Help in Library Organization

aahoward · 01-02-2013, 04:17 PM

I have books across many platforms (Kindle, Nook, Ebooks.com, iBooks). I use an iPad/iPhone to read them on the appropriate apps.
The problem is - I have no idea what books I have on each platform!! I have Calibre installed but I'm not sure how to use that to organize and see what books I have where!

I suppose that I could create a list from each platform and then keep it in Evernote or something like that but that seems kind of archaic!!

Any suggestions?

Alicia

fjtorres · 01-02-2013, 04:43 PM

I believe Calibre lets you add extra columns to the library database file. So, moving forward, you can define a column for each "device loaded onto" and every time you load a batch of ebooks to the device you set that field to record the transaction.
To record what you have now, you can have Calibre mount each device and show you what they have and you can manually mark the books loaded on them.

aahoward · 01-02-2013, 04:53 PM

I don't have different devices - I use the app on my iPad. So I'm not sure how to do that because those books aren't in my Calibre library. And I'm not sure if Calibre can go get my library from those sites...

calvin-c · 01-02-2013, 06:08 PM

What you mean, I think, is that you have books from many sources or maybe in many formats. If they're all on your iPad then that would be your platform. If you import them into Calibre (not sure how to do that-I avoid i appliances) it will show you the format. The format determines which app you can use to read them-unless DRM gets in the way. Calibre usually handles DRM pretty well though.

Polarpenguin · 01-02-2013, 06:41 PM

Create a custom column called Platform & populated it with the required info. You can then search for all the books you have on a certain platform

Example #Platform:Kindle would show all Kindle books. Saving the searches would give quick access to this info in future.

pwalker8 · 01-02-2013, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calvin-c

What you mean, I think, is that you have books from many sources or maybe in many formats. If they're all on your iPad then that would be your platform. If you import them into Calibre (not sure how to do that-I avoid i appliances) it will show you the format of the book and will allow you to filter on format. The format determines which app you can use to read them-unless DRM gets in the way. Calibre usually handles DRM pretty well though.

That's more or less what I have. I get books from various sources (Amazon, Baen, Sony, PD, iTunes and a few others) that I read on my iPad. Most sources will allow you to download your books to your computer. I generally download them onto my computer and put them in calibre. Calibre shows the format of the book. From my personal point of view, I like having a copy of all my books and I like to remove the DRM of those books so if the original source goes belly up a la fictionwise and a number of others over the years, I don't lose access to the book I purchased.

Lynx-lynx · 01-02-2013, 11:08 PM

Yep, like some of the other posters I download all my books, regardless of format, onto my PC first - either in Sony Reader (which accepts ALL Epubs irrespective of where I buy them, or free) and Amazon for PC.

Then I import them into Calibre, where I clean them and change the format to Epub if required.

Then I copy them to any of my 3 devices: Sony, Kobo or Blackberry Playbook.

Hope that helps.

01-02-2013, 04:17 PM	#1
aahoward Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 478516 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: ipad	Help in Library Organization I have books across many platforms (Kindle, Nook, Ebooks.com, iBooks). I use an iPad/iPhone to read them on the appropriate apps. The problem is - I have no idea what books I have on each platform!! I have Calibre installed but I'm not sure how to use that to organize and see what books I have where! I suppose that I could create a list from each platform and then keep it in Evernote or something like that but that seems kind of archaic!! Any suggestions? Alicia

01-02-2013, 04:43 PM	#2
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	I believe Calibre lets you add extra columns to the library database file. So, moving forward, you can define a column for each "device loaded onto" and every time you load a batch of ebooks to the device you set that field to record the transaction. To record what you have now, you can have Calibre mount each device and show you what they have and you can manually mark the books loaded on them. Last edited by fjtorres; 01-02-2013 at 04:48 PM.

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01-02-2013, 04:53 PM	#3
aahoward Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 478516 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: ipad	I don't have different devices - I use the app on my iPad. So I'm not sure how to do that because those books aren't in my Calibre library. And I'm not sure if Calibre can go get my library from those sites...

01-02-2013, 06:08 PM	#4
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	What you mean, I think, is that you have books from many sources or maybe in many formats. If they're all on your iPad then that would be your platform. If you import them into Calibre (not sure how to do that-I avoid i appliances) it will show you the format. The format determines which app you can use to read them-unless DRM gets in the way. Calibre usually handles DRM pretty well though.

01-02-2013, 06:41 PM	#5
Polarpenguin Groupie Posts: 176 Karma: 1834850 Join Date: May 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony PRS-300, Sony PRS- T3S, Kobo aura H2O Kobo aura One Kobo libra	Create a custom column called Platform & populated it with the required info. You can then search for all the books you have on a certain platform Example #Platform:Kindle would show all Kindle books. Saving the searches would give quick access to this info in future.

01-02-2013, 11:08 PM	#7
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,113 Karma: 92523791 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2, Libra Colour	Yep, like some of the other posters I download all my books, regardless of format, onto my PC first - either in Sony Reader (which accepts ALL Epubs irrespective of where I buy them, or free) and Amazon for PC. Then I import them into Calibre, where I clean them and change the format to Epub if required. Then I copy them to any of my 3 devices: Sony, Kobo or Blackberry Playbook. Hope that helps.

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