Ebook copies - where and how many?

[Ma'am-I-Am]

First of all, Calibre sort of confuses me. I use it mainly to convert from one format to .mobi or .az*, and to (try) to keep a database. I still need to learn to use the cataloging features!

The directory on my PC holds all my ebooks, whether bought thru Amazon or not. I'm a little paranoid about losing books.

When I Add Books to Calibre, is it actually copying the book from my PC ebook directory? Or is it just referring to it? If I delete the ebook from my PC directory, can I still access it and transfer it to Kindle from Calibre? If something happens to Calibre and it is no longer usable or if I switch to another software, will I still be able to extract my books from the Calibre database? As I have it set up now (with a copy on my PC and Calibre and some at Amazon), how many copies do I actually have?!

I'm so sorry if this is confusing and a newby-in-diapers question!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

First of all, Calibre sort of confuses me. I use it mainly to convert from one format to .mobi or .az*, and to (try) to keep a database. I still need to learn to use the cataloging features!

The directory on my PC holds all my ebooks, whether bought thru Amazon or not. I'm a little paranoid about losing books.

When I Add Books to Calibre, is it actually copying the book from my PC ebook directory? Or is it just referring to it? If I delete the ebook from my PC directory, can I still access it and transfer it to Kindle from Calibre? If something happens to Calibre and it is no longer usable or if I switch to another software, will I still be able to extract my books from the Calibre database? As I have it set up now (with a copy on my PC and Calibre and some at Amazon), how many copies do I actually have?!

I'm so sorry if this is confusing and a newby-in-diapers question!

A COPY

Once in the Library, you can Move the original to a Archive (backup) drive.

Backups are good

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

When I Add Books to Calibre, is it actually copying the book from my PC ebook directory?

Yes

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

If I delete the ebook from my PC directory, can I still access it and transfer it to Kindle from Calibre?

Yes

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

If something happens to Calibre and it is no longer usable or if I switch to another software, will I still be able to extract my books from the Calibre database?

Yes, see below for details

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

As I have it set up now (with a copy on my PC and Calibre and some at Amazon), how many copies do I actually have?!

Two on your PC. Maybe one on your Kindle if you put it there. Dunno about Amazon, I would think there would be a record there saying you have the book.

======================

@Ma'am-I-Am - calibre does not store the ebooks themselves (format files) in its database. It stores them as files in a folder structure - Library/Author/Book Title. The folder names reflect what you enter eg I have my libraries in an outer folder named CalibreData, and one of the libraries is named TestLibrary so I have the following folders

E:\CalibreData\TestLibrary\Daniel Defoe\Moll Flanders (94)
E:\CalibreData\TestLibrary\Daniel Defoe\Robinson Crusoe (86)

In the Robinson Crusoe (86) folder I have this file

E:\CalibreData\TestLibrary\Daniel Defoe\Robinson Crusoe (86)\Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe.epub

So, should you no longer want to use Calibre, your books will be readily accessible to use via other means.

Calibre has a golden rule you should follow - don't add, change or remove anything from the Library/Author/Book Title folders by any means other than the calibre program.

The Library/Author/Book Title folder structure and naming conventions cannot be changed, period.

However, when sending books to your reader, or saving books to disk etc you have a great deal of flexibility in this regard. In practice this is not a constraint of any real significance because 'everything' is done via calibre's database. One advantage the structure offers to the user is that should you want to stop using calibre then you're not left with something you can't make head or tail of.

BR

[Adoby]

About the calibre golden rule, "Calibre has a golden rule you should follow - don't add, change or remove anything from the Library/Author/Book Title folders by any means other than the calibre program."

One good reason to follow that rule is that calibre use "lazy" updates of the books. You can change metadata for books in the calibre GUI, but calibre doesn't store those changes in the books, just in the database and the filenames. When you send books to your device or save a book to disc, then the metadata in the new copy of the book is updated. But the metadata in the contents of the book in the library is still the original metadata.

This is what makes calibre so fast. Calibre doesn't have to update a book every time you make a small change in the metadata, instead the changes are stored in the database. Also it helps keep the original metadata unchanged and safe in the books, that can be very important for some.

It is possible to "force" calibre to update metadata stored inside the books in the library. Then all updates and changes are applied at once.