Catalogue a classical record collection

The same symphony exists in dozens of recordings. The catalogue row should be the one you own, with the orchestra, the soloist, or the conductor in the artist line or the note. 'Beethoven, Symphony No. 5' on its own will not tell you which performance is on the shelf.

Box sets of complete works are one entry if you bought them as one set, with the disc count written down. Separate records you bought separately are separate rows, even if they would make a set on paper.

Use the title as it appears on the sleeve you own. That is the string you will search for later. A cleaned-up catalogue title is harder to match to the spine in the room.

If the results are a different conductor or a different soloist, do not save the near miss. Add the record by hand and write the performers in the notes. A wrong performance, stored with a confident sleeve, is a catalogue error you will trust later.

A note can also hold the label, the pressing, and whether the set still has its booklet. Those are the details that matter when you insure the shelf or sell a box, and the price guide will not know them unless you type a price of your own.

Search the title on the sleeve. Save the pressing that matches. Track lists help when a set hides many works under one title, and search can use those tracks.

A performance you want, but do not own, belongs on the wishlist, named clearly enough that you will not buy a different one.