create my library blend file with all my characters, props etc in it, and call it say lib1.blend.
work away on the library, saving a new version each time, so the latest version is say lib27.blend.
create a scene file scene1.blend and import my library objects from lib27.blend (linked/relative paths).
do a bit more work on my scene so it is scene13.blend, still linked to lib27.blend.
do a bit more work on the library, now it is saved as lib33.blend.Now I want to update scene13.blend so it points to lib33.blend. Is there any way that I can do this?
Or do I need to use some expedient such as symlinks (ln -s lib33.blend lib.blend, updated then whenever I work on libnn.blend)?
Off the top of my head, I’d say the simplest way would be to rename your lib33 to lib27. If for some reason you still wanted lib27 saved, you could change it’s name to lib27old.blend.
I think your workflow #2 should be something like
I work away on a numbered copy of the library, and when I’m done, I save that as lib.blend, overwriting the original library.
All your scene files link to lib.blend. Scene files get incremented, but stay linked to the latest and greatest library. Old copies of the library are saved when you make a numbered copy to work on it some more.
You have a choice. As you keep working, copy the model to just a lib.blend. Then when you pull from the library, you have a choice, either you want a specific version, like version 27 and you link to lib27.blend, or you want the latest, whatever the latest is, in which case you link to lib.blend