Emily Nedell wrote:
>
> 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.

Although history museums don't typically identify the object
classification in catalogue number (eg. P-1976 for Painting #1976), I
have seen similar systems used to identify donors, departments, funders,
and more, usually in older institutions.  I believe having this
information written on the object may have been useful in the days
before it could be quickly retrieved from a catalogue or it may have
helped with storing and organizing a collection, however, with
computers, I believe it's become a moot point.  Libraries do catalogue
their collections with classification numbers to make it easier for
patrons to find books on the same subject, however their artifacts are
usually in the same format (unlike museums) and there are inherent
problems as well (ask any librarian how to catalogue a book on the
history of American food; does it fit under food or American history??).

The important idea is that every object receive a unique number that is
easy to read, easy to apply, and easy to assign.  The more information
you "embed" in a catalogue number, the more cross-checking and
referencing you will have to do to ensure it is unique and correct,
which costs time and money.  Furthermore, if the information later
changes (and it's bound to change), you'll be stuck with the dilemma of
updating your catalogue numbers or living with inaccurate information in
some catalogue numbers.

Hope that helps.

--
Max A. van Balgooy
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Chaffey Communities Cultural Center & Cooper Regional History Museum
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Homestead Museum
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