I know Filemaker works on both PC and MAC. It is updated every so often and
the information transfers easily to the update every couple of years. There
are several databases that are made for museums, but the ones I've used had
huge faults whereas the flexibility of filmaker made it perfect for varying
collections. I have worked with Argus and found it to be enormous and
difficult to use when it is unecessary to be so. (For instance the date
field was in a completely different screen from the description field) In
filmaker you can have many different screens for one database for
differrent searches (image, text, date, etc.)

Before you completely design one I would talk specifically to a few
curators and registrars to deturmine the necessary fields and uses of the
information. Every one will have a different opinion, and most of them are
possibly valid. Having the same information with many different views helps
with this (you can ahve a different layout for each person if you want it)

It is a complicated bunch of worries and issues, but well worth it when you
need to search for something and can just pull up a screen of images and
have the location and accession number in a couple of minutes.

Elizabeth Walton

At 02:43 PM 8/28/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>Well, I've had this nagging issue in my mind with all
>the answers about FileMaker Pro as being the wizbang
>for museum databases.  Back when I used it, it was Mac
>only.  I went to the source
>http://www.filemaker.com/index.html and learned that
>FileMaker can now be used on multiple platforms.  Back
>when, it was a good product, and I'm sure it probably
>still is, though there is much to be said about the
>power of Microsoft's Access.
>
>With that said, my curiousity has been piqued.  Is
>there a bias in the museum world with respect to type
>of computer system?  Are more of you (and if yes, I
>suspect it's more of the Art type museums) a Mac
>environment or a PC one?
>
>What operating systems are you using within that
>equipment?  Are you Windows, DOS, and/or Linux based?
>
>These may sound like nosey questions, but it's tough
>to recommend a database without knowing those two
>parameters.
>
>If cost is a consideration . . . and often it is . . .
>there's a good chance you may be operating outdated
>equipment.  It could get really frustrating trying to
>make a silk purse out of a sow's ear when it comes to
>puters, so I'm wondering how your equipment and
>operating systems factor into your database scenarios.
>
>Further, are you operating freestanding or on LANs?
>Will you have to share this database with others in
>your organization, and what documentation are you
>creating as a users manual in case you up and leave?
>
>It wasn't that long ago I was doing some database work
>(nothing super fancy). Fact is, I've trained on and/or
>used about three or four different types. The biggest
>problem about a database is trying to correct it if
>you just start out willy nilly and think you're going
>to design some great system without planning.  That
>usually means consulting with others to make sure the
>needs of many are incorporate in the one document
>before you start to build it.
>
>I think, as I'm working this out here, there OUGHT to
>be some sort of a standard database for the museum
>world that is widely accepted as the template of
>choice, kind of like Raisers Edge (Blackbaud) often is
>on the fundraising side of it.
>
>What am I missing in this picture?  It seems to me
>that each of you is having to design your own instead
>of relying on a standard and making modifications for
>subtle nuances to your system.
>
>Seems to me this would be a good venture for an
>entrepreneur.
>
>
>
>=====
>Indigo Nights
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