One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for retrieving a content collection over a network. During operation, the system determines additional information associated with the piece of content that is needed for consumption of the content collection; generates a plurality of Interests, which includes at least one Interest for a catalog of the content collection and at least one Interest for the additional information; and forwards, concurrently, the plurality of Interests, thereby facilitating parallel retrieval of the content collection and the additional information.