For many individuals collection managers are an important type of software. Millions of people enjoy the activity of collecting. It is human nature to collect objects, in part because people derive pleasure from the simple ownership of objects. In ones formative days, collections sometimes include stamps, comics, and football cards. As we move into adolescence tastes have changed. Now, it is more likely that we will be collecting multimedia (audio and video), computer games, postcards, posters, autographs etc. Later in life our attention may turn to antiques and decorative ornaments. Not only do things that we collect change over time, technology also has a large influence. There is even a dedicated system on eBay for collectables.
You probably have a few collections that are continuing to grow. Keeping track of your collection as it grows becomes increasingly more complicated. In this scenario a collection manager can be extremely useful. Armed with this software you can keep track of your collection. Moreover, collectors may have no accurate way of measuring the value of their collection for insurance purposes without having an accurate record.
There is a wide range of collection manager software available for Linux. However, the majority of this software is specialized, focusing on one or two different collectable items. The purpose of this review is primarily to identify the finest collection manager software which track a diverse range of items. This type of software has the advantage that users can keep track of all of their different collection types using a single software application. However, specialized collection managers are still worthy of a mention.
All of the software featured in this article sport an attractive graphical user interface, and make use of the internet to help with the process of cataloguing your collection.
Here’s our verdict captured in a LinuxLinks-styled ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Let’s explore the 8 collection managers at hand. For each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots, together with links to relevant resources.
| Collection Managers | |
|---|---|
| GCStar | Wonderfully versatile software for managing personal collections |
| Data Crow | Ultimate media cataloger and media organiser |
| Tellico | Easy to use KDE application for organizing your collections |
| Alexandria | Book collection manager for GNOME |
| hydrus | Danbooru-like image tagging and search system |
| VVV | Catalog the content of removable volumes for off-line searching |
| StuffKeeper | Generic catalog software |
| Griffith | Movie collection manager |
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