Managing notebooks¶

Over time the library grows — each new project or topic can have a dedicated notebook in NotebookLM. Effectively managing this library is important to keep the system useful and organized.

Listing notebooks¶

To get an overview of all registered notebooks:

Show me the notebooks in the library

Claude uses the list_notebooks tool and presents the complete list with the name, description, topics, and use cases for each one. This overview helps you remember which resources are available and decide which one to query.

Adding a notebook¶

The procedure is the one described in the previous chapter — provide the URL and a description of the content. Claude builds the metadata through a dialogue and asks for confirmation before saving.

I have a new NotebookLM notebook with the DaVinci Resolve 20 manuals. The URL is https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/xyz789. Add it to the library.

Metadata matters — Claude uses it to decide which notebook to query when it receives a question. An accurate description of topics and use cases improves the precision of automatic selection.

Updating metadata¶

Notebooks evolve — documents are added, covered topics expand. You can update metadata without removing and re-adding the notebook:

The DaVinci Resolve notebook also covers Fusion integration and AI features. Update the description.

Claude proposes the changes and waits for explicit confirmation before applying them. Updating metadata when you modify the sources in NotebookLM is a good practice — Claude does not automatically detect changes made inside notebooks.

Selecting a specific notebook¶

In some cases it's useful to explicitly indicate which notebook to query, especially when the library contains notebooks on similar or partially overlapping topics:

Use the legal documentation notebook

Claude uses the select_notebook tool to set that notebook as the default for subsequent questions in the conversation. This prevents the automatic selection from choosing a different notebook than the one you want.

Searching among notebooks¶

With many registered notebooks, it's useful to be able to filter by topic:

Which notebooks do I have on artificial intelligence?

Claude uses the search_notebooks tool to search the library based on keywords, returning only the relevant notebooks.

Removing a notebook¶

When a notebook is no longer needed, for example because it's been replaced by an updated version, you can remove it from the library:

Remove the "Old n8n documentation" notebook from the library

Claude always asks for confirmation before proceeding.

Best practices for the library¶

Some guidelines to keep the library effective over time.

• Specialized notebooks: it's best for each NotebookLM notebook to be dedicated to a single topic. A notebook that mixes technical documentation and marketing material produces less precise answers because NotebookLM struggles to isolate relevant information in an overly heterogeneous context.

• Up-to-date metadata: when you add or remove sources from a notebook, also update the metadata in the library. Claude doesn't automatically see changes made in NotebookLM because it relies exclusively on the registered metadata.

• Descriptive names: a name like "n8n – Tutorials and workflows" is more useful than "Notebook 3". Claude uses names and descriptions to choose which notebook to query, so metadata clarity directly translates into response precision.

• Periodic cleanup: removing obsolete notebooks keeps the library manageable and reduces the risk that Claude queries outdated sources. A lean library with accurate metadata works better than a vast library with approximate descriptions.