Reader's manual

What the manual contains

This light manual is for comrades who discover AnarBib as readers — not for librarians or for comrades who develop the tool. It explains, in about fifteen minutes of reading, what you can do on the platform, starting with the simplest (browsing the catalogue without an account) and progressively going to the most engaging (reserving, tracking your loans, exercising your right to leave).

It is neither technical, nor administrative, nor hierarchical. It is a companion of arrival — as the manual itself would say.

Structure: twelve short chapters

The manual is organised into twelve chapters designed to be read in order, or consulted occasionally when a need arises.

1. Welcome to the AnarBib network — what the network is and what it is not, the spirit of the project.
2. Browsing the catalogue without creating an account — what is open to everyone, what is not, and why.
3. Searching for a book, an author, a theme — the search bar, filters, sharing a search by link.
4. Reading a book record — deciphering the title, the metadata pills, contextual availability, digital resources.
5. Author page — name variants, books listed by role, external identifiers (Wikidata, VIAF).
6. Creating an account — what is asked, what is never asked, what happens next.
7. Logging in and resetting a password — the registration page, the forgotten password link, the three common situations.
8. Recognising My account — the status banner, the tabs, the rhythm of use.
9. Reserving a book and tracking the reservation — the successive states of a reservation, time proposals, cancellation.
10. Loans: deadlines, renewal, return — deadline indicators, renewal rules variable by library.
11. What changes according to your library's regulations — why rules are not uniform in the network, and how the local regulations are accessible.
12. Deleting my account — right to leave — a right always accessible, with no justification to provide.

Manual conventions

The manual uses a few reading conventions that help to navigate it.

"TIP" boxes. At the end of most chapters, a small box gives a practical advice from real use — for example how to share a search by link, or why to check the spam folder if the welcome email is delayed.

"WARNING" boxes. When something deserves particular attention (a nuance that may surprise, a rule that depends on the local library), a box clearly signals it.

Screenshots. The manual is illustrated with screenshots that show the real pages of the application: catalogue, book record, account creation form, My account page, etc.

Eight languages in a single document

The PDF contains the eight languages currently available in the AnarBib interface: Brazilian Portuguese (project's reference language), French, German, English, Castilian, Italian, Catalan and Esperanto. The versions are not automatic translations: they have been written and proofread in each language.

The main table of contents at the beginning of the document lists the eight languages and allows you to jump directly to the desired version. Each version is complete and autonomous: you can print only the portion that interests you, or leave the document as is so that it can serve several comrades of a library collective.

For libraries

This manual is intended to be printed and made available in the libraries of the network, or distributed digitally to new registered persons. It is under free licence, like all of AnarBib: you can reproduce it, distribute it, adapt it to your local practices, translate it into another language, complete it with a preamble specific to your library.

The corresponding manual for librarians (cataloguing, coordination, administration) exists separately and is not necessary for a reader. It is available from your library's team or by email to contato@anarbib.org.

Format and size

The PDF is approximately 15 MB. This size is explained by the screenshots — it weighs more than a text-only manual because it has been thought to be visual and printable. On a slow mobile connection, expect about thirty seconds to download.

If you prefer a lighter version (text only, without screenshots), write to us at contato@anarbib.org — we can prepare one on request.