Number of Libraries Limited to 24?

[AliRut]

Hi All,

I am new to Calibre and to the forum and would first like to say thank you for Calibre which is an incredibly good programme.

I understand that the number of libraries is not limited but I find that I am being limited to 24.

I want to create separate libraries based on the authors initial ie. A, B, C etc. plus a few more like "Biography" etc.

The Libraries appear to be being created but only 24 Libraries show up in Quick Switch and only 10 in Switch / Create Library therefore I see no way to add books to the missing Libraries

I can find nothing in the forum relevant to this and apologise if I have missed it.

Any help would be appreciated

AliRut

[transmitthis]

I want to create separate libraries based on the authors initial

Why?

[Peekamoo]

I am having the same problem and yes, I am maxxed at 24 too. I have folders according to the genre and I would really like to add a few more, but after adding, even if I put books into the folder, when I click to another folder and then try to click back....the new folder is gone. When I go into the calibre folder on my computer, the new folder is still there, but it won't show up in the main calibre program.
This is driving me a bit crazy so if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Either way, calibre is the best program I have ever used. A huge thank you to all the developers!!!

[AliRut]

Thanks for confirming the problem Peekamoo.

It is unlikely that I will be able to solve this problem but if I do I will post my findings in this thread.

Hopefully some of the existing experienced members will be able to let us know if 24 is the limit for Libraries.

Regards
AliRut

[chaley]

The number of libraries is not limited. You can open a library by path using switch/create library.

The number of libraries shown in the pick lists does seem to be limited to 25, from what I see in the code. I can safely say that this won't change.

I must ask: why would you want to organize things in the way you describe? A library per author's initial is very strange. What will you do with books that have more than one author? What will you do for series that have books by different authors? How could you find a book for which you know the title but not the author? How can you find all books in a particular genre other than the ones you seem to have chosen? How do you find all books by an author who writes both biographies and whatever other genre you decide to create?

If you really want to organize things that way, my strong suspicion is that calibre is not the program for you. It seem that you are trying to emulate a folder hierarchy, and calibre doesn't help with that. Calibre was designed to have one library, and it works best in that mode. You can make virtual sub-libraries on demand using search restrictions that enforce whatever criteria you want.

[AliRut]

Thanks for your help

Having suffered a hard disk failure years ago I am paranoid about backing up all my data and my main reason for wanting Libraries as above is that I want to back up my books to DVD so that say Authors A to C could be backed up easily outside of calibre on Disk 1 and Authors D to F on Disk 2 Etc. This would allow me to go straight to the required disk without having to resort to creating a catalogue

Also some books I want to keep but not necessarily in Calibre to save disk space as I am heavily into video production which needs lots of disk space.

I'll try the save to disk facility and manually delete the metadata info which I don't want.

Thanks again for your advice, at least I now know I can't get so many Libraries

Regards

AliRut

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by AliRut

Thanks again for your advice, at least I now know I can't get so many Libraries

Actually I thought that the response said that there was no limit to the number of libraries - the limit applied to the number displayed in the list before any new ones ahve to displace an entry. Nothing to stop you navigating to one that is not on the list (and then that would make the last entry drop off the list).

Since there are some letters you would probably rarely navigate to (e.g. X and Z) this may not be much of a hardship. Alternatively you could combine some of these sections with a small number of entries into the same library to get the required number of entries down.

[AliRut]

I tried to navigate to the "Non Appearing" Libraries using Copy to Library but they were missing there too.
Trying to create a missing Library again gave the message that it already Existed.

Anyway I have taken your advice and created libraries ABC, DEF etc which will suffice.

Chaley above is right - I now realise I am abusing the fundamental purpose of Calibre by spreading my books over so many libraries

Thanks for your help

AliRut

[higlider]

Originally Posted by AliRut

Anyway I have taken your advice and created libraries ABC, DEF etc which will suffice.

Chaley above is right - I now realise I am abusing the fundamental purpose of Calibre by spreading my books over so many libraries

Thanks for your help

AliRut

You have the greatest power as one library, then each tag or combination of tags acts like a folder. Tags such as AuthA, AuthB, etc., to make it look like separate libraries. Search gives you an ever flexible dynamic selection.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by AliRut

Having suffered a hard disk failure years ago I am paranoid about backing up all my data and my main reason for wanting Libraries as above is that I want to back up my books to DVD so that say Authors A to C could be backed up easily outside of calibre on Disk 1 and Authors D to F on Disk 2 Etc.

Having more than one library will not aid in backing up your data. If you really must have a Disk A, Disk B, Disk C etc... then use the Save to disk feature to save those authors with a certain Initial.

Jumping through the hoops you are putting in front of yourself creates a lot of work with no gain.

[Peekamoo]

What will you do for series that have books by different authors? How could you find a book for which you know the title but not the author? How can you find all books in a particular genre other than the ones you seem to have chosen? How do you find all books by an author who writes both biographies and whatever other genre you decide to create?

If you really want to organize things that way, my strong suspicion is that calibre is not the program for you. It seem that you are trying to emulate a folder hierarchy, and calibre doesn't help with that. Calibre was designed to have one library, and it works best in that mode. You can make virtual sub-libraries on demand using search restrictions that enforce whatever criteria you want.

I like dividing my books by genre. That is the way I shelve books on my Nook. I usually don't decide to read a book based soley on the author. If I am in the mood for a horror story, I go right to my horror section. If I want a book by, say, James Herriot, I know that he is in my "Animals Pets" section. I can't think of a single time that I ever thought, "I want to read *anything* by a [specific author] where I didn't know what genre the author was in.

Reading the posts on here, I have seen where people say that 10,000 books is nothing. If that was all in one library, my gosh, it would take 5 minutes to scroll from top to bottom.

I also use that wonderful feature to add metadata to the first page. Oh, how I love, love, love that!! I load the book onto my Nook Tablet, put it on the right shelf and when I want to read something from that genre, I simply open it, read the description and decide whether I am in the mood to read *that* particular book at that time.

Never say that calibre isn't for me. I love it. calibre is the single most loved and most used program (outside of Windows itself) that I use on my computer. (ok, besides email, but after that calibre is the 1st).

I will try using it the way you mentioned for certain books. For instance, instead of having a whole "biography" section, I can put it under non-fiction and then tag it "biography". That will work.

Thank you so much for answering my question!

[Peekamoo]

Originally Posted by itimpi

Actually I thought that the response said that there was no limit to the number of libraries - the limit applied to the number displayed in the list before any new ones ahve to displace an entry. Nothing to stop you navigating to one that is not on the list (and then that would make the last entry drop off the list).

How do you do this? I tried the SWITCH/CREATE and when I navigate, it just gives me the option of creating new, etc.

When I make a folder, even though it doesn't appear in the list, the folder IS in the calibre library if I go to the calibre folder on my computer.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Peekamoo

I like dividing my books by genre. That is the way I shelve books on my Nook. I usually don't decide to read a book based soley on the author. If I am in the mood for a horror story, I go right to my horror section. If I want a book by, say, James Herriot, I know that he is in my "Animals Pets" section. I can't think of a single time that I ever thought, "I want to read *anything* by a [specific author] where I didn't know what genre the author was in.

But why physically divide them? Put genre in a tag or as a value a custom column, then you can search for any genre you wish. You can use restrictions to show one genre while searching for other things. A book can be in multiple genres.

But enough. If you like what you are doing, then good, and on we go.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Peekamoo

How do you do this? I tried the SWITCH/CREATE and when I navigate, it just gives me the option of creating new, etc.

When I make a folder, even though it doesn't appear in the list, the folder IS in the calibre library if I go to the calibre folder on my computer.

When I click on switch/create, I see this dialog:

The red arrow points to the choice that permits you to open an existing library. Navigate to a library using the New Location box, press OK, and the library will be opened.

[Peekamoo]

Thank you, thank you! I will do that!