The Director of the Milwaukee Public Museum stresses the need for adequate and accurate record keeping of anthropological and historical collections. Basic data is sufficient for accessioning, but catalogue information should give a full record of the specimen. A typical Accession Sheet to be filled out immediately upon arrival of the specimen and a Field Manual or Cataloguing Guide for a catalogue to be filled out over a period of time as the information becomes known are provided. The Cataloguing Guide is arranged under four main headings according to the nature, manufacture, use and ownership of the object. The use of code numbers to express these four categories is suggested.