Document Your Specimen
Pencil or Computer - use what you are most comfortable with. It does not matter if you keep a paper and pen logbook or record it in a computer file, spreadsheet or database. Use what you are most comfortable with, updating your records during and after every collecting trip.
For pen and paper, use acid free archival paper and pens with archival-pigment ink, so it does not fade over time. Look for these at an art supply store. For computers, keep the software up to date and make backups, not just one, but several and not just once, but every year. Computer material goes out of date quickly, and CD's, DVD's and even USB drives will fail, sometimes only in a few years. So you need constant vigilance in making sure your files are accessible.
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Record Information
Give each fossil in your collection a number and write the number directly on the fossil. Use a pen with archival pigment ink. Write the number in an out-of-the-way spot so as not to take away from the fossil itself, but do not write the number so small that it cannot be read or might easily be scratched away.
Then record the following details:
1) The number you just wrote on the fossil, so you can match the entry to the specimen.
2) What is the fossil. If possible, try to identify it down to genus and species. Be as specific as you can, even if it is just "trilobite" or "seashell". You can also include its measurement, number of legs or segments, etc., to help identify the specimen.
3) Location: country, state and county are a must. For a good description of the area it is better to include township, range and section, which will narrow it down to a square mile and even better, down to a quarter or two. The easiest way now is to use GPS and record the digital latitude and longitude numbers. There are stand-alone GPS devices and there are apps for your phone. Additionally, some cameras will record this in the metadata of the image. You can then cut and paste this information into Google Maps and get a map or even satellite image of the site. Print it out and keep it in your logbook, or take a screen shot and save it in the spreadsheet or database.
If you purchased the specimen, record whom and when you purchased it from and how much you paid for it. Try to get as many details from the seller as you can. Also include your receipt for the fossil.
4) Any photos you took of the area while you were collecting.
5) Record who owns the land and the permission agreement to collect or permit you had to collect on that land.
6) Stratigraphy: What layer of rock did you collect this from? If you know the formation name and the geologic age, great, but if you don't, describe the outcrop and measure how many meters (or feet) above the base of the outcrop where you collected the fossil from. If there is a distinctive layer, for example a coal bed or a layer known for its fossil corals or chert nodules, record this and measure how far above or below the layer your fossil came from. Check out your state's geologic survey for geologic maps. Most will have statewide geologic maps that can be used to determine the age of the rock you are collecting, and they may have more detailed quadrangle geologic maps that will give you the rock formations in an area.
7) The date it was collected and the dates that you were on the trip. You may have collected the specimen on Friday the 13th October 2013, but you had been in that area from Wednesday the 11th to Sunday the 15th October 2013.
8) Record who collected it and who identified it along with any reference books that you may have used to identify it.
9) Record anything that happened that was interesting. Maybe it was a nice sunny morning, but then it snowed on you in the afternoon; or maybe you had a really great peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich for lunch; or maybe you saw a goat standing on top of a cow right before you found your fossil. Any details like this will help you to remember the day later on.
This may all seem like a dull task, but in the future someone may be very interested in these details. If you don't have this data, it is unlikely that anyone will be interested in your collection in 100 years.
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