#5
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 645 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, b&n ngp, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	i'm not afraid that the library will disappear on me. because i purchase from different sources, i want to make sure that i don't already have the book before purchasing it. and it's getting harder and harder to check on the kobo website.

07-10-2015, 09:04 PM	#6
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,906 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	You don't need to search the library to see if you have the book. If you find the book in the store, when you look at the details it will have a "View in library" button rather than a "Buy now". Of course, if Kobo stops selling the book, or change to a different version, you will still need to search your library. And I recommend calibre here. You can collect all your books in one easily searched place. And you can add books with no format for paper books.

07-10-2015, 10:19 PM	#8
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 645 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, b&n ngp, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	thanks all. the consensus seems to be to gather all my purchases into a single location and organized by something such as calibre.

07-10-2015, 11:26 PM	#9
Uschiekid Tenrec Posts: 724 Karma: 1076988 Join Date: Oct 2012 Device: Kobo Aura One, Kobo Glo	Another option is to look in your account under purchases....then select view all. That way you can scroll through all your books from kobo. Only free books will be missing through this method, which may or may not be a problem if you only occasionally buy uncopyrighted works, but sometimes get the free version. or something weird like that.

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