Can't edit epub info in iBooks on OS X 10.9 Mavericks

I arrived here on this topic, faced to the same issue as you all. It seems for now there is no easy way to organize my pdfs. If Apple doesnt provide quickly a solution, I will avoid using ibooks ...

Happy to read I was not the only person using the edit info on books via iTunes. I have forwarded an enhancement request to add this feature in iBooks for Mac. The more providing this feedback, the higher this might get on the priority to solve. Please fill in your remarks and suggestion via http://www.apple.com/feedback/ibooks.html

Thanks Filip for the link. We should all give feedback to Apple.

Please allow us to edit metadata info in iBooks so that each of us can organize our libraries the way we want!

(also, is there any way to sync different selections of books onto different iDevices? All my ebooks are now in iBooks for Mac and I like to keep a small selection on my iPhone and a larger selection on my iPad - how do I continue to organize my library in this way?)

Thanks Filip, I have also left feedback for Apple. I hope everyone posting on this particular forum (and thousands more) will do the same. I have several collections of books and edit metadata ALL the time. This screw-up has caused me to restore my Macbook Pro to Mountain Lion. I won't be using Mavericks until Apple figures it out.

Shame!

I'm just giving up on iBooks because of this. At least for now. Reading is a daily ritual and I can't wait for Apple to correct this.

I have always used Calibre on OS X for fantastic EPUB/PDF library management. Instead of iBooks on the iPad/iPhone, I'm now running Marvin for EPUBs. Sadly, that means my PDFs are temporarily without a great/syncing reader on iOS. But Marvin is a *really* good EPUB reader and it has many syncing options. Since Calibre runs an OPDS server, I can browse my home library from anywhere within Marvin and download any books on demand.

Yay, Calibre and Marvin team. Boo, Apple iBooks team. I haven't found any other faults with Mavericks yet.

I have the same problem. I like to to change the pictures on the old project Gutenburg books. I also have some books from other services. Let me change my data!

I can find the folder ~/Library>Containers>com.apple.BKAgentService>Data>Documents>iBooks>Books. Inside are all my books, epubs, ibooks, and pdfs. If I sort by kind I see that the epub and ibook files have been renamed, but the pdfs are the original names. I don't see the books as folders. That said, I could open the epub books in Calibre if I wanted to change something, or open the pdfs directly in Preview.

Luckily for the most part I purchase through Kobo or Kindle because I don't like Apple's DRM. I wanted to be able to read with whatever reader I choose. I use Calibre and add metadata as needed. I then save the books in an ebooks folder separate from iTunes and now separate from iBooks. I'll have to make sure that I have a backup copy when iBooks moves rather than copies.

I have left feedback for Apple for what it's worth. They've removed yet another feature, being able to modify book information. They've also moved all the books and given them obscure names such that I potentially lost where my books were. As it happens, I had most of them in a totally separate folder from iTunes. And there's no organization like there is in iTunes. Not impressed at all.

Bob

I went looking for the ~/Library>Containers>com.apple.BK etc.

Also noticed Sigil didn't work.

Just rolled back to Mountain Lion. I'll wait to see if they fix iBooks.

Looks like iBooks is just a reader with no editing capabilities. Yet another dumbing-down of the applications in the unstoppable convergence with iOS, just like the iWork suite was butchered.

My epubs are moved into ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.BKAgentService/Data/Documents/iBooks/Books

Unfortunately iBooks trashes the epub after extracting its contents.

Meanwhile I recommend using calibre : http://calibre-ebook.com/

I'm just dreading the day OSX and iOS converge since "it's enough for most people" /s

I think you're spot on there. They want you buying all epub material from iBooks, not importing PDFs. Boo. I'm adding my voice to those were sorely disappointed by this omission.

I too am disappointed in this change. I used to like to change the "year" field to the original publication date, not the reissue date which is often used. And likewise, I would swap out the new cover art for the first edition dust jacket, easily found online. My library is just not as pretty anymore. I hope we can do something about it in the future, but I'm not counting on it. Apple is stubborn.

I have stumbled on this issue too - this is a showstopper for me.

I have provided my feedback back to Apple, asking them to port the metadata edit functionality in Books as it was on iTunes.

I have little hopes to be honest - they must have something in mind. They wouldn't have to develop it from scratch, it was already there in iTunes.

To be honest, I would like this to be done by Apple and not by some 3rd party app (that can potentially manipulate the .plist files with iBooks closed).

In all cases, I don't like using software that doesn't work for me (even if it's free) and I don't like waiting for an enhancement from Apple (or Microsoft, for that matter). That and the new Mail/Gmail implementation is enough for me to go back to Mountain Lion. To be honest, I was pretty happy with Snow Leopard (iTunes with Cover Flow) and if push comes to shove, I may just downgrade all the way back there. My enthousiasm with Apple begins to wane and if that situation continues, then I might as well give up on them altogether and go back to Windows. I don't tolerate such cr** from them.

Apple should know better than to try and stymy people. Anyone who cares will find a workaround and grumble. Personally, it would take a lot more than this for me to go back to Windows.

That said, I will not buy in the iBooks store if I can get the same thing elsewhere. For everything except iBooks, I can add and change metadata using Calibre and then read it where I want. As it happens, that is iBooks on my iPad.

Unfortunately, I don't expect that Apple will see a dip in sales because of those of us who are annoyed.

Bob

Oh you are right, that alone is not enough to make me go back to Windows - let alone how sceptical I am about Microsoft and its OS anyway...

I am still with Apple and there are so many things I still like and wouldn't even dream of changing at this moment. I suppose the critical moment will be if they decide to block my content from their devices - my CDs, my DVDs, my books etc. If that ever happens, then I will start looking elsewhere. Blocking edits to the iBooks library is a small step in that direction.

You are also right in that we are probably a small minority amongs the user base of Apple. Most users wouldn't even bother to edit their libraries.

And talking of workarounds, I am only glad to spread the word.

The old epubs have changed with a long code system, the old pdfs have the same name but the new ones, if you add-in iBooks after Mavericks updating, are in folders ie. 6D413447ED3F40A5CC1E362E3091578F.epub with the original illustration and a lot of dreamweaver files. The things go worse.