Aperture 3 vs. iPhoto '11 library sizes?

I wanted to switch from iPhoto '11 to Aperture 3, so I imported my iPhoto library to Aperture. It took a little while, but went without a hitch. I was about to delete my iPhoto library, but then I noticed that my iPhoto library is 94.68GB, while my Aperture library is 68.26GB. I've read that there is a discrepancy because of thumbnail sizes, but a 26GB difference seems to be pretty significant.
All my photos and videos seem to have transferred over and when I select random pictures in Aperture, right-click and select "Locate Referenced Files..." I get a pop-up saying "The selection doesn't have any referenced files." which seems to indicate that everything is in Aperture.
I just wanted to get your opinions on what the huge discrepancy might be due to before I deleted the iPhoto library. Thanks in advance!

Ah yes, I forgot about the iPod Photo Cache; I'm resyncing my iPhone and iPad with iTunes right now to sync photos from Aperture, and it's taking forever, since it has to resize over 12,000 photos. I can't imagine that would account for 26GB of data, though I guess those photos take up about 12GB on each device. I'll have to recheck the library sizes after both devices are done syncing.
I didn't specify a preview size. I didn't know you could. What exactly are the previews that one can change the sizes of? The thumbnails that show up in Aperture?

Similar Messages

IPhoto 6 library size-weirdness continues..

I have archived my full library to DVD and deleted all items. Finder still shows the library size at 1.24 GB! Inside I find it is not cache, nor thumbnails that take this space, but rather orinals which I have deleted before. Please see the screenshots showing the library, its size, size of the originals folder.
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/1261/picture16vg.png
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5755/picture22ql.png
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/9955/picture32bj.png
In other words, deleting photos from library may not always lead to deleting the actual photos from disk, even if the trash in the library is emptied! In my opinion this is a bug and leads to unnecessary orphans and size bloat on disk. What do you think?
Also when burning the archive iPhoto library showed 3.2 GB from within iPhoto, it showed 5.19 GB in finder and when I was burning it on a DVD the size showed 3.9 GB!!
Just wanted to make you aware of this.
Roman

Dear Roman--I have had the same problem with iPhoto 6. I recently discovered that the iPhoto library contained many full-size images and movies which I had earlier trashed via the iPhoto application. In other words, when I discarded an image or movie when running iPhoto, the image or movie was not actually removed from the library (and my hard drive). Over time, the library became approximately 2 GB larger than it should have been. This is a waste of hard drive space which could become significant. To start tracking down the non-deleted movies, first create a smart album in iPhoto which displays all of your movies. Then, leaving the iPhoto application open, use the find command in the Finder to locate all of the movies in the iPhoto library folder. In theory, the number of movies should be the same in both the smart album and the Finder window. I found approximately 40 extra moves via the Finder. One by one, I compared the movies in the Finder window to the movies in the iPhoto smart album. After manually deleting those movies which iPhoto should have deleted long ago, I freed 500 MB of disk space. The process for images will be more tedious, and I hope someone finds a quicker way to perform this function. Good luck. --Tom

Can Aperture and iPhoto share library?

Is there a way they would be in harmony together? I need to keep the iPhoto usage around in my computer (that is where my whole library is) and also use Aperture..

Aperture and iPhoto can use the same referenced images, but adjustment made in one app does not show up in the other if that's what you mean.
What you can do is to share your images in both apps and then you can, in Aperture, go to 'File' > 'Show iPhoto Browser...'
The other way, from iPhoto, you can go to 'Archive' > 'Show Aperture-Library...' and have access to all images from within both apps. From the browsers you can drag and drop images.
Regards
Paul K

IPhoto problem : Library size got to 251 GB after upgrading iTunes

I have iMac, iPad and iPod Classic.
While downloading the latest iTunes version (and importing some pictures from my camera) the sync stopped.
After a while I realized that my iPhoto library has got a size of 251 Gb (it was 34 Gb before the iTunes download).
This means that I can't sync all my photos to iPad etc.
But , above all, it appeared in "other" folder something like 216 Gb which I can't understand what it is !
Evidently I imported/downloaded something wrong from iTunes.
What shall I do now ?

There are some topics at the right on this page under More Like This that discuss a similar issue. Check those to see if it's the same as yours. I don't remember any of them offering a solution.
Do you have more photos in the library than you did before the iTunes upgrade? What system and iPhoto version are you using?

Aperture 3 Library size vs iPhoto Library

Hi!
I recently switched from iPhoto to Aperture and am wondering about the library size? In iPhoto the library size was bloated because it made a copy of every photo behind the scenes upon import. I got tired of that and thought that moving to Aperture would solve the problem. But, after importing most of my photos into Aperture, then comparing the size of my Aperture Library package with the size of my Photo folder in Finder that I imported from, I'm finding my Aperture library is over 100 GBs bigger!! Yikes! How did that happen?
I am running a managed library, but I thought Aperture didn't make a copy of every photo behind the scenes but rather just made versions of the master when changes are made.
Frankly, I haven't even done any editing yet, just importing. So, why the huge library size compared to the size of my Photo library in Finder? It's 186 GBs versus 85 GBs. Same photo collection. Crazy.
TIA!

No, from folders in Finder. I always have my photos in Finder too on an EHD, even after I import them to iPhoto or Aperture.

APERTURE 3.1.2'S MAXIMUM LIBRARY SIZE?

I HAVE MY APERTURE 3.1.2'S LIBRARY FILE STORED ON AN EXTERNAL DISK. IT IS OVER 150 GB IN SIZE (ALONG WITH ITS VAULT SIZE OF ANOTHER 148 GB. I'VE ATTEMPTED TO FIND WHAT THE MAXIMUM SIZE THIS FILE CAN/SHOULD BE BUT CANNOT FIND IT IN APERTURE'S LITERATURE. SO, IS THERE A MAXIMUM SIZE AND IF SO, HOW BIG CAN IT GET AND NOT EXHIBIT ANY PROBLEMS?
ALSO, IF I CREATE ANOTHER LIBRARY FILE AND NAME IT DIFFERENTLY, HOW COULD I HAVE THE SAME PROJECTS, ALBUMS, AND FOLDERS BE IN THE NEW FILE (OF COURSE, WITHOUT ANY OF THEIR PHOTO FILES -- EMPTY SO I CAN ADD TO THEM AS I CONTUNE MANAGING MY PHOTOS?
I LOVE THIS PROGRAM -- ALTHOUGH IT GIVES ME THE "CIRCULAR RAINBOW" A LOT OF THE TIME. I'M ASSUMING THIS IS BECAUSE THE FILE IS SO BIG AND MY MACBOOK PRO 17" IS OVER 2.5 YEARS OLD. I HAVE THE MAX RAM FOR IT (@ 3GB) AND I RUN DISK UTILITY EVERY OTHER DAY TO REPAIR PERMISSIONS. I HAVE OVER 400 GB REMAINING ON MY EXTERNAL DRIVE OF ITS MAXIMUM OF 2 TB. MY MACBOOK'S HARD DRIVE IS 160GB AND HAS ONLY 17GB REMAINING. THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE TO LOCATE MY LIBRARY FILE (AND MY iTUNES MUSIC FILES) ON EXTERNAL DISKS.
ANY RESPONSE TO THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED:
CREATE A NEW LIBRARY FILE WITH THE SAME STRUCTURE AND MY CURRENT ONE (BUT CONTAINING NO PHOTOS YET)?
MAXIMUM FILE SIZE OF ANY APERTURE 3.1.2 LIBRARY FILE?
MINIMIZE "CIRCULAR RAINBOW" ACTIVITY?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
LARRY W. HAMILTON

Hi Larry -- welcome to our sunny clearing in the orchard.
Please don't post in ALL CAPS. It means you ARE SHOUTING. There is no reason to shout. Regularly capitalized text is also easier to read.
You need more RAM. Aperture stresses hardware. 4 GB RAM is a working minimum. If you have only 4 GB you should not run any other programs when Aperture is running.
Library size, in GB or in number of Images under management, is not a concern as long as you have the storage space. I have run Libraries of several hundred thousand Images and over 500 GB on machines with 4 GB RAM.
You should upgrade to the newest Aperture version. It is 3.2.2. The upgrade is free for owners of 3.x.
You should leave at least 15% of your system drive empty -- the OS uses this. At just 17 GB free on yours, you should open up some more free space.
Two changes may keep your computer from hanging as much as it does. In Aperture, turn off sharing Previews, and turn off Faces. Each of these eats processor cycles.
Are you connecting your external drive with FW800? FW400?

Aperture library size vs iphoto

My aperture library and iphoto library have the same photos in them. Photos seem to be the same size and quality (I imported all photos from aperture into iPhoto). iPhoto's library is 20GB, Aperture is nearly 60. I'm guessing that while Aperture might be a hair bigger because of the previews (default settings there), 3x the size means something is wrong.
Is there a way to rebuild the Aperture library without losing all my albums/libraries?
While 60GB isn't the end of the world, I'm trying to move my photos to my laptop. And between photos and music, I'm really pushing my hard drive's capacity. That 40GB difference is going to mean I'll use iPhoto (09) vs Aperture (2), and I'm still partial to Aperture.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Message was edited by: unleashed

Thanks everyone for their help. Redoing the previews helped. I think I had the previews set to "do not limit" on my dekstop and had just pulled the aperture library to my laptop. Redoing those previews took 20GB off my library size.
I see where you're coming from with the referenced images, but for now, it just keeps things simpler for my to keep it all managed. It's a brilliant solution though, if I need to in the future I might go that route. Especially when you think about possibilities with having the referenced images on Time Capsule or something. I don't take that many photos, and I upgrade my computer every year or two. I'm hoping the laptop hard drive space will expand gradually with my photo and music library, and by the time I have to worry about it, there will be another solution.
As far as how I went from Aperture to iPhoto (Ernie), I did (from iPhoto) file > show aperture library > then pulled them all in. I know there are issues with this though, you might check the iPhoto forum if you have trouble, there are work-arounds I believe.

IPhoto vs Aperture library sizes

I installed the Aperture tral, left the photos in iPhoto and created a book. Didnt add any new pictures to either library. I then deleted the trial and purchased Aperture from the app store. Copied over the photos from iPhoto. iPhoto had 1 book and Aperture 1 book. The iPhoto library size is 110Gb and the Aperture library size is 90Gb, a 20Gb difference. It appears that all my photos are in both libraries. So no issues. I was surprised and the 20Gb diffeerence. Comments or thoughts if there is an issue pending that I may not be aware of.

Hve you synced with an iPod, ipad or iPhone? The cache for these devices can easily account for that amount of disk space.
Regards
TD

Can aperture reduce my iPhoto library size?

Hi, I have spent hours reading lots of discussions and whilst, maype part of my questions have possibly been answered somewhere else, I cannot get a definitive answer to everything I need to know. I undrestand that aperture is different to iphoto, but I am confused by some of the answers regarding libraries that I have read! Any opinions or answers are gratefully received...
I have read that aperture organises the photo library differently to save space when compared to iPhoto that I understand makes duplicates for every change/edit that you make to a photo. My current photo library is nearly 120GB and I want to get some space back! I have external drives that I could move my iphoto library onto, but I want to keep my photos (well, certainly half of it) on the internal drive as I work away from plug sockets often and my 3TB drive needs power.
If I purchase aperture, do I import my library into aperture and will it then reduce my library down in size?
I know that iphoto and aperture can share a library, but can I split my library into photos onto my hard drive that I don't often need and keep the ones that I want on my internal drive? Would iphoto and aperture be able to work fully if the external hard drive wasn't connected? My thinking is that only aperture can cope with having multiple libraries on multiple drives to work with at the same time, and that iphoto needs one complete library on one drive
I am happy with many of the photos that I have edited from years past ie rotation, red-eye correction and can't see a reason for every wanting to revert to the original. Can I just export these as full size jpegs to my external drive and then delete them from iphoto to reduce the multiple versions of each photo it keeps, before re-importing them into iphoto which means it will only make retain 1 copy of the photo (the one that I need)?
Huge thanks for taking the time to read this!
Neil

I have read that aperture organises the photo library differently to save space when compared to iPhoto that I understand makes duplicates for every change/edit that you make to a photo.
It uses the same Library format as iPhoto, so no, it doesn't organise the library differently. It gives no thought to saving space. Digital photography with a non-destructive workflow uses a lot of space. iPhoto makes no duplicates. It has a preview of an edited version. One thing that Aperture can do is not generate the preview. But that means no integration with other apps, and you'll need to export the shot everytime you want to email or use an image in a document etc.
Frankly, I don't think that space would be a reason to migrate to Aperture.
My current photo library is nearly 120GB and I want to get some space back! I have external drives that I could move my iphoto library onto, but I want to keep my photos (well, certainly half of it) on the internal drive as I work away from plug sockets often and my 3TB drive needs power.
Split the Library. It's cheaper:
Make sure the external drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
If I purchase aperture, do I import my library into aperture and will it then reduce my library down in size?
No you just open it. It doesn't change it in any way without further intervention from you.
I know that iphoto and aperture can share a library, but can I split my library into photos onto my hard drive that I don't often need and keep the ones that I want on my internal drive? Would iphoto and aperture be able to work fully if the external hard drive wasn't connected? My thinking is that only aperture can cope with having multiple libraries on multiple drives to work with at the same time, and that iphoto needs one complete library on one drive
See above. I don't think you need Aperture. iPhoto can have the same number of Libraries as Aperture - i.e as many as you want.
I am happy with many of the photos that I have edited from years past ie rotation, red-eye correction and can't see a reason for every wanting to revert to the original. Can I just export these as full size jpegs to my external drive and then delete them from iphoto to reduce the multiple versions of each photo it keeps, before re-importing them into iphoto which means it will only make retain 1 copy of the photo (the one that I need)?
Yes you can, but you might want to ask yourself why you're using a non-destructive workflow at all, if you're going to that bother to try and defeat it?
IMHO: there are many excellent reasons for moving on from iPhoto to Aperture - and they are all to do with the limited nature of iPhoto's tools. You mention one of them. I think that the suggestion I have above is the way to go forward, with multiple libraries.

After installing Aperture and leaving photos in iPhoto library, why did iphoto library size almost double?

I installed Aperture and chose to leave all my images in the iPhoto library until I became more comfortable/familiar with Aperture.
I was looking at my hard drive space and see that the available space went way down. In Finder, the Aperture library.ap library is 17.97 gb and the iPhoto library is 122.75 gb.
When I open iPhoto, it says that it contains 19349 images/87 gb.
What happened? Is that extra size related to the Aperture referencing the images? Should I delete and start over, and move all the images into Aperture so that they are managed there?
I'm just figuring my way around Aperture, and I'm trying not to over-think the organizational differences, but this size discrepancy seems a bit too much.

I wish I had more info for this but I'm stumped. As I said there is no reason Aperture would increase the iPhoto library size by importing iPhoto's library.
BTW how did you do the import, that might shed some light on the problem.
The image count between the backup and the live iPhoto libraries seems fairly consistent so why the jump in size I can't say. And as for the increase in the number of images in Aperture, you started with an empty Aperture library, correct? And did you import anything directly into Aperture since you did the iPhoto import?
I'm still a little confused on the whole thing where Aperture shows both original and edited versions of an image, and some show both RAW & JPEG versions of an image,
Well Aperture really doesn't show both the original and edited versions, all you ever see are the versions unless you specifically ask to see the master. When you import an image into Aperture a version of the master is automatically made and displayed. Because at this point the version is no different then the master (you haven't made any adjustments to it yet) the version looks exactly like the master but it is the version you are seeing.
As for the RAW & JPG thing, if you shoot both RAW + JPG's in your camera when you import them you have the choice of which to make the master or to make each one a master. Not sure if that is what you are referring to.
I'm wondering whether I would have been better off just moving the whole iPhoto library into Aperture at the beginning, and deleting the iPhoto library.
That is definitly one option and the option most users who switch eventually make. You're not going to want to have both programs handeling your photos. But you should probably hold off until you;re more omfortable with Aperture and make sure you have a good backup of the iPhoto library before you do anything.
Remember when you import the iPhoto library into Aperture you're only choice is to copy the images not move them. This is done so that you can make sure all went OK before doing anything with iPhoto.
If you have the room you could try bringing in the iPhoto library backup, and trying the import again into a new empty Aperture library.
regards

Aperture & iPhoto referenced library issues

Hi,
For the last couple of days I've been busy trying to get my Aperture library to work properly. I recently started using a referenced library because of lack of space on my internal ssd. I've generated previews on all of my 40000 photos. I can see all of my Projects, thumbnails, metadata etc. when my external drive is disconnected. However, there are two major issues:
1) Most of the video thumbnails are broken, both in Aperture and iPhoto. By double clicking a thumbnail of a video (.mov, .avi etc.) it sometimes starts playing, sometimes it doesn't, totally inconsistent. I can export the video and it works just fine.
2) While using iPhoto with the external drive disconnected, all Events are there, the thumbnails are there, everything looks ok, but I can only view some of the previews/photos after double clicking the thumbnails. A dialogue opens up saying "The volume for [imagefilename] cannot be found. Insert the disk or connect to the server volume..", but I can actually see the full size preview behind this dialogue. By clicking "Cancel" the photo dissapears and is replaced by a black screen with a grey exclamation mark. This does not occur while using Aperture, I can see all of my previews in full glory when the external drive is disconnected. However, with the external drive connected everything works in iPhoto (except above mentioned issue with videos).
Please boys and girls, help me out with this!
System information
OS: Maverick 10.9.1
Aperture: 3.5.1
iPhoto: 9.5.1
Thanks!
//Michel

I don;t use iPhoto much so I'm no expert but looking at other posts asking a similar question sems to indicate iPhoto is not capable of doing this.
See Can iPhoto view pictures on a disconnected external drive in a unified photo library? for one example.
Again if Aperture is working correctly on the referenced images on the disconnect drive and iPhoto is not you will need to ask the iPhoto folks.
regards

File Sizes Surge with Merger of Aperture an iPhoto Libraries

I merged an Aperture library and an iPhoto library. All went well. However, the resulting file sizes on BOTH new libraries have increased significantly. The iPhoto file size went from ~ 50 gigs to ~144 gigs and the Aperture library went from ~90 gigs to ~ 102 gigs.
I thought I would be able to delete one of the libraries (iPhoto) after the merger, but now that it is so big...I;m not sure what to do.
I can understand the post merger Aperture library getting larger, but why the iPhoto library?
Also, I read that the iPhoto library may contain "originals" and that only versions merged over into the new Aperture (post merger) library. Is that true? If so, what can be done to move over the originals to whicheveer library survives?
Thanks!

How exactly did you merge? And what are your Aperture and iPhoto versions?
Why are there two new libraries after merging an Aperture library and an iPhoto library? Merging two libraries should create one merged library, or am I missing something?
WIth Aperture 3.3 or later and iPhoto 9.3 or later: If you want to merge an iPhoto library into an Aperture library, you would open the Aperture library and then use "File > Import > Library" and select the iPhoto Library to merge the iPhoto Library into your Aperture library.
The Aperture library should increase in size to accomodate your iPhoto images, but the size of the imported iPhoto library should stay the same.
Also, I read that the iPhoto library may contain "originals" and that only versions merged over into the new Aperture (post merger) library. Is that true? If so, what can be done to move over the originals to whicheveer library survives?
That will depend on the iPhoto and Aperture versions you are using. With any Aperture version later than Aperture 3.3. both the originals and edited versions will be imported into Aperture, when you import an iPhoto library as library to merge it into the Aperture library. Only if your iPhoto library is referenced (the original image files not included in the iPhoto library), then Aperture will also reference these original files and not import them into the Aperture library. YOu can consolidate the originals later in aperture.
But we need to know, how exactly you merged your libraries to be able to understand, how both libraries increased in size. Did you not use "File > Import > Library"?
-- Léonie

Reducing Aperture Library size

Sorry if this has been dealt with before (I did a search and found nowt).
I'm fairly new to Aperture, and my Library has grown to 14GB (14,000 files). All files are referenced on an external drive (31GB of referenced files). I use a MacBook Air with SSD, so I start with 56GB after formatting. There were lots of duplicate photos (because I merged my iPhoto library with some offline archives I had). So, it was time to get rid of the dupes.
I deleted about 3,000 photos, but the library didn't get any smaller. I deleted all of the previews, but that only freed up 2GB. When I regenerated the previews, it went back to 14GB. After recovering from a prolonged bout of consternation, I searched the web. It appears that thumbnails are not deleted when photos are removed. This strikes me as a bug, or at the very least, poor design. So, I went in and removed all of the thumbnails as described here:
http://brettgrossphotography.com/2008/04/24/aperture-library-slimming-the-size
After regenerating thumbnails and previews, my library was down to 6GB!
My question is: how do people on this forum deal with this unnecessary library bloat? I typically only keep a few percent of the photos from each import, so my library volume will again outpace the actual number of photos.
One possible approach is to create a new Aperture library from a vault. Because my files are referenced, it should create a new library from scratch and then generate the thumbnails and previews. Has anyone tried that? Seems preferable to opening packages and manually deleting files.
-Rick

After a weekend of investigation, here's some more info on Aperture library size:
1) I deleted another 1,000 or so photos, updated the vault, moved the library and then restored from the vault. The library size went from 6GB up to 7GB!
2) Looking inside the old library and the restored one revealed:
a) AP.Thumbnails files in the restored library were generally twice the size of the ones in the old one.
b) Looking at the AP.Thumbnails files with File Juicer revealed that the restored library had created thumbnails of the master files as well as the versions. The original library had thumbnails for some master/version pairs, but nowhere near as many.
3) I then deleted all of the AP.* files in the restored library, and got Aperture to regenerate the thumbnails. This reduced the library size to 5GB. The AP.Thumbnails files were much smaller.
So, my conclusion is that the best way to trim your library is to go in and delete all of the AP.* files, then regenerate the thumbnails. Restoring from a vault is not as effective.
Anyone have any intuitions as to why Aperture generates thumbnails for master files when there is an edited version? I'm fairly new to Aperture and have yet to see Aperture display thumbnails of masters if there is an edited version.

Reason to use Aperture or iPhoto library?

A few months ago I purchase Aperture, on install I selected the option to let is use my iPhoto library. While "learning" to use Aperture, I didn't want to totally abandon iPhoto in case I wasn't pleased with it. Now I will be using Aperture solely, still doesn't do all I want, but better/close than iPhoto.
So, my question is, is there a reason to transfer all of the iPhoto images to a new Aperture library, or is there no real difference between the two types of libraries? I have already created an Aperture library for some commerical work that I am doing, whereas the iPhoto is primarily a personal/family album.
P.S., is the Aperture library accessible / sharable with my iPad? I take the iPad with me to show customers the photos I

Yes, I haven't tried syncing the two. I have imported into aperture, but haven't tried going the other way, or a two-way sync.
Syncing? Neither Aperture nor iPhoto supports syncing of photo libraries so far. Aperture can merge iPhoto libraries and Aperture libraries, but it cannot keep two libraries in sync with each other.
There would be one minor advantage, if you import your iPhoto library into a new Aperture library. Aperture is a bit more economical with additional files, like faces and previews. iPhoto will always scan imported image files for faces, and iPhoto will always create high quality previews. In Aperture you can disable faces and previews, or set the size of previews to a smaller file size. So, an Aperture library might be smaller than a corresponding iPhoto library, when you create it new.
And I am not yet quite sure, what will happen, if new Aperture versions and iPhoto versions will be released, that require a paid upgrade. To use an iPhoto library with Aperture, right now it has to be upgraded in iPhoto to an iPhoto version compatible with Aperture. You cannot open iPhoto '9 libraries directly in Aperture, you need iPhoto '11. If it stays this way, you might be required to buy a paid upgrade to iPhoto to upgrade your combined iPhoto-Aperture library to be used with a new Aperture 4, even if you are no longer using iPhoto. In this case, it would be safer to convert the iPhoto library to an Aperture library by importing the iPhoto library into a new, empty Aperture library.

Aperture 2 library size is huge !

Hello,
I am importing my iPhoto library into Aperture and its HUGE ! My iPhoto library is 27,17GByte and the Aperture library has already grown to 37,7 GByte and still growing. Is this normal?

Yes it is normal, but there's a lot you can do to get the size back down.
In iPhoto, when you make an edit (including things like rotation), another full-res duplicate is produced and the original is preserved as invisible. In Aperture, previews are used instead of full-res duplicates. You library is growing because you now not only have the duplicates, but previews for the duplicates too.
If you get rid of the duplicates this will significantly reduce your Aperture library size; it takes a lot of time, you either need to get rid of the originals, or you need to get rid of the edits and accept that you'll have to re-edit them.
That will shrink your library down incredibly, but my best advice is to reference your masters on an external hard-drive, rather than have them stored in the Aperture library itself. I think of my Library as being a place where all the information about how to interpret the images is, not where the actual images themselves are. The only exception to this is when I want to take 1 or 2 particular projects into college with me on my Macbook, then I'll have those files living in the library; but other than they're all referenced.
I hope this is helpful.

Aperture 3 vs. iPhoto '11 library sizes?

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