XP and Excel for magnetic card reader

Hello folks:
Here is my situation. I need a database for members of an organization to swipe a magnetic card to verify they are indeed current members. The PC in use will have XP Pro SP3 installed. I'm kind of lost as to what I need but I am leaning towards something such as a script to read only the info needed from a card such as ID number or similar. Can anyone here point me in the right direction?
Thsnks,
John

 

Thanks Steve but not really what I was looking for. I should have been more specific. I am looking for code to use in VB to read card info and compare to info in Excel file to check status of members. Thanks.