How to Export Your Delicious Library Data Before You Switch Apps

Delicious Library still holds years of cataloging work for a lot of collectors. Barcodes scanned, covers matched, loans noted. Before you migrate to Libib, CLZ, a spreadsheet, or a new shelf app, export while the Mac app still opens.

The Big Bookcase is building direct XML import, and waitlist members will try it first. You do not have to convert to CSV first unless you want to edit rows in a spreadsheet. This guide covers export on your Mac, plus how the upload will work when the importer opens up.

Export from Delicious Library

In Delicious Library 3 on your Mac, select the items you want (or your whole library), then choose File → Export To → Another Application → XML. Some versions also offer File → Export To → Library 1 file, which produces a folder with Library Media Data.xml. Either format works.

Save the export somewhere safe: iCloud Drive, Backblaze, or a USB stick. Treat it like a backup, because it is one. The file includes titles, creators, tags, notes, and cover URLs where Delicious Library had them.

What is inside the XML

Delicious Library XML is structured but verbose. Each item typically carries a title, creators, media type hints, identifiers like ISBN or UPC when present, user notes, and paths or URLs for cover images.

You do not need to read XML by hand. The next step is getting it into a tabular format: one row per item, columns you can map to another app.

Open the export in a spreadsheet

On macOS, you can import XML into Excel or Numbers with some cleanup. Many collectors use a short script or an online XML-to-CSV converter for a first pass, then fix headers manually.

Aim for columns like: title, creator, media_type, format, isbn_or_upc, tags, notes, cover_url. Not every row will have every field. Movies may lack ISBNs. Books may lack UPCs. That is normal.

Clean up before import

Split creator strings if your target app wants separate author and director fields. Normalize media types: Delicious Library used its own categories; map them to book, movie, or game in the destination.

Deduplicate obvious doubles from test scans. Trim whitespace on titles. If cover URLs are dead, note them anyway: Open Library and TMDB can refill art on import in some tools.

Keep the original XML untouched. Work on a copy in CSV so you can roll back when a mapping goes wrong.

Import into The Big Bookcase

Here is what the flow will look like once it opens:

1. You will sign in at bigbookcase.com/library (early access is password-gated today).

2. You will open Settings from the toolbar.

3. You will choose Import from CSV or Steam.

4. You will click Choose CSV or XML file and select your Delicious Library export.

5. You will review the preview: matched covers, ambiguous titles, and anything already on your shelf. You can uncheck rows you do not want.

6. You will confirm the batch and books, movies, and games will land on your shelf with metadata we could read from the XML.

The importer will support modern plist-style XML exports and older Library 1 XML. Titles, creators, ISBNs, cover URLs, game platforms, and publishers will map automatically when present. Loans, tags, and some custom fields may still need cleanup after import.

Other import paths

Libib and CLZ each have their own import wizards if you are comparing tools. Read their docs for column mapping.

Prefer to edit first? Convert XML to CSV in a spreadsheet, clean columns, then upload the CSV through the same Settings import dialog. You can also mix sources: physical items from Delicious Library, ebooks from Goodreads, PC games from Steam, then dedupe in the preview step.

Cover images and attachments

Delicious Library cover URLs may point at Amazon or other hosts that changed policies over the years. Expect some broken thumbnails in a raw export.

When moving to The Big Bookcase, ISBNs and titles help us match Open Library or TMDB covers automatically. For odd editions, you can upload your own cover in the inspector. Manual scans and PDF inserts export in our ZIP bundles once attached.

After you land somewhere new

Export again from the new home on a schedule. The Big Bookcase offers CSV and media ZIP export from Settings so you are never locked in. Delicious Library taught a generation of collectors to care about their catalogs. Your next app should respect that habit.

We are building the importer in the open. Join the waitlist to try it first, and tell us how many items you have and which media types matter most. Rescue stories shape what we build.