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Software for Cataloguing Your Collection
by Peter Hayward, The Pewter Society
A number of programs to help you create a catalogue of your collection have appeared on the market. I have just been given a trial version of one such program, Collectify MyStuff, to try out on behalf of the Society. Since I had never seen one of these programs before, it was interesting to see what it could do.
The core of the electronic catalogue is the record of each object in your collection. The software takes you through the steps of entering data for each object in a simple way, and even working with the default catalogue structure I did not find it difficult to enter everything I wanted for a few sample objects in my collection - for example, reference number, description, some dimensions, where and when I acquired it, what I paid for it, what marks it carries and where those marks are. However, using the default catalogue structure is not exploiting the real potential of the system. Because the software has been designed to meet the needs of a wide range of collectors (and even museums), it has the facility to customise almost every aspect of the catalogue structure to meet your own particular needs, eg by creating fields for everything you want to record and removing fields you do not want. For example, the default catalogue structure provides for four measurements - height, width, depth and diameter - but for mugs you might want to change that structure to something rather more specific and detailed, such as: height to rim, base diameter, rim diameter, weight in grams, weight in ounces, capacity in pints, capacity in millilitres. This is quite easy to do, but it means you need to spend a certain amount of time initially playing around to decide just what sort of structure would best suit your needs.
The software also helps you organise the catalogue. You can create your own collection types (eg mugs, sadware, spoons or, if you're more catholic in your tastes, pewter, brass, porcelain, wine, ...) and as many collection sub-types and object types as you wish. It keeps track of the size of your collection, and when you dispose of an object you don't need to delete the record as you can simply transfer it to a "sold" archive.
The software has many other features. You can add pictures of your objects, and cross references to reference books or Journals. Indeed, you can even catalogue your book collection at the same time. You can create a slide show from the text and/or images in the catalogue, so you'll have no excuse for not giving an illustrated talk to the Society at one of our meetings! You can even keep track of valuations, insurance details and insurance claims, though I suspect those are features few members will be bothered about.
I have not been able to test the software for long enough to comment on its robustness - it crashed once whilst I was using it, but recovered with no problems - nor have I tested the support service. Also, I am not qualified to comment on its security. I did, though, notice one surprising omission - there is no print button to allow you to print the details of an object or a list of the items in your collection. I understand, however, that a new version of the software which is just about to be released will include the facility for printing reports.
Verdict? Before I had seen this program I was sceptical of the value of cataloguing software for private collectors. However, after my brief play with this program I can see that, provided you are prepared to spend some time initially setting up a catalogue structure that best meets your needs, this could be a very good way of keeping records of your collection.
