Robert Summers wrote as follows:

>Can anyone recommend a software program to catalogue my large collection
>of records (all formats)? My computer is a fairly new iMac OS IX.  Also
>I would like to integrate my book collection with my record collection.
>I am willing to use a data base system as long as the setup is not too
>complicated or time consuming.

I have been using a spreadsheet program, Lotus 1-2-3, to catalogue my
collection of recorded music.  My collection includes VHS cassettes
of off-the-air recordings, LP's, CD's, audio cassettes and Beta
videocassettes.  All together my collection has over 3,500 musical
selections, plus an additional 1,200 titles of unrecorded music (a
wish-list, if you like) to help me in future purchases.  Each entry has
an entry for recording formats, composer, musical category, opus number,
title, names of artists, orchestras, conductors, and recording information.
Because of the powerful sorting capability of the spreadsheet program I
use, I can sort my entire collection or any part by any item of interest.
I can with a few key strokes bring up all my recordings of a particular
Beethoven piano sonata, or all my recordings by Vladimir Horowitz, or my
entire collectiion of string quartets.  I could with ease incorporate my
book collection, which should be of interest you.

The only catch of course is that you must have familiarity with spreadsheet
programs.  I find them much easier to use than data base programs, which
I have used and do not recommend.  In addition to Lotus 1-2-3, there are
Excel and Quattro-Pro.  They are all equally good.

If interested, I will be glad to print out one of my videocassette
directories, so you can see the format of my program.  This is a hard
copy of the portion of my spreadsheet that includes the contents of the
individual cassette.

William C. Valles
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561-873-1934