I am cross posting this to both the History and Museum lists. I know that a lot of time was spent on using whiteout (??!!) for a base in numbering objects on the museum list 6 or 7 weeks ago. I really am not too concerned about how to number the old, time tested way. I want to investigate ways to make our computerized cataloging sustem as good as possible. I am a new subscriber since that time and wonder about some other possibilities in numbering objects. The State Agricultural Heritage Museum is has a very diverse collection ranging from 4,000 postcards to 8,000 farm equipment manuals on the small side to 20 tractors, 75 horse drawn implements, and a homesteaders claim shack on the large side. We have all that household stuff inbetween. We started using Chenall early on -- in fact we used key punch operators and the campus central computer when we first started. Students did much of the actual cataloging and numbering. Some cataloging is great, some is not so great. The same applies to numbering of objects -- some simple can not be read. We now have a 486DX66v running the computer catalog of collections and a certainly more user friendly data base program. Our curatorial team discussions lately have turned to BAR CODED COLLECTION ACCESSION NUMBERS. Has anyone worked with bar coded numbers in collections ? The concept makes intuitive sense to the computer lovers on staff -- you can guess the other side's opinion. A bar code can have the real, easy to read, HP laserjet number actually readable next to the line code. Certainly a duplicate set of bar coded numbers actually ON the box of carefully stored objects would assist in quick searches for Auntie Maude's hat pin. In museology class -- no hanging tags, no paper labels... Is it time for a change ? Has anyone any success stories, or other stories ? Thanks in advance. John Awald [log in to unmask] State Agricultural Heritage Museum SDSU Box 2207C Brookings, SD 57007-0999 605/688-6226 605/688-6303 FAX