Libraries, collections and members

Guide 3 of 8

Books rarely belong to just one person. That is why Regalzeile was built for households from the start: several people share one library, each with the rights that suit them. This article explains the three terms everything revolves around — library, collection and member.

Library and collection

A library is a household’s shared stock of books and records: its own bookcases, its own settings, its own list of members. When you sign up, your first library is created, named after you (“Bibliothek von …”); you can rename it in Settings under “Library”. If you belong to several libraries — say, at home and in the holiday flat — the sidebar shows a “Switch library” control to move between them.

Within a library, collections organise the items: “Novels”, “Children’s books”, “Records” or “Anna’s books”. Every collection has a media type — books or records — which you choose when creating it via “New collection”. One collection is the default: it is preselected in the form and in batch scanning. You decide which one in Settings, under collections, with the star.

Inviting members

As the owner, you invite an email address in Settings under “Invitations” and choose a role:

• A member adds, edits, lends and shelves — almost everything apart from invitations, the plan and deleting.
• A reader sees the catalogue and the bookcase plan but changes nothing. Private items stay invisible to readers. A reader may still keep their own reading status and yearly goal.

The invited person receives an email with a link. They use it to register, or sign in with an existing account, and are then part of your library. The invitation is valid only for the address it was sent to.

Access per collection

Not everyone needs to see everything. The owner can limit a member’s role per collection: “No access”, reader or member. The level only ever restricts, it never raises — a reader never becomes a member in any collection. A restricted member sees only their collections, in figures, search and export; in the bookcase plan, other people’s books appear as grey blocks. You set this in Settings under the members, or right when inviting. New collections are initially hidden from restricted members.

What your plan allows

How large a library may grow depends on its plan. Basic is free and covers 200 titles and one member. Plus costs CHF 39 a year and allows 1000 titles and two members — just right for a couple. Full has no limits and adds Discogs sync for records. The limits only apply when adding: whatever is already there stays. The owner can switch at any time in Settings under “Plan”.

The complete table of rights is in the Libraries, roles, invitations chapter of the Guide.