How do your keep your literature collection NOW with a Poll added too !

[Lord Ferguson]

I know we've had this question dotted about the various literature topics of late... BUT.... we must strive for order on FTF... so... sit up straight, comb your hair and put your best answer in here please for the sake of formality...

What I (we) want to know is this...

1. Assuming that you have a literature collection of your own... what does it consist of

2. How do you (physically) store it do you have a filing system etc etc...

3. Where do you keep it

4. Do you keep an electronic copy, have a website etc... etc...

Plus anything else you care to add...

I'll start us off with my details...

I collect mostly brochures with some books as well.. I don't really collect operators manuals as I see this as a VERY large can of worms that Mrs F won't be happy for me to open (so to speak)

All of my brochures are stored in plastic pockets and then filed 4 ring binders by type... I've created various categories and sub categories for filing over the fullness of time for instance..

Tractors - filed in separate folders per series, Pre 64 tractors, compacts and lawn mowing, 100 series, 200 series and so on..

Disc Harrows

Cultivators/Chisel ploughs etc

Muck & Slurry

Trailers

Loaders

Tractor cabs

Mowers and Hay Equipment

Mouldboard Ploughs

Cane Harvesting

Combines (three folders now)

MF Industrial folders for tracked machines, Industrial tractors, wheeled loaders, misc industrial equipment

Balers

Price lists and range catalogues

Drilling and Fertilising

Other third party stuff (MF related.. such as 4 wheel traction for example)

News at MF and other MF mailshots

MF Australian catalogues

Innovations (such as pressure control, Multi-Power, PAVT wheels etc.)

Implements - other (such as grader blades, link boxes, grinder mixers etc)

Pull type harvesting

Header and other combine accessories

MF Derniere (French range catalogues)

MF Butler buildings

MF Archive photographs

MF Annual reports (2 folders)

Snow stuff

MF factory information

Inter MF - French news at MF type publications from the late 60's, early 70's

MF Powerpart and older gift catalogues

and finally....

Modern stuff/duplicates

They are all kept in a bookcase at home at the moment, although I am fast outgrowing the space I have for them currently... not sure what I will do with them in the longer term... build a separate room I think when my finances permit...

I do keep an electronic record of my brochures, I try to scan each one as they come in... to 300dpi (minimum magazine printing standard really)... I then create .pdf files for each one and store them in folders and sub folders as above. I do have plans for a website in the future, but at the moment I only have this electronic record type. I do keep a copy of each front page on a Photobucket site for quick retrieval anywhere on the web. I would dearly love a site like Ronald or Wil's and aim to get one up and running withing the next 12 months (with luck)

So.... your turn... and we want to know everything 

[FordTractorCrazy]

quite a bunch of subcatagories you've got there your lordship...

mine is a bit crazier organized

1. Assuming that you have a literature collection of your own... what does it consist of [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

Well, Pretty much anything Ford and New Holland related as long as it are brochures. Right now i have Fordson, Ford, New Holland, Sperry-New Holland, Ford-New Holland, Fiat-New Holland, CNH, Roadless, Muir-Hill, County, Ninety-Five, Doe and Versatile brochures in my collection. From tractors to the oddest machinery..

2. How do you (physically) store it [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif do you have a filing system etc etc... [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

every brochure is put in a protector sheet and stored in 2-ring binders which hold around 75 brochures each i think... As i only have around 1300 brochures(been collecting brochures for a bit more then 4 years now i think) and it expands quite a bit at times, the contents of the binders change from time to time.. Of course every tractor series are put together seperately in multiple binders. (i believe the Ford 10-series have 2 binders now, but the 30-40-70 - series are in one binder together. Then i have the Versatile, County and other related brands in one binder, range brochures in one binder, the Sperry-New Holland brochures in 3 binders and a lot of machinery brochures in multiple binders, of course every type of machinery seperately/sectioned.. And of course the Combines have multiple binders, as do the Harvesters and the Square Balers and lastly the Round Balers..

3. Where do you keep it [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

Currently it resides on one shelf in the "office" with place for 3 more binders, so should be good for another 4 months or so..  

4. Do you keep an electronic copy, have a website etc... etc... [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

I have an excel file in which each brochure has its own number, and the following information is added in the file: title of folder, year of release, country, code(3x), models in the folder(for example 2000,3000,4000,5000) and total pages.

i scan all the fronts and backs of each brochure that comes into my collection and plan to scan them all completely eventually. As each individual brochure has its own number in my excel file, the scans are given the same number with addition of the page number.

and i put the back and front page of each brochure plus  a small description of the brochure on my website

www.fordtractorcrazy.com/v2/index.php

i am still in the process of scanning my brochures and putting them on my site, right now i have around 30% of all the brochures added to the site...

[Lord Ferguson]

well done Will E baby... I'm surprised that you only scan the front and backs of each piece I must say    ... I can see your dilema though... It takes AGES to scan a large document and then group and save it as a .pdf... let alone the time to upload a page of it... and take a backup copy.

I think I've mentioned this recently... but I keep a .txt file of my 'version history' in my main colection as well... good way to track the history. I really should start an excel file as well... but I just can't muster the energy to do so... any chance of detailing the type of details you record on your for me Wil please

[FordTractorCrazy]

i only scan the brochures up to 6 pages completely right now, more is just too much work for now, as i am also working on the website momentarily for the next 1 1/2 years if i make the same progress as i do now!

When i am done with that, then i have time for scanning them completely. Of course i already keep track of what is completely scanned and what not by colourcoding in excel..

here is an example of a part of my excel file

i dont keep records about costs and when a brochure entered my collection. I do that with my models, but not with the brochures. that doesnt interest that much

[Lord Ferguson]

Thanks Wil... interesting... I'll set myself up with something similar I think this week

[FordTractorCrazy]

the good thing about excel is that you can add as many colums as you want... and can use the autosum to sort any column in such a way that you can easily find if you have it or not, no matter in what order you put it in there..

[Lord Ferguson]

Umm... you mean you can Will.. I guess I can always PM the helpdesk if I get stuck  :D

[Paul Palmer]

massey collection,claas,fendt,nh,challenger,jd,case ih,going  back to only 2003/04

kept in a big pile in the spare room

indexed by when the last lot came through the letterbox

stored ,on top of each other

filed by the wife,when are you going to move them

[Lord Ferguson]

:D  .. pretty much 'back to basics' for you filing system then mate... any plans for future filing Paul... I see you are looking to expand your MF collection at the minute

[Tractorman810]

all of mine are in folders, some seperate some in 3 or 4's if they are the same brand, then kept in a open file box, mind you i only have 50 tops and all varied so space is not an issue

[Lord Ferguson]

Have added a poll now too 

[Paul Palmer]

:D  .. pretty much 'back to basics' for you filing system then mate... any plans for future filing Paul... I see you are looking to expand your MF collection at the minute

very basic mark,i have got some  A4 ring folders and plastic sheaths,i mean sleeves!!!!!!!!! so the masseys will go  in those,i will be using the other marques as trading tools,also forgot to add, i have jcb fastrac brochures,i think they are very good brochures with cracking photography in them,these being the 7000,8000 and the xtra fastrac brochures

[Pete]

I use a basic system, mainly massey so there all togeather in plastic wallets in a ring binder in date order new to old

[stapelopfordson]

Interesting to see the different storing techniques of every body, here my story

1. Assuming that you have a literature collection of your own... what does it consist of [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

My dad started collecting in the early 80's and he started with mainly dutch brochures, instructions books and parts lists. Back then there was no internet, so the communication went by hand written letters. Can you think about that now? I started fanatically collecting in 2000 after graduating. I started scanning the internet and the foreign brochures came in. Nowadays I (we) collect brochures in the following languages: dutch, english, german and french. Tractor brochures only, no implements (yet), with exceptions like the E27N implements. The following brands are in the collection:

- Fordson

- Ford

- Ford New Holland

- Ford Versatile

- County

- Roadless

- Doe

- Perkins engines fitted in Fordson

- other, interesting conversions, four-wheel drive systems, etc.

2. How do you (physically) store it [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif do you have a filing system etc etc... [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

Each brochure is held in a punched pocket and stored in a 4-rings binder. But I have huge pile of brochures which aren't filed in a binder and these are stored in a big cardboard box. These are mainly US-letter size because I don't have a correct binder for those, BUT that problem will be solved in November, thanks Mark!! You will make my life a lot easier.   I also have a seperate binder for double brochures to swap with other collectors.

3. Where do you keep it [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

At the moment I'm building a custom made cabinet to store the binders and in this cabinet will also be a huge display cabinet and storage room for the empty model boxes. I will start a build topic for that, might be interesting to see.

4. Do you keep an electronic copy, have a website etc... etc... [img alt=]http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/huh.gif

I have an electronic copy of every brochure at 300 dpi, front pages only. Due the fact that I get often requests for an electronic copy, I'm trying to scan all pages of the most interesting brochures. Therefore I have to adjust my website to show more than one page per brochure. (It already works locally on my own computer ). I have my own website www.stapelopfordson.nl for 2,5 years now and I have 300 visitors per month. It took quit a while to make it, because I have written the code myself without any help of software, that's another defect of mine  :P  I want to know how that works.

I have one Excel-file for the costs, I write down how much what brochure has cost, from whom I bought it and to how I and how much sold it (double brochures). I know exactly what my collection has cost...

All information about my brochures are stored in a MS Access database. When a new brochure comes in I add this to my database and link it with the correct picture number. I wrote a code which generates automatically new html pages to upload for my website. That makes updating my website a piece of cake. ;D  I'm working on online database which will be linked to my website, in this database will added all Ford (first stage) brochures which are known (not only my collection). I want to create a complete overview......

An example of the County table in my database, all these fields are needed to generate my webpages automatically

[Niels]

1. Assuming that you have a literature collection of your own... what does it consist of

Brochures  Plus a good range of Dutch farming magazines, books about agriculture and more. Anything agricultural from tractors to buildings really. Brochures wise I collect ANYTHING to be honest but have specific interest in Dutch equipment, most notably Lely, Vicon, PZ and anything that's got to do with potatoes. Also move towards combine harvesters in general and the more unusual tractor makes.

2. How do you (physically) store it do you have a filing system etc etc...

Some is on shelfs in arch lever files (about 75 of them). The rest is in boxes awaiting to be stored away in alphabetic order. Some is already, most just chucked in sleeves and stored. All brochures are filed in an Excel sheet so I know what I have. I just haven't got a clue where it is  . I haven't got anything scanned as I simply haven't got the time. Some bits I photographed but only for FTF purposes.

3. Where do you keep it

Attic and my own room.

4. Do you keep an electronic copy, have a website etc... etc...

I have a website but no brochures on there. Electronic copy not present as the time is not there (I ticked the greedy last option).

[Barry]

"I don't belive it until I see it!!"

Lets have some photo's of these collections 

I've only got about 12 brochure.....I only buy them for reference when i'm building that particular tractor/implement.

[Lord Ferguson]

I am enjoying this topic immensely... some really interesting 'learning' to be had here I reckon... Ronald... thanks for the insight into how it should be done professionally... I will be picking your brains at Zwolle for more information if that's OK 

Niels... you can go and sit on the naughty step for having more brochures than the rest of us  :D

Pete E... do you use MF's date codes or simply 'guesstimate' the date order for your collection

[david_scrivener]

Does this thread need a second poll?

Something along the lines of: 

(  ) Yes, I've got OCD so bad, there's hardly any space left in my house & I seriously need therapy

(  ) I'm quite addicted, but the kitchen, bathroom and at least one other room are still 'collection free zones'

(  ) There are a few stacks of stuff in boxes, but most of it actually fits in proper cabinets, allotted shelves, etc.

(  ) I'm a beginner, the model/toy collection ALL in cabinets or other allotted places, and only a few binders/files of brochures. 

 

[Niels]

Mark, I am sure there are people on this board that have more brochures than I do?

Hello?..... Anyone there?.. 

[Lord Ferguson]

Mark, I am sure there are people on this board that have more brochures than I do?

Hello?..... Anyone there?.. 

* Sound of tumble weed blowing across FTF... *

Hello....

Anyone...

Nope... looks like it's just you then Niels .. oh and Rory Day... but he's probably in bed asleep by now.. it's his age you know 

As for you David.... OCD.. who are you calling obsessive 

Now.. I did lock the door didn't I.... I did... I know I did.... ok... I'd better just check... damn... I knew I did...

Ah.... but did I check it properly.... perhaps I should check it again...  :D

[stehos]

I'm on holiday now in the south of France and found time to look through my brochurebook. Currently I have over 2400 brochures on Ford, Fordson and other Ford related tractors and machinery.

When I count the other tractor brochures and machinery also, the count would be over 5000 I guess...    But for the poll I voted for 2000 to 3000 .

More on my collection when I get back at the end of the week \

[Lord Ferguson]

Have a lovely holiday Jack... 2400 is one hell of a collection for one (major) brand    .. I didn't know that Ford made so many products - were they strong in many countries then ...

[david_scrivener]

* Sound of tumble weed blowing across FTF... *

Hello....

Anyone...

Nope... looks like it's just you then Niels .. oh and Rory Day... but he's probably in bed asleep by now.. it's his age you know 

As for you David.... OCD.. who are you calling obsessive 

Now.. I did lock the door didn't I.... I did... I know I did.... ok... I'd better just check... damn... I knew I did...

Ah.... but did I check it properly.... perhaps I should check it again...  :D

I know I'm obsessive. was just checking to see whether everyone else does as well.

Oh, and have you closed and locked all the windows?

[Pete]

I use mf's date codes..

I am enjoying this topic immensely... some really interesting 'learning' to be had here I reckon... Ronald... thanks for the insight into how it should be done professionally... I will be picking your brains at Zwolle for more information if that's OK 

Niels... you can go and sit on the naughty step for having more brochures than the rest of us  :D

Pete E... do you use MF's date codes or simply 'guesstimate' the date order for your collection

[Niels]

So there is Jack, Rory and me already. See, not that bad!