How to Inventory your Collection? Pros and Cons and Solutions and Digital Tools

Reading time 9 min

Whether you have already taken the step or not, if you are a collector you have certainly already asked yourself this question.

A collector's object, regardless of its provenance and era, is often a small piece of history, the witness of a period, a part of our common heritage... The preservation and diffusion of its objects and knowledge allow both to tell the story of a period that fascinates us, and to contribute to the advancement of science and knowledge at our level. Collecting is assembling pieces of history and contributing to the preservation of the universal heritage.

In all honesty, this article is somewhat partisan. I am indeed a strong supporter of digitization, sharing and online databases. However, I will address as objectively as possible all the possibilities and questions that we can ask ourselves before taking the plunge.

Do I need to be a computer engineer to digitize my collection?

What are the risks of digitizing my collection?

• Preserve your information
• Do It Yourself
• Par un professionnel
• IT security

Which solution to use to digitize your collection?

• Getting started with digitization
• The “homemade” solution
• Collection management softwares
• Collection management applications
• Online Collection Management Solutions
• Benchmark

What is the scientific interest in making my collection public?

To conclude, any advice on the best solution to use?

Do I Need to Be a Computer Engineer to Digitize my Collection?

The answer to this question is of course; no. There are many ways to digitize your collection, accessible to all. I will not go developed this question further yet as we will come back to the different possibilities later in this article.

What are the Risks of Digitizing my Collection?

There are two major aspects to consider when it comes to securing your data once it has been digitized. Firstly, the durability of your information (prevent computer break down, host that goes out of business...), and secondly, the safety and accessibility of your information at your expense by a third party (access to your computer, hacking an online account).

Preserve You Informations

Regarding the durability of your information, the first question to ask yourself is whether you trust yourself or a professional in the sector more.

Do It Yourself

A collector who has undertaken a long and tedious inventory work must think about regularly backing up his data.

Saving a backup of your Excel file regularly on a USB key placed next to your desktop computer is not enough. You will have to think of the worst (burglary, fire...) and therefore multiply the backup locations: on your computer, a USB key in your bank safe, a copy at a relative's, an online backup... The difficulty will be to be rigorous over the years in order to keep your various backups up to date.

Ask a Professional

The benefit of entrusting this problem to a professional is that you no longer have to worry about all these backup issues. You are delegating the responsibility to someone else, which comes with advantages and disadvantages.

"What guarantee do we have that you will still be there in 10 or 20 years? This is the very legitimate question that any collector may ask himself before choosing a storage or inventory solution. The only honest answer to this question is that there is no guarantee.

So what can be done? The right thing is to choose a solution that doesn't make your data a prisoner! Any solution you can trust should allow you to export so that you can take your valuable data back home at any time.

IT Security

I'm going to leave aside the issue of data piracy because whether you are an individual or one of the largest companies on the planet no one is totally safe from piracy. The professional who will tell you otherwise will either be a liar or incompetent.

It is however possible to limit the risks by respecting a few simple rules: choose a pseudonym as a username, do not give your physical address to anyone, choose a secure password... Publicly on the Internet, do not say more than you would tell to a stranger on the street.

It's easy to think that you are putting yourself in danger when you digitize your precious collectibles. But in fact, a digitized collection is a protected collection. The ups and downs of life can affect any collector. When a collection goes missing (whether it's a theft or a disaster), having a complete online inventory is your best ally to get through the situation and be responsive at a time when you really don't have the headache of chasing bills and photographs scattered around.

Which Solution to Use to Digitize your Collection?

Homemade solution, collection management software, mobile application, online site... In the following paragraph, we will look at the different solutions on the market, presenting advantages and disadvantages.

Getting Started with Digitization

Before digitizing your collection, you will have to start by cataloguing it. This may be the longest part of the cataloguing process, but it is above all the essential step.

It is obvious that this task may seem titanic when you have amassed collection items by the hundreds, or even thousands, over several decades... But the important thing is to start by prioritizing by theme; what is most important to you, what you wish to share, the most precious objects, or the simplest to photograph... You don't need to have inventoried your entire collection to be proud of the result.

This inventory step can become a real pleasure because it allows you to rediscover your collection. Your knowledge has evolved over the years and no doubt you will rediscover rarities hidden in your trays and maybe even find unknown objects.

The “Homemade” Solution

The homemade solution usually requires little: a desktop computer, a camera and an Excel file (or equivalent).

Once the SEO work is done, you will simply need to create an Excel file with one row per object and one column per characteristic you wish to record. Applied to the field of numismatics, for example, you can organize your coin collection with the following information : Title, Description, Date of issue, Rarity, Metal, Purchase information (price, date, seller...), Estimate, Reference in books, Source (internet link)...

Pros:

• Choose the format of your data
• Keep your data "at home" away from prying eyes

Cons:

• Limitation to your own how-to
• Difficulty to access information from outside home
• No one is safe from a computer failure, with a backup not made or not up to date for months or even years

Collection Management Softwares

What we commonly call software is a program that installs on your desktop computer.

Nowadays softwares are becoming obsolete for several reasons. These are installed on your personal computer, often without an internet gateway. The majority of existing software is aging and many are no longer updated.

They have had their hours of glory and are still the faithful companions of many collectors. They allow their users to save time compared to the home-made solution because most of them contain very complete preconceived classification trees and a number of very practical tools (Excel extraction...).

Pros:

• Classification tree and predefined characteristics
• Predefined forms and templates for a homogeneous and consistent classification
• Manage your collection in your corner (advantage or disadvantage?)

Cons:

• Software that is often outdated or even obsolete
• Little or no support and updates
• Lack of internet gateway
• Not compatible with a phone

Collection Management Application

The collection management application is to the phone what the software is to the computer, but more modern! Having your collection always at hand is something to be appreciated!

The other interest of using a mobile application is also the possibility to simply take a picture of your object from your smartphone and then create your object file. This is very useful for collection themes that do not require a big inventory effort, nor a personalized description or card.

A collector of champagne or beer capsules can find his happiness in the use of a mobile application. A collector of antique coins, contemporary art or antiques, on the other hand, will have to create detailed cards from scratch. This is time-consuming office work that is not suitable for the telephone format.

Pros:

• Your collection always at hand
• Modern technologies
• Saves time when its collection theme is adapted to your needs

Cons:

• A collection inventory is more of an office job
• The application does not always allow you to make backups of your collection in case you lose your phone
• Maintainability Problem Compatibility Problem Android / IOS (Mac)

Online Collection Management Solutions

You have probably seen it coming since you're on the blog of an online collectibles management solution; my preference for digitizing a collection goes far towards web-based solutions.

This alternative has indeed the merit of being able to combine the best of the 3 previously mentioned solutions.

It allows you, for example, to create your online gallery and share your collection with the general public or on the contrary to restrict access to whomever you want. Your collection is accessible on any media: desktop, tablet or cell phone.

Hosting on a remote server allows you to automate backups to protect you from data loss.

Pros:

• Accessible via phone, tablet and computer
• Potentially infinite range of services
• We are not hand and foot bound to a physical device
• Very little risk of data loss for a solution hosted in the Cloud

Cons:

• Not always compatiblewith oldest browsers
• Need internet connection to consult his collection

Benchmark

What is the Scientific Interest in making my collection public?

We may not realize it but each object published online adds its stone to the edifice of knowledge on its collection theme. The idea of making one's collection publicly available, in addition to the sharing aspect, makes it possible to build a catalog that is useful to all in the context of research, study or identification.

Making one's collection public thus allows, at its own level, to advance the general knowledge of a domain as soon as the data put online is structured within a database.

To explain concretely what this means, a database will allow you to easily find an object or a series of objects by launching a search with keywords or by filtering the result by category or characteristic.

On CollecOnline for example, we count 110,000 public objects out of the 140,000 objects put online. Searching through a collection of 100 objects is handy for finding an object, but this same search on 100,000 objects today, and on several million objects tomorrow, is extremely powerful!

Help us (and help yourself at the same time) by building together the largest knowledge base in the world.

To Conclude, Any Advice on Which Solution to Use?

As you might have guessed already, I highly recommend that you take a look at CollecOnline (and not CollectOnline!), the digital toolbox for collectors and art lovers!

For the past 6 years now, we have been helping collectors from all walks of life to manage their collections and to help us build the ideal solution. We are a team of enthusiasts, also collectors in our spare time (and also in the non-lost hours).

Always attentive to your needs, we have at heart to make our site evolve every week so that it becomes a true companion for your collectibles.