Organizing A Collection Of Cds And Dvds

The average CD and DVD collection grows continuously and hence it becomes an important and Herculean task to organize them in a proper manner. Such an arrangement should also result in easy retrieval of the CDs and DVDs when we need them. The first step to follow in organizing a large DVD and CD collection is to buy proper shelving. We need to buy CD notebooks or multiple CD racks and also shelves specifically for DVDs. Next is to decide on the criteria for categorizing the collection. The criteria options are alphabetical arrangement, arrangement based on genre, chronological arrangement etc.

Next is to separate the CDs that are not of much concern. New CD cases are to be purchased for those CDs whose cases are damaged or missing. Using multiple levels of shelving can result in a much longer time for retrieval (Associated Content, 2005). Sort the CD and DVD collection according to the criteria chosen. If the collection is very large this sorting can be done in stages to avoid confusion. We may also choose to sub-categorize the collection additionally. For example if we choose to categorize based on the artist then sub-categorizing may be based on the release date or alphabetically based on the title.

If our taste in music and movies is very broad we can buy colored electrical tape and designate a particular color to each genre. We could also store all the CD’s in our computer before organizing them, if we have a large drive space and ensure we take regular backups (wikiHow, 2005). Plastic storage units with slots for individual CDs may be used but if we arrange them alphabetically then we need to move hundreds of CDs each time we need to insert a new CD into the collection. We May also choose to arrange less used CDs and DVDs in a notebook rather than putting them in display (eHow, 1999).

This will save a considerable amount of storage space. Putting away previously used CDs and DVDs before taking a new one ensures that our collection remains organized. The following criteria could be used for organizing the CDs and DVDs. Alphabetically: We could arrange the CDs in the alphabetical order either by the artist’s name or the title. The movies could be arranged alphabetically based on the title, key actor or the director’s name. This is the most commonly used criteria for arranging the CDs. The downside of this option is the necessity to move all the CDs and DVDs when we buy an album or movie.

This scheme can also be combined with other schemes of arrangement like alphabetical with genre etc. Chronologically: This arrangement is based on the order of release or purchase of the CDs and DVDs. We could choose chronological based on album release date, or chronologically by the purchase date or historical era or chronological based on the life stage that could be associated with each album or movie. The movies could be arranged based on the era the content of the movie is based on (Propeller, 2003). By Genre: This type of arrangement is for who have a very large collection and a broad taste in music and movies.

We could arrange folk followed by rock and then melody. Similarly in movies we could categorize the collection as horror, action, mystery, comedy, love or make it more specific like Documentary, Zombies etc. If the collection is very large an entire rack could be devoted to each genre (Expert Village, 2008). Most Frequently Used: The albums and movies which are played most are arranged at the front of the pile and those which are not frequently used are arranged behind them. This arrangement makes the most played ones very easier to find. This scheme is also self organizing. Randomly:

This is the least used scheme where in the CDs and DVDs are arranged in a random manner (Brunchma, 1997). The other schemes of arrangement also include critical arrangement where the best ones are placed at the beginning and the worst at the end. Arrangements can also be done based on performer’s or composer’s origin, album title, instrumentation, mood and the tempo of the CDs (Propeller, 2003). Bibliography: (2005) Associated Content Available: http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/272550/how_to_organize_a_large_dvd_ collection. html? page=2 Last Accessed: 28 May 2008 (1997) Brunchma

Available: http://www. brunchma. com/archives/Forum2/HTML/000270. html Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (March 1999) eHow Available: http://www. ehow. com/how_2032270_organize-cd-collection. html Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (2008) Expert Village Available: http://www. expertvillage. com/video/370_organize-cds. htm Last Accessed: 25 May 2008 (2003) Propeller Available: http://music. propeller. com/story/2006/11/09/17-ways-to-organize-your-cd-collection/ Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (January 2005) wikiHow Available: http://www. wikihow. com/Organize-a-Large-CD-Collection Last Accessed: 25 May 2008