Eileen,

I can relate to your frustrations!  I am a volunteer at the museum in my 
hometown and have my M.A. in Public History, specializing in museums.  The 
museum began in the 1970s and their original collection information was 
recorded on index card with a category, i.e. BZ (Business) and an object 
number, i.e. 967.  In addition to this card, the year, the accession 
number, and object number was recorded into a separate binder with the 
donor's name and a description of the object.  Very view of the artifacts 
were physically labeled.  Eventually the museum got a computer and started 
cataloguing all new artifacts using the software Past Perfect.  During my 
two internships I was responsible for taking the old cards, match them up 
with the artifacts and add them to the computer database.  A daunting task 
that is still not complete 3 years later.  I can tell you this program has 
been a lifesaver, it has also gone through several updates since the museum 
started using the program in the late 1980s (I believe).  If you can 
convince your director/board of directors to spend the money on computer 
and the program, I highly recommend it for your sanity.  You can do so much 
with this program including making reference to your catalogue #, we did 
the same thing.  There is area for donor info, as well as an area where you 
can download a picture of the object into the program.  The database is 
searchable in several ways, such as accession #, donor, artifact, etc.  You 
can also keep track of loans (in/out) which may help with your other 
problem.I suggest that you visit the website (if you are a member of AASLH 
there is a discount): http://www.museumsoftware.com/pastperfect4.htm

Good luck, I hope everything goes well!

Julie

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