A collection organizes media thematically or by course. After a collection has been created, cataloged media files may be added. Public collections appear on a popup menu on the Media Database home page. Referencing the screenshot below, follow these steps to create or edit a collection.

1. Select Create a Collection from the main menu.
2. In the Create or Edit Collection screen respond to the following prompts:
   1. Collection name. Must be unique. If it is for a course, the course ID, followed by section, if there is one, and professor's username will make it easy for students to find. e.g. ARHA101-02-emilroy.
   2. Owner email. Be sure your name, or the name of the person you are working for, is displayed. If not, select it from the popup.
   3. Public collection. Collections are public by default. They may be made private (only the owner can view) by setting the popup to 'No.'
   4. Show catalog info. The default is 'Yes.' Catalog info may be suppressed in favor of Caption information.
   5. Show Slide Library info. This only applies to images which were cataloged by the Slide Library. Others should ignore. These descriptions may be suppressed from display, if Caption information is more relevant or accurate.
   6. Keywords. Keywords describe the collection and will help others to find it. Course ID or thematic description are recommended.
   7. Collection owner's notes. These are optional and not publicly displayed.
   8. Lightbox instructions. Lightbox is a teaching module that allows for the selection of up to 15 images, which students may be asked to arrange in a specified order along with an explanation. Lightbox has been most often used for testing students' understanding of typology or chronology. If a collection exceeds 15 images, this option will not display. Otherwise, an instructor who wishes to use Lighbox may add instructions for his students.