Acoustic Sounds

Koeppel Design

Catalog Cards

By: Michael Fremer

March 2nd, 2023

Category:

Accessories

Koeppel Design Catalog Cards

for the obsessed

Koeppel Design has some cool products including a stylish record bag, record dividers, a "now spinning" stand and some other products for style conscious vinyl fans/record hoarders. This newest accessory may for some be a stretch.

Koeppel offers a pad of catalog cards —a notepad of 50 sturdy cards plus pen—that you use to catalog each record in your collection (or the ones most meaningful to you). One side of the card features this information:

The White Album UK original

The other side offers this:

"The Beatles" UK original pressing

If your handwriting is like mine, well that's a problem. If you have 16,000 or so records and want to catalog all of them, well that's also a problem. How much time do you have? And money: the pads cost $27.50 for 50, or up to 200 cards (4 notepads, 2 pens for $197.98 a sale price lower than the original $220 cost).

Once you've filled out the card it can be put in the jacket or if you use outer clear sleeves and leave the card visible. Or you can say "are you kidding me"?

Specifications

N/A

Manufacturer Information

Manufacturer information

Comments

  • 2023-03-02 07:29:27 PM

    Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

    LOL.. "are you kidding me".. I am not this devoted, but it is a great idea for those that collect and sell. I never sell.

    • 2023-03-02 11:46:17 PM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      Glad to see you here Glotz!

  • 2023-03-03 12:36:37 AM

    bwb wrote:

    you get 400 for $197.98, not 200.. not that I'm buying any. I can buy more records for that $200.. I'm firmly in the "are you kidding me" camp... It was enough effort to get them all into the Discogs database

    • 2023-03-03 06:12:03 PM

      Kate Koeppel wrote:

      Thanks for pointing out that error! You get 400 cards and two very nice pens for $197.98- ultimately less than 50 cents per card. If you're thinking about preservation of the records you love, adding a nicer inner sleeve and outer sleeve and radically, a Catalog Card to the records you possibly paid $25+ for, and you're already taking good care of it so you can enjoy it for another 10-50 years. Not for everyone, but neither is record collecting! ha!

  • 2023-03-03 06:07:36 PM

    Kate Koeppel wrote:

    Kate here, I am the designer behind the divisive, yet very popular Catalog Cards! There are not for everyone, naturally, but the folks inclined to take the time to fill out the cards are doing so for perhaps different reasons than outlined here. I designed this product because for me, record collecting is inherently emotional and personal- there are periods of my life that are forever linked to specific records in my memory. I wanted to develop a way to catalog and preserve these memories, to share them with family and my future self. I use Discogs too, but filling out a card that is accessible and easy to browse is just another way that helps me keep our 600+ record collection approachable, fun and organized, and I want to preserve these memories for my daughter decades from now.

    I worked with a professional recorded sound archivist on this design which was a fascinating process to think about our record collections in terms of archival practices. I will leave you all with one final fiery thought: A collection without personal context is just stuff- your personal history with it is what makes it valuable.

    • 2023-03-03 07:52:51 PM

      Ivan Bacon wrote:

      Thank you Kate. I like the card idea but the size is something i might do differently or a cataloging scheme. I keep all my records in clear vinylsolution jacket covers and I would never put the card in the sleeve to cover the art work or info on the back so inside would be the logical choice. These covers are sealed so the card would not be accessible if inside the jacket itself, also The size of the card would mean that it would fall to the bottom of the jacket. If i did not have sealed covers i would want the card almost 12 inches tall so it could be easily removed from inside the jacket. All my records are in anti-static inner sleeve and placed in the back pocket of the vinylsolutions outer cover. Perhaps the 12" card could go in that pocket but again the back of the jacket should be not be obscured by the card when the record/sleeve is removed.

      I might use them differently, in a card file box (like my moms recipes card file box) but they would need a catalog number. A place on the card to assign a number and a small sticker with the corresponding number to be placed on the record. I already put a very small sticker on all records that have been ultrasonically cleaned, just a little dot so combining those into one sticker would be prefect. Just my thoughts. I gave up on cataloging on discogs, time consuming and not as accessible as i want.

      • 2023-03-03 07:54:41 PM

        Ivan Bacon wrote:

        I meant to say i like the card idea because it is Analog.

        • 2023-03-03 08:11:57 PM

          Kate Koeppel wrote:

          ah, this is very interesting feedback- We have a couple different suggestions for display and storage on our website, at 4x4 inches it doesn't take up a huge amount of real estate on the front or back of the outer sleeve. If you want to see some images of different storage options:https://koeppeldesign.com/blogs/journal/how-to-use-catalog-cards

          I think an essential part of of the utility of this card is in keeping the record and card together- to help keep both pieces accessible, not just for you, but in consideration of who might inherit your collection. This is another way to help make that essential information visible and easily accessible. We do have a field for catalog number and a field for "filed under" so you could use that for your own system of storage if you absolutely insist on keeping them separate. I'm always curious to hear how these cards are getting used in practice, it is valuable research for future iterations Ivan!

  • 2023-03-03 08:00:13 PM

    Ivan Bacon wrote:

    MF, are you sure you are not a Doctor, that looks like a prescription slip. Write me one, LP's - to be administered daily, as many as needed.

  • 2023-03-04 06:18:32 PM

    cracking resonance wrote:

    nice for people who want to organize themselves without actually doing so, while spending money.

    1. I don't need a sheet telling me in handwriting what album I hold in my hand, while I can read it from the cover and see it's state.
    2. more important is to give the album an ID, first, that stays with it. That ID is a combination of codes, a serial-inventory-number, a value code, a library placement/category code, and a music-type if not covered by placement/category
    3. then all kind of information can be added to that ID
    4. all that remains with the album is: ID That can be a printed QR-code or a handwritten alphanumeric code
    5. the registry is separate and contains all details, paper or digital
    6. a copy of such registry is stored separately, paper or digital
    7. it'd be great if it contains the album's history from production across multiple owners and shops it went through, but that's only workable under a supported community or industry standard system, i.e. with discogs as an app solution.
    • 2023-03-04 06:23:49 PM

      cracking resonance wrote:

      the way it's presented is likely driving the divisive approach, because actually those cards could be a choice for the central registry, while not so much for the album itself, unless one wants to add another hand-written (1. registry stored, 2. backup registry stored, 3. album stored). Everybody's personal choice. I'm more in favor of a digital registry and copy and a code on the album. More ecological, time and cost effective than all that handwriting on cute expensive shipped paper forms.

  • 2023-03-06 09:31:24 PM

    Darryl Lindberg wrote:

    These cards are certainly thoughtfully designed. I do think their usefulness will depend on the the size of your collection. If you have, say, several hundred LPs and don't expect to add significantly to your collection, they're a fine way to go. If you have several thousand, then it's probably far more convenient to log your collection into a searchable database.

    Years ago, I used index cards to catalog my LPs. However, there came a point when I realized that card storage and arrangement was becoming an issue. That's when I changed over to a database program (Access, but it could have been anything). All I can say is that many, many, discs later is that I'm sure glad I did!