In this course, asset libraries are created by duplicating the icosphere object, creating the material, then marking the material of the object as an asset. Then, the object is hidden to work on the next material. This means that there is an unneeded object in the file for every material. This seems like a lot of extra data Blender has to deal with every time the file is parsed in the Asset Browser.
After a bit of research, I think I have found a better way.
In my file, I start with an icosphere with no material attached. I click āNewā to create the new material, and set the material up. Once I am happy with it, I go to the material properties panel, and in the materials list, right click the material and click āMark as Assetā. I have the Asset Browser open in another pane, set to local file only. Once I am sure the material shows up there, I remove it from the icosphere.
Normally, when a material is not attached to an object, the material is deleted when the file is closed and reopened. However, if the material is marked as an asset, a fake user is created so that the material isnāt lost. I believe this is the intended way to create an Asset Library for materials. In fact, when I purchase commercial texture libraries that support Asset Browser, this is how they are usually set up.
Also, in the local file Asset Browser, you can create ācatalogsā that the materials can be drag and dropped into. This will create a tree structure that your assets will be sorted into when displayed. At the end of the course, your file will be pretty big, and this can help you find a material more quickly in your projects.