Cataloging Guidelines & Best Practices

This page explains some of the basic guidelines and best practices to employ when cataloging albums on this website. More to follow...

1. Band/Artist

1.1 -- Catalog the name of the band/artist as it appears on either the the album cover, album sleeve, or the record's inner label.

1.2 -- If no single band/artist is responsible, or the album is a compilation of artists, enter Compilation (Various Artists) in the Band/Artist field.

1.3 -- If no band/artist information is available from the sources mentioned in 1.1, enter Anonymous in the Band/Artist field.

2. Album Title

2.1 -- Catalog the predominant album title as it appears on either the album cover, album sleeve, or the record's inner label.

2.2. -- If the album displays the artist name but carries no other additional title information from the sources mentioned in 2.1, the album is considered "self-titled," so also enter the artist's name as the Album Title.

2.3. -- If no information whatsoever is available from the sources mentioned in 1.1 or 2.1, enter [Untitled] in the Album Title field.

2.3.1 -- If the album title is represented by images, icons, or other non-textual elements, enter [Untitled] in the Album Title field. Additionally, if the untitled album is also known by an alternate or popularized name, enter that title into the Alternate Title field.

3. Album Subtitle

3.1 -- Catalog any additional album title information as it appears on the album cover, album sleeve, or the record's inner label.

Example:

4. Release Date

5. Country of Release

6. Playback Speed

7. Album Size

7.1 -- Album size refers to the size of the record, regardless of the size of the album cover or packaging.

8. Play Type

9. Album Edition

10. Album Weight

11. Alternate Album Name

12. Album Cover Artwork/Artist

13. Matrix Number

14. Language

15. Album Ephemera

16. Unusual Formatting

17. Producer

18. Record Label

19. Catalog Number(s)

19.1 -- Enter the album's catalog number that appears on the album cover, sleeve, or inner label.

A catalog number is a unique alpha-numeric identifier that record companies apply to each album release. There is no standard format for catalog numbers as they are unique to each record company. And there is no standardized practice for where catalog numbers appear on vinyl records. In general, catalog numbers are found on the vinyl record's inner label, the album's spine, or the back cover. Do not confuse the catalog number with the matrix number (see number 13).

The catalog number is a unique identifier for the entire album and usually appears the same on both sides of the album. The matrix number is a unique identifier for each side of an album and is usually etched into the album near the run-out groove. The catalog number is generally more prominent displayed on the album.

There are several online resources that provide full catalog records and explain catalog numbers more in-depth:

Album Discographies

The Online Discographical Project

"Cataloging numbering system for single records" -- Wikipedia

"Cataloging 78 RPM recording" -- Yale Library

"Matrix numbers" -- Wikipedia