docs: def path_exists(self, path):
          """Does the API-style path (directory) actually exist?
  
          Parameters
          ----------
          path : string
              The path to check. This is an API path (`/` separated,
              relative to base notebook-dir).
  
          Returns
          -------
          exists : bool
              Whether the path is indeed a directory.
          """
  
          path = path.strip('/')
          if path != '':
              spec = {'path': path}
              count = self._connect_collection(self.notebook_collection).find(spec).count()
          else:
              count = 1
          return count > 0