Any system probably is better than no system in this case. Still, there's the fundamental problem with paper-based system that when you design an indexing syst

Any system probably is better than no system in this case. Still, there's the fundamental problem with paper-based system that when you design an indexing system you have to correctly anticipate how people will use the system for the foreseeable future (i.e. until the next reorganization). It's much easier to find scientific books and papers online than by using IR systems in university libraries designed for exactly that purpose by librarians, whose entire profession is built on organising information. The reason for this isn't that those librarians don't know how to do their job. It's that information stored on paper alone (i.e. without a digital representation) can't be easily searched for.