I would be interested in hearing from a Museum which uses classification
numbers instead of "accession numbers" (year.#) for organizing its
records and labelling purposes. We are in the process of automating our
collection and the director and I have been arguing back and forth about
the merits of doing it one way vs. the other. He wants us on a numeric
system so that all newspapers begin with a one number, lithostones
another number, wood engravings another, etc. I said that Museums don't
do it that way, and in my cataloging I am already assigning both
a physical description and subject headings/descriptors which would make
 this kind of numeric system redundant.

Thanks for your response.

Emily Nedell
Curator
Museum of Printing History