Hi Mandy,
How about just creating customized reports in Past Perfect to suit your
needs for your various types of lists?  Here's what I'm thinking. You
could do your handwritten notes/updates one time as you go along, shelf
by shelf, enter that data into the database, then create whatever
printed lists you need afterward for your binders, shelf lists, etc. Or,
if you have the capabilities, take a laptop into storage with you and
enter the updated location info right then and there, then again go on
to print out your written reports or lists. 

I use Past Perfect and created my own customized shelf list report using
the report maker function. It seems to me that with so many objects it
would be far more efficient to make printouts from your database rather
than making changes by hand so many times. It takes a few minutes to get
the customized report looking the way you want it initially, but once
it's done it's done and it's a matter of hitting the print button. 

Just my 2c. Good luck and feel free to contact me off list if you like.

Cristin J. Waterbury
Registrar/Collections Manager
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Drive
Manitowoc, WI 54220
toll free 1-866-724-2356
local 920-684-0218
fax 920-684-0219
[log in to unmask]
www.wisconsinmaritime.org
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Mandy Langfald
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 4:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Location updates

We will be moving the majority of our collection to a new storage
building and at that time will be completing new inventories/location
guides. I am wondering how does your institution keep track of
locations? I am hoping to find a way to simplify our system.

Currently we have handwritten location guides on each shelf and copies
in two sets of binders in two different locations, as well as locations
in PastPerfect. We end up writing this information down 4 times (on the
shelf, on a form to remind us to change the info in the binders and
again in two sets of binders) and imputing it into the computer once. We
have come across problems in the past of location changes being noted in
one or two places but not all four. This of course makes our information
unreliable. I understand the need to back up your back up so to speak
but writing down accession numbers and locations 4-5 times per item
gives ample opportunity to forget to update something or transpose
numbers, etc. Is there somewhere/someway we can simplify things while
still keeping back ups? Or should we continue to do what we do and hope
for the best?

We will be writing things down once and making photocopies for the
binders when we do the new locations but my concern is after that when
we are back to the day to day operation of adding or removing things
here or there.

I should also mention that we have 60,000+ objects of all shapes and
size.

Feel free to contact me on or off list. Thank you all for any
suggestions you can offer.


Mandy Langfald
Curator of Collection
Wyoming State Museum
307-777-7033
[log in to unmask]

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