How specimens are organized in a large biological specimens archive
Biological specimens are ordered in museums phylogenetically. So all the birds are in one place, and the insects in another. Fossils are generally kept in their own place. Different museums may have their own standards, but most sort specimens phylogenetically as well. But alphabetical sorting also happens. So that all the members of a family are in one place, and then the genera within the family are organized alphabetically. So all the Trichoptera (Insecta), for example, at the Smithsonian are together on one of the floors with other insects, curated by a Trichoptera specialist. Within Trichoptera, the first drawers are Apatanaeidae, and the last are Xiphocentronidae. Individual specimens are often given a unique number, usually sequential, with the time of accession into the museum.