Hi Julie,
My advice would be to use a program that is fairly simple and most 
importantly, one that you know how to use and manipulate.  Access or 
Excel should work just fine for the purposes you have in mind, and they 
can be exported and/or converted to several other formats if need be.  
Excel will probably be all you need if you plan on having one large 
table with the relevant information.  If you plan on creating and 
linking several tables with related information then Access might make 
it easier to retrieve data. 
Good Luck
Chad



Julie Carmen wrote:
> Hello good list,
>
> As I finish up my last semester of library and archives classes, I have been asked by a friend if I would consider taking a part time job to go through a storage unit and inventory a collection of space memorabilia.  I have many questions for the collector, but for now I am trying to envision the best approach. 
>
> This is a collection that has been started over 40 years ago, and may or not not be original.  So, if they want to pay me to sort it all out and inventory it, in case they find a museum that would want it, should I begin with Excel or Access?  Or perhaps an open source database?  I do not have Past Perfect and am not sure that every museum uses that particular database.  
>
> I am thinking just a way of letting them access the collection and knowing what is there, not archival work or finding aids at this point.
>
> Is that what some of you would do?
>
> Thanks for your ideas, they are so helpful.
>
>
> Julie Carmen
> Student of Emporia State University's SLIM Program
> (School of Library and Information Management)
> Longmont, Colorado
> [log in to unmask]
> http://newmedievalart.org/
>
>
>
>
>       
>
> =========================================================
> 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).
>   


-- 
Chad W Landsman	
Lab & Collections Manager
Anthropology Laboratory

Luther College 
700 College Drive
Decorah, IA 52101
(563)387-2156

=========================================================
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).