Never, never throw away information!  Your system could go down (I've
had a bad motherboard shut down my server for a week), and paper systems
are still useful (I've never had a card catalog crash on me).  There may
also be additional information on the cards which doesn't quite make it
into the computer.  For instance, I can get an idea of the reliability
of comments written on paper cards by the handwriting (some people who
worked here did better research than others).

I still keep two copies of all of our paper cards: one in the office for
staff use, and a duplicate set in our vault in case cards are lost or
damaged.  You can never have too much information (as long as it is
organized).

Veronica B|rger wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
>     I work in a museum that's beginning to introduce a software to
> handle it's collection this year. The guys in charge of this activity
> think that the old records of collection, which are on paper, should be
> thrown away, and from now on we should rely on the database of the new
> system.
>     I'm afraid that this could cause some inconveniences in the future.
> Did somebody else in this list experience this kind of situation ?
>
>     Is there some texts talking about the use of software systems to
> handle a museum's collection in the net, or in some magazine or book ?
>
>     Thanks for any information ....
>
>     Bye,
>     Armando

--
James H Tichgelaar
Registrar, Arkansas State University Museum
http://museum.astate.edu

"All we ever wanted was everything.  All we ever got was cold."