"Cleaning" your Apple Books library typically refers to managing your downloaded books and audiobooks to free up storage space or organizing your collections. One effective way to manage downloaded content is to automatically remove finished books on your Mac, as described in the provided reference.
Managing Downloads to "Clean" Your Apple Books Library
The most direct way to "clean" your Apple Books library, particularly in terms of reducing storage usage, involves controlling which books remain downloaded on your device. The Apple Books app for Mac provides specific options for this.
Based on the reference, here's how you can configure the app to automatically remove finished books from a collection:
Steps to Automatically Remove Finished Downloads on Mac
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Open the Books app on your Mac.
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In the sidebar on the left, click on a specific collection listed under Library.
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With the collection selected, navigate to the menu bar.
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Choose Remove Downloads.
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From the options presented, select Automatically When Finished.
- Reference Information: "Go to the Books app on your Mac. Click a collection below Library in the sidebar. , choose Remove Downloads, then choose one of the following: Automatically When Finished: Finished books and audiobooks are removed from this collection automatically."
What does "Automatically When Finished" mean?
This setting tells the Books app to detect when you have completed reading a book or listening to an audiobook in that specific collection and then automatically remove the downloaded file from your Mac. The book or audiobook remains in your library and the collection, identifiable by a cloud icon, allowing you to re-download it anytime you want to access it again.
Benefits of Automatic Removal:
- Saves Storage Space: Finished books take up valuable disk space. Automatically removing them keeps your storage clear without manual effort.
- Keeps Collections Tidy: While the book still appears in the collection, the lack of a local download can serve as a visual indicator that you've finished it.
Other Ways to "Clean" Apple Books
Beyond removing finished downloads, "cleaning" can also involve:
- Manually Removing Downloads: You can also manually remove downloads for individual books or entire collections if you need space immediately or prefer manual control. This is usually done by control-clicking (or right-clicking) on a book or collection and looking for a "Remove Download" option.
- Organizing Collections: Create new collections, add books to relevant ones, and remove books from collections they no longer fit into.
- Removing Books from Your Library: For books you no longer want at all, you can remove them entirely from your library across all devices (though this is a more permanent action than just removing a download).
By utilizing these methods, particularly the automatic removal of finished downloads on your Mac as highlighted in the reference, you can effectively manage your Apple Books library, keeping it organized and preventing it from consuming excessive storage space.
