Andy,

First, I don't work with a museum.  But, I have some
experience with Past Perfect, but use and develop MS
Access for a large format blueprint firm.  Based on
some conversations I have had offlist, you starting
point in considering each is the individual(s) who
will be assembling and managing the database. 
Depending on that person's skill and complexity of the
database can lead towards either way.  Clean and
simple, I would go with Past Perfect as it is a
collections management software.

As for Access, a lot more can be done with it
utilizing its Visual Basic and SQL capabilities.  With
this, it can be used as a simple search and
collections management, but also developed further as
a research and analytical tool.

As I mentioned, my experience with Past Perfect and is
pretty limited, but analytical process and development
options seem to be pretty limited.

I'm sure others will dissect my argument fairly
thouroughly, and come back with other comments will
help me out as well.  

Cheers,
Brad
--- Andy Dickes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello-
> 
> My institution is considering a change for our
> collections management 
> database.  I am interested to know people's opinions
> on Access and Past 
> Perfect, and the pros and cons of each system.  We
> are interested in 
> something user-friendly and efficient, with search
> options that make it 
> possible to find pertinent artifacts quickly for new
> exhibits.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
>
=========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
> 
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may
> obtain detailed information about the listserv
> commands by sending a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
> 
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one
> line e-mail message to [log in to unmask]
> . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).