Hi! Steve here... I remember that conversation! When this question comes up these days, I think of my own daunting archives, much still not done, and realize th

Hi! Steve here... I remember that conversation! When this question comes up these days, I think of my own daunting archives, much still not done, and realize that the original "catalog" is the tangible/emotional metadata of proximity and packaging (along with notes). I know what certain slides look like because of the familiar ancient boxes or binder sleeves where they have lived for a half century... so we attempt to capture THAT and not get hung up on actual labeling (unless there is a system already in place). In practice, this means folders for physical groups, ordering that reflects the way they were packaged, and photos of the physical media to serve as a reference. The actual filesystem has "digital contact sheets" (from Lightroom) and both RAW and JPG folders, but nestled in there are pictures of the source material to help rekindle the feeling of the familiar collection... even if just the box a carousel was in.