A catalogue entry should help your future self recognise the exact book on the shelf. Start with a modest record you can finish in ten minutes. You can add bibliographical detail later; an unfinished master spreadsheet is less useful than a small set of consistent entries.
Give the copy an identity
Assign a short identifier such as FE-001. Use it in the photo filenames and the catalogue entry. Record author, title, publisher, printed date, and acquisition date. Add where the book came from and retain the original description separately, so its claims remain distinguishable from your observations.
Write a sentence about why you chose the copy. Perhaps it completes a reading sequence, carries an interesting inscription, or represents a cover design you want to study. This note keeps the collection connected to your interests when a list of titles starts looking interchangeable.
Describe what you can see
Describe location and extent: “Small tear at the upper edge of the jacket’s back panel” tells a later reader more than “some wear.” Photograph the feature. If you have not checked every page, say so instead of calling the book complete.
- Identification: what is printed in the book?
- Condition: what have you actually observed?
- Evidence: which photos or references support the entry?
- Open questions: what still needs checking?
Keep interpretation in its own field. An inscription can be transcribed without identifying its writer. A book can be catalogued while its printing remains uncertain. Make room for “unknown” and you will be less tempted to fill gaps with plausible stories.
Finally, add a last-reviewed date whenever you change a substantive claim. Preserve earlier photographs. A trustworthy record is not one that starts perfectly; it is one whose evidence and revisions remain easy to follow.