Over the last few years there has been much discussion about the relation between types of data, storage devices and system requirements for the preservation of data. This work carried out for the reorganization of the magnetic Archive of the Institute of Computational Linguistics (ILC), is an example of interaction between data management and recovery methods, as well as between data recording system development and evolution of storage devices. Data structure has also been affected by the technological evolution. It has been necessary to rely on an efficient, well-structured and tested data-base management system. Thus a computerized system was implemented for the joint management of normalized cataloguing files and bibliographic data, using the Information Retrieval System CDS/ISIS. A suitable description corresponding to standard criteria is necessary for a reliable tracing of the documents. The correct use of international standards like ISO to process traditional bibliographic information assures the accessibility, readability and consistency of the data.