Cataloguing the CD collection

[MrGongGong]

no offence meant at all
I misunderstood what you meant

[BetweenTheStaves]

I admit also to having tried different systems in the past and know only too well the time needed to massage the data into some form of consistency. Databases and spreadsheets of all types have fallen by the wayside. I also know only too well the 'file by room/car/workshop' system with CDs ending up in different sleeves or simply loose as they move from place to place. Untidiness, unfortunately, is my watchword. As I type this I am realising that by attempting to catalogue my disks I am, somehow, going to discover the 'tidy' gene but reality and past experience suggests otherwise. So why am I doing this ?

I do like the visual representation that Delicious Library offers. Browsing the shelves by cover art is much more akin to browsing in a physical record shop and a far cry from the cold-hearted search field of the database. It is wonderful to stumble across old friends.



A record of the CDs that I have to (a) provide at least some sort of evidence of ownership in the event of an insurance claim and (b) to prevent duplicate purchases. There is another fly in the ointment and that is that, having discovered 'Home Sharing' on iTunes it means that anything I have stored in my iMac can be accessed and listened to in my workshop using an old PC laptop and hi-fi system. And as I have an old G4 Mac there is a very strong incentive to digitise all my CDs onto it. But that then also means manipulating the data because I often find that the data retrieved by iTunes for classical music is, at times, 'inventive'.

Can I face to lots of data entry?

[Stunsworth]

There is another fly in the ointment and that is that, having discovered 'Home Sharing' on iTunes it means that anything I have stored in my iMac can be accessed and listened to in my workshop using an old PC laptop and hi-fi system. And as I have an old G4 Mac there is a very strong incentive to digitise all my CDs onto it. But that then also means manipulating the data because I often find that the data filed for classical music is, at times, 'inventive'.

Can I face to lots of data entry?

You will face data entry, but you'll probably find that quite often the data is acceptable. The easiest way to find out is to try it with a few CDs and see how you feel.

I ripped all of my CDs a couple of years ago in Apple lossless format - I too use iTunes - and have found it very useful to have the entire collection available throughout the house.