What kind of learning curve for Library Management?

Findingaway · 02-02-2025, 04:00 PM

Hello all,

I have ~ 60 GB ebook library. It is divided into separate libraries by broad category; there are about 10 libraries I use regularly. I think the most number of books in any one library is 4,000 or less.

For a while I used Library Codes to help with sorting and and manually classifying. I populated genre manually. This was the path of least resistance, but it's a mess.

I want to switch to management by cleaning and using tags and rules, but this requires learning, maybe a lot. Which is ok, but what do I need to learn, and is that realistic? Because the learning is in addition to the doing the work of managing.

From reading the Calibre manual and these forums, it seems like I should at least get good at regex and the use of some plugins.

My impression is that CALM (CSLM) is / was a go-to. I was able to run a consolidation but it had no data populated https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...&postcount=335. Plus I know the author hasn't been posting for > 1 year.

The tags in my libraries are a real mess. Some tags from publisher's data are useful; the problem is probably 85% are not.

So, any suggestions? I'm old (60's) and although I've coded a tiny, tiny bit a long time ago, mostly I'd have to learn to do this, and it just doesn't happen as fast as it used to.

Thanks!

theducks · 02-02-2025, 08:56 PM

First of all, No coding is needed for basic Library management.
Calibre has an insane amount of built in tools. The Tag browser allows yo to rename / replace (merge into another. Calibre only allows 1 instance of that tag per book, so no worry if you assign one that is already there)

AFAIK The only place REGEX is/can used in MANAGMENT. The Bulk mode of the metadata editor allows modification of selected fields IN THE LIBRARY METADATA. I used caps because this makes zero changes to the book (that needs another step to embed INTO the book).

Quality Check Plugin is a must have tool to identify inconsistencies in the Metadata (and some other stuff)
Common issues: Names with commas (not what your style is), Case, Excessive Tags, No comments (details) and oh so many more.

This allows you to beat down the issues one type at a time.

COPY TO LIBRARY (built in) allows you to Merge (at the book level), bring all the metadata as part of the merge.

You are mostly merging the METADATA, and the book just gets moved into that Library folder.
Remember DO NOTHING with a Library folder using the OS. The DB will not get updated.

Findingaway · 02-03-2025, 11:24 AM

Thanks so much for your answer, TheDucks.

I was not aware of the Quality Check plugin.

I am mostly going to be dealing with metadata cleanup to begin with, so I'll begin working with that.

Do you know of any good pre-existing tag schemes? I've been making one up ad hoc on my own while building this library, using things like history, mystery, etc. I'm thinking I'd like to have a few basic groupings like broad subject, (example: history), time when relevant (example: 17th century), place (example: France) and maybe a few others (example: cozy,hard-boiled). I have already looked for tag schemes and haven't found any to use or adapt. I'm guessing a workable number would be 200-300.

I already use Merge quite a bit and it is really helpful.

If I backup the relevant metadata.db, does that suffice for safety while learning bulk metadata editing operations?

Thanks again.

theducks · 02-03-2025, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Findingaway

If I backup the relevant metadata.db, does that suffice for safety while learning bulk metadata editing operations?

Thanks again.

Maybe, but practice on a Library copy .
If you touch Author or Title, all bets are off. Those affect the file system.

Consider if Hierarchical tags / series to serve for a cleaner, simpler look.
I also make use of a Assumed (default) value:

History (General) <<<These just land at the top level indicating Not more refined)

History.<specific Period and/or place>

Military.History.<period> <<< Notice I don't need a entry under History as this is NOT a paper card Catalog that needed those x-ref cards. You have a computer

It can find tags:history anyplace (as long as you don't set the Exact match flag) <<< Also note: 3 levels with 1 primary tag

Findingaway · 02-04-2025, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Maybe, but practice on a Library copy .

Consider if Hierarchical tags / series to serve for a cleaner, simpler look.
I also make use of a Assumed (default) value:

Getting to hierarchical tags is a longer-term part of the goal. In pursuing this before I've learned that there's a lot that I don't even know that I don't know

Will you explain more on what you mean by an Assumed (default) value?

I appreciate your responses.

Findingaway · 02-04-2025, 10:42 AM

My shorter-term goal is to be able to find what I consider to be like books in Moon+ Reader pro.

Findingaway · 02-04-2025, 10:56 AM

Is it correct that there is no GUI built-in way to bulk fix invalid Author-Sort metadata found by Quality Check?

The documentation refers to "Use the bulk metadata edit dialog or edit the titles individually." I'm unaware of how to use "Load Search and Replace" and my impression is that this documentation refers to ebook format files themselves, rather than .OPF files as well. But perhaps I'm wrong?

JSWolf · 02-04-2025, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Findingaway

My shorter-term goal is to be able to find what I consider to be like books in Moon+ Reader pro.

Bad idea (IMHO) using such a poor program for reading eBooks.

Findingaway · 02-04-2025, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Bad idea (IMHO) using such a poor program for reading eBooks.

What would you suggest for 1) Android (14)

and 2) Kobo Elipsa 2A (e-ink)? I use the default firmware reader to the Elipsa.

chaley · 02-04-2025, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Bad idea (IMHO) using such a poor program for reading eBooks.

FWIW: I use Moon+ and find it OK. Apparently I'm not as bothered as you are by how it uses (or doesn't use) CSS. I just want to read and it works for me for that. Don't bother to tell me I'm wrong. That would be insulting.

theducks · 02-04-2025, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Findingaway

Will you explain more on what you mean by an Assumed (default) value?

I appreciate your responses.

examples where I 'assume'
#Validate check (yes/No)
Tick (yes) Passed
Red Plus (no) Failed
no mark Not checked << assumed meaning

#date edited (any time I correct

something in the book
No date. no edits made << assumed You do not need to log every type of activity to know something.
a date: Last changed made on
(Note: If I was OCD enough to know about the History of changes, I would add a Change page TO THE BOOK to track that. Not happening

)

My wishlist is simply an Entry that has no formats (AKA 'Empty Book')
a search formats: false shows me my wishlist items. I do not need to TAG those as Wishlist to find them. it is assumed those will be wishlisted

Preferences: Add your own Columns allows you to Describe your use of Custom Columns (It won't let you leave a note how you use standard ones

) <hint

>

Findingaway · 02-04-2025, 10:48 PM

@theDucks, I understand now. You were describing how default or absent information has can itself convey information like a tag, and be used to that end.

I think it will take me a while to clean up the tags unless I just get rid of all the existing ones and start fresh. There are so many now I can't use them anyway.

Thanks @theDucks and others, and if you can point me to best practices either here or in other threads, I'm looking for ones that mostly relate to categorization.

02-02-2025, 04:00 PM	#1
Findingaway Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2e, Galaxy Tab A	What kind of learning curve for Library Management? Hello all, I have ~ 60 GB ebook library. It is divided into separate libraries by broad category; there are about 10 libraries I use regularly. I think the most number of books in any one library is 4,000 or less. For a while I used Library Codes to help with sorting and and manually classifying. I populated genre manually. This was the path of least resistance, but it's a mess. I want to switch to management by cleaning and using tags and rules, but this requires learning, maybe a lot. Which is ok, but what do I need to learn, and is that realistic? Because the learning is in addition to the doing the work of managing. From reading the Calibre manual and these forums, it seems like I should at least get good at regex and the use of some plugins. My impression is that CALM (CSLM) is / was a go-to. I was able to run a consolidation but it had no data populated https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...&postcount=335. Plus I know the author hasn't been posting for > 1 year. The tags in my libraries are a real mess. Some tags from publisher's data are useful; the problem is probably 85% are not. So, any suggestions? I'm old (60's) and although I've coded a tiny, tiny bit a long time ago, mostly I'd have to learn to do this, and it just doesn't happen as fast as it used to. Thanks!

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02-02-2025, 08:56 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,642 Karma: 58055868 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	First of all, No coding is needed for basic Library management. Calibre has an insane amount of built in tools. The Tag browser allows yo to rename / replace (merge into another. Calibre only allows 1 instance of that tag per book, so no worry if you assign one that is already there) AFAIK The only place REGEX is/can used in MANAGMENT. The Bulk mode of the metadata editor allows modification of selected fields IN THE LIBRARY METADATA. I used caps because this makes zero changes to the book (that needs another step to embed INTO the book). Quality Check Plugin is a must have tool to identify inconsistencies in the Metadata (and some other stuff) Common issues: Names with commas (not what your style is), Case, Excessive Tags, No comments (details) and oh so many more. This allows you to beat down the issues one type at a time. COPY TO LIBRARY (built in) allows you to Merge (at the book level), bring all the metadata as part of the merge. You are mostly merging the METADATA, and the book just gets moved into that Library folder. Remember DO NOTHING with a Library folder using the OS. The DB will not get updated.

02-03-2025, 11:24 AM	#3
Findingaway Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2e, Galaxy Tab A	Thanks so much for your answer, TheDucks. I was not aware of the Quality Check plugin. I am mostly going to be dealing with metadata cleanup to begin with, so I'll begin working with that. Do you know of any good pre-existing tag schemes? I've been making one up ad hoc on my own while building this library, using things like history, mystery, etc. I'm thinking I'd like to have a few basic groupings like broad subject, (example: history), time when relevant (example: 17th century), place (example: France) and maybe a few others (example: cozy,hard-boiled). I have already looked for tag schemes and haven't found any to use or adapt. I'm guessing a workable number would be 200-300. I already use Merge quite a bit and it is really helpful. If I backup the relevant metadata.db, does that suffice for safety while learning bulk metadata editing operations? Thanks again.

02-04-2025, 10:42 AM	#6
Findingaway Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2e, Galaxy Tab A	My shorter-term goal is to be able to find what I consider to be like books in Moon+ Reader pro.

02-04-2025, 10:56 AM	#7
Findingaway Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2e, Galaxy Tab A	Is it correct that there is no GUI built-in way to bulk fix invalid Author-Sort metadata found by Quality Check? The documentation refers to "Use the bulk metadata edit dialog or edit the titles individually." I'm unaware of how to use "Load Search and Replace" and my impression is that this documentation refers to ebook format files themselves, rather than .OPF files as well. But perhaps I'm wrong?

02-04-2025, 10:48 PM	#12
Findingaway Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2e, Galaxy Tab A	@theDucks, I understand now. You were describing how default or absent information has can itself convey information like a tag, and be used to that end. I think it will take me a while to clean up the tags unless I just get rid of all the existing ones and start fresh. There are so many now I can't use them anyway. Thanks @theDucks and others, and if you can point me to best practices either here or in other threads, I'm looking for ones that mostly relate to categorization.

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