Organizing your reference materials - How do you do it?

As with other's here I get research materials from multiple sources.  Such as The Internet, books, magazines, etc.  What I tend to do is to file in those plastic file boxes that take hanging folders for instruction sheets, which I visit the manufacturers web site to see if I can download it as a PDF to print out and work from.  I'll go to the public library to look up information in books and magazines and make a photocopy of it and put it in a folder in the file box.  For information from The Internet, I keep folders that I put the PDFs in, as well as photo's etc. that I have downloaded.

littletimmy

TOM Z2    How did you get a picture of my library ???

X-ray spex

TOM Z2    How did you get a picture of my library ???

“Organizing” ??? What is this “organizing” you speak of ???

When I got back into this hobby I had materials everywhere. Then I was granted a area in the garage for working on my projects. Now came the fun part. I borrowed my brother whom was a carpenter and we build a book shelf for my Osprey and Squadron books. Then I obtained a file cabinet that I cleaned out since I am now retired and found  colored file folders and labeled them so now I can find most of my stuff.  I also obtained clear plastic storage containers and store my models in them. Clear so I can find a model without having to go thru every box. The containers are the stackable type by the way. I also put my large hard bound books on the bottom shelf since the shelf is tall and narrow and this helps it from tipping over when I go looking for a particular issue.

I Gotta have my fun here .

        I do agree with all that is said or inferred about storing and organizing your referrence materials' I do it the way I did when I had to move a lot .Now ,let's see , this pile is ship stuff , this pile aircraft , well , you get the picture .He He He  Not really .

      I bought those "office file " boxes (the ones for storage of " OLD " files ) now , there are five dedicated to ("things that float " ) alone , not counting the " active files". Truly , I have only "hard " files . Nothing on file in any computer anyway .I do have a plethora of c.d. copies of EVERYTHING in those box files though .I find , if you read them like a good book and "bookmark " pertinent data , it's there when you want it .

    That said , I find keeping a desktop referrence list handy will get you right to the file you need .You know , like an index .With this , the sky's the limit ! Now , where did I leave my coffeecup ? Marge , is my cup in that grey box ?   bye   Tanker - builder

Hi Jim,

It sounds like you have broken the "e" time barrier and use a good combination of both hard copy and electronic.  Here's the problem, if you decide to add zimmeritt to your BBQ grill you still end up trying to figure out where that information is. . . on the computer? on the bookshelf? or in the magizine pile?

I'm just screwin' with you.  The search is half the fun?!

Thanks,

Dennis.

I use multiple methods for managing my references. I have manila folders containing build information for models I'm actively working on. This information could be from magazine articles, the internet, books, notes, plans and instructions. Usually I make enlarged copies of the instructions so I can make notes on them. I have extensive files on my computer covering everything from Aircraft, and Bar-B-Ques to zimmeritt. The files contain downloads from the internet, copies of magazine articles, copied notes, drawings, plans and links to web sites.

I also have several bookcases and shelves for books and magazines, arranged by subject., or in order of Title and issue. I have over twenty years of FSM and dozens of Ships in Scale, Scale Modeler magazine, and early Air Trails and Air Classics(the good ones with Peter Westburg Drawings).

Jim

My "system" is extremely simple. All books/magazines on shelves in bookcase. Any/all photos, drawings, notes for a particular build and the instruction sheets are in manila folders, in alphabetical order on those same shelves. Reason:- The book "Computers for Dummies" is waaaaay over my head.

Jim

Hi.

 As I have been collecting references for 40 years in the form of books mostly, I have it all in bookcases.  I have magazines, such as FSM in magazine boxes that are chronological, mostly.  I don't use magazine articles much anyway.   As my reference pre date the home computer by decades, there is no way on earth I'm going to go through my hundreds of books and put them in the computer, even if I could.

  I have no computer skills at all, this is my limit what I am doing now.  I never or very rarely use the internet for reference work,  I don't trust the net really.  Heck, even some of my printed references are wrong.  I don't mind going through my library looking for something, in fact it's sort of fun, and often I find "new" stuff I'd forgotten about

It's funny,  I didn't understand any of what TarnShip was talking about.  As I said, I have no computer skills at all.  I don't even play computer games anymore, big time wasters.  Now, let's see if I can post this, I think I have a 60/40 chance of me hitting the right button to post this.

Doug

I'm completely old-school. A handmade bookcase. I have all my Squadron, Osprey, Vanguards, PanzerWrecks and Concord books in it. I don't even want to guess how many I have or what the net worth is!

I DO also have burned discs of reference material, and of course, folders on my computer--but honestly, I prefer to use book images if I can find 'em.

G-J, there is a quicker way than writing your own app as your "main page"

look at some of the Database or Spreadsheet programs, then pick one that lets you have a field that holds Word docs, and/or JPGs in the data fields

then you can just "control C" and "control V" your existing notes to convert them onto Word pages (if they aren't already),,,,,,,,,then, later on, when you change the doc, it will be changed when you click the link from the table,,,,,,,you only ever have to make data changes once, on the Word doc

GMorrison, I would be right there with you on "working together",,,,,,except that most of my info and data is on paper, not the web,,,,,,,,and it is keyed by numbers that don't mean anything to another modeler

for example,,,,,,,,10019 is the 19th book in Ginter's Naval Fighters series, Vought's F-8 Crusader Part Four Navy Fighter Squadrons (the number is needed for "look up tables" to work), and photo number 104733 is the photo at the bottom of page 144 in the VF-162 section of that book

that doesn't translate at all to another modeler on the internet,,,,,but, that photo is keyed perfectly as a reference for the old Microscale sheet, and as a possible option for the newish Academy kit,,,,,,,all I have to do is cruise down the line in the DataBase table,,,,,,and click on things,,,,,it is like having an internet at home

even if I wanted to, I can't uplink all those photos for public use,,,,,,they are copyrighted to various photographers

I must say, that I didn't expect any replies or interest in this subject.  Boy was I fooled!

For me, correct reference material is the first critical step in building any subject.  I am an old Engineer with a labor of love for detail.  My "library" is quite extensive and organized by subject, country, period and type of reference.  It was mentioned that mag's are a problem, amen to that.  FSM did pretty good with the old reference booklet and now on-line search help.  An old friend of mine, taught me how to keep written files similar to a library Dewey Decimal System . . . that took forever to set-up and I gave it up when it cut into my modeling time.

At this point in my modeling career, I'm probably just going to have to dig and search.  I do recommend that you younger whipper-snappers take hold of it while your resources are still easy to manage.  Believe me, they will mutiple and combine that with "memory loss" (It will happen to you too) you will do as one of you mentioned the old "went to get this and got side tracked, then forgot what the heck I started looking for" syndrome.

Thanks folks for your confirmation that I ain't alone!

Dennis.

Initially, I had a quick answer, a bookcase full of books.  But, after reading all of the other great posts, I got to thinking.  I have folders on the computer for each model I build.  In that folder are text files that contain all the bookmarks to the specific sites I want to go back to.  Those folders are also the place that I house all the pictures I find and want to save.  Further, I keep all of my notes (from books and other sources) in that directory.  I'm a couple of steps from writing an application to house all of that disparate information, but would take time away from modeling.

The short answer is I have a bookcase for the books, and an elaborate directory structure on the computer.

I often use http://www.airliners.net/ as an online resource. Quite a lot of good pictures there.

My first response to suggestions:

Creating a data base takes a lot of time. Most of the articles we collect must be on line. Maybe we could do this together.

My major organization problem  is not with books but with magazine articles. I have 8 different model related magazines I collect.. When I start a new project or want to try a new technique I will remember reading an article on it but cannot remember which magazine it is in. When I go to manually search for it I get sidetracked by other articles I want to read and the original quest is terminated!

Most magazines do not have any kind of article index. When they do have one it can be incomplete and vague.

Example:

I'm currently working on a "Fiend Without a Face" (a brain monster) diorama.

I know I have read several articles on painting realistic brains but have not been able to locate any of them.

Last year I did start a database and got to the 5th issue (out of 54) of one magazine title and gave up when I realized the way I was doing it would not catch everything and realized my concept needed major tweaking.

One of the drawers in my file cabinet is dedicated to research material, among other things. So far my non-digital research material isn't a large collection, so it only takes up 1/4 drawer or so.

i have a couple of shelves where broad topics are stored. when i am researching a specific area it is literally 2 or 3 stacks on the floor. after all is done t=hey go back on the broad topic shelf.

I use a combination method,,,,,,,,,I used my pc at first, to database the books I had, and to type up an article list for the magazines I had

then I started to make "project sheets",,,,,,,I type up anything that is a reference or possible reference for any certain project,,,,,,I print those out, 3 hole punch them, and store them in binders

whenever I think of anything while looking at a project sheet, or when I get the planned decals, or the planned kit,,,,,,,or pic a specific weapons loadout,,,,,,,,I just write it down right on the sheet

every once in a while, I go through a binder, and type up whatever is handwritten onto the Word doc,,,,,,and then print new sheets,,,,,if a note comes up, I write it on a sheet

since I don't care if my notes are in Word docs or printed, or written by hand,,,,,,,,,I can always find the notes that go with any certain build,,,,,,,,and I can always find the reference pictures I planned to use for any certain build

the Database plus Word doc method makes it easy to "do the bookwork",,,,,and if I remember to grab a binder when I get in the car, I can have a flippable shopping list along with me at the LHS, or flopped open while shopping online, etc

the key to making any system work is to keep it simple, and choose keywords that make searching your database easy to use,,,,,,,,,,if it gets too hard to use, we tend to either not enter new books into our system, or just let it sit stagnant,,,,when "work" piles up with a DB, then it is a chore to catch up, and no longer a simple tool to help us enjoy the hobby

I keep all my book's and mag's in one big pile so when I want to look somthing up I usually forget why i'm there and wind up grabbing something else. No wonder it takes me day's to find the perfect paint scheme!

Hey Dennis excellent thread topic. For me, well, I'm a diehard book junkie. Indeed I certainly do my share of internet research but it just doesn't do the justice a handy bound papyrus does. As far organizing goes I'd have to say I'm rather simplistic. I have approx. 200+ books on rather stuffed shelves. I organize by subject first i.e. aircraft, armor, ships etc.. then those are broken down by nationality and then those are further organized by particular aircraft, tank, ship etc.. You know, now that you mention it , I wouldn't mind seeing a few articles in FSM on reference materials.

                                                                       Joe

Renamed and moved.

Tim

Thanks, GM.  I would change the title if I knew how but this dinosaur is not very computer literate.  Anyway, I think the "come on" is attractive as is.  Thanks for your comments.

Dennis.

I'll bet they paid an outside consultant about $ 3M to arrive at the same conclusions, after a two year study.

A friend of mine was the Chief Scientist at a certain very well known photocopier company, the one that is the generic term for making a copy.

Fresh out of MIT he was sent out into the field to learn the ropes of their machines and function. Armed with all of his knowledge and diagnostic procedures, the crew gave him the task of checking a broken copier and figuring out what was wrong with it. After a couple of hours he was able to report that he had the problem narrowed down to a dozen probable causes.

"That should have taken about ten minutes", he was told.

"How would that be possible?".

"The first thing to do is empty the waste basket and look at all the wadded up rejects".

Perhaps an oversimplification, but sensible. He did later fight hard in the company to maintain coffee breaks for the tech.s in the field. As has been amply demonstrated, a conversation is worth a dozen manuals.

I too will take a great interest in this discussion. I currently rely on my memory as it seems to still give me a good guide to what I have and where. But as I get older it has gotten harder, and in caring for my father I can see that in  twenty years that system will be hopeless.

Thanks for bringing this up, Dennis. Could I suggest you change the title to be specific to your question? It should be of interest to most of us here.

GM

One thing I learned over a decade ago when the Army went to sending the soldier an envelope of disks instead of a huge box of books is that it is not easy to use multiple references in electronic format. While I could have multiple field manuals and course material laid out on the dining room table, it was difficult to minimize .pdf files and pop open the next one, especially when many computers back then couldn't handle having multiple windows running at the same time.

Likewise with modeling references. I can have a soft cover Squadron Signal book inside one of my Hunnicutt hardbound books like a bookmark when working on a particular vehicle. It just seems so much more easy to work with multipe hard copy resources than electroninc.

The other major issue with the original Army electronic course back then was that it worked like a video game, i.e. you couldn't go to lesson 2 until you passed lesson 1, etc. So, the "video game" you installed and began on a home computer (or work computer) had to be completed in its entirety on that computer. If you wanted to use another computer, you had to install it on that computer and start from the beginning all over again.