Museum Computer Network
Survey of Museum Automation Projects
May, 1994
The Museum Computer Network would like to develop a comprehensive list of
museum automation projects and contacts. The following questionnaire will
give MCN an idea of who is doing what by general museum type and
administrative area. The third page of the questionnaire is project
specific and should be completed by the project manager or project
coordinator for each automation project that the museum has undertaken or
is planning to undertake in the next few months.
The results will be available in electronic format from the MCN ftp site.
It will also be kept in a database so that it may be used by the
Membership Services Office and the Program Office to assist in answering
requests for information. The list will b e periodically updated.
Initial distribution of the questionnaire will be through SPECTRA and by
posting to the Museum-l and other appropriate Internet discussion lists.
It will also be available from the Membership Services Office or the
Program Office. If you have questions about the questionnaire or the
results of the survey, please contact: Kathy Jones-Garmil, Program
Director, (617) 253-9613 or [log in to unmask] You may return the
completed questionnaire to the following address: MCN Program Director,
c/o MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 or fax to
(617) 253-8994 or by email to [log in to unmask]
_____________________________ cut here __________________________________
MUSEUM COMPUTER NETWORK Page 1
QUESTIONNAIRE
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF MUSEUMS
Name:
Institution:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Office Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Affiliations: (e.g. MCN, AAM, RLIN, OCLC, AASLH)
Type of Museum:
Art Natural History
Cultural History Archaeology/Ethnology
Science Zoo
Other (please describe)
General Size of the Museum: Small Mid-Sized Large
When you have developed the complete computer system at your
museum, do you anticipate:
__ Stand alone computers only
__ A network with ...
__ 5 or less workstations __ between 6 and 30 workstations
__ 30 or more workstations
Platforms used: (check all that apply)
Midi/mainframe PC compatibles
Macintosh Other
Communication access:
None
Internet connection:
type of connection: service provider:
Other (please describe)
Museum Computer Network Questionnaire Page 2
Institution Name:
Which of the following administrative functions have you
automated?
Vendor/Product We intend to automate or
replace within the next 2 years
Membership Processing
Development
Financials
Payroll
Scheduling
Participation/Ticketing
Point of Sale/Inventory
Volunteer Management
Word Processing
Desktop Publishing
Editorial/Markup
Computer Aided Design(CAD)
Spreadsheets
Networking Software
Electronic Mail
Communications Software
----------------- cut here and pass along to appropriate person ----------
MCN Automation Project Questionnaire Page 3
Project Specific Information
Institution Name:
Project Title:
Project Information Contact:
Name:
Office Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Area served by the project:
Collections Management Curatorial
Exhibition Design Exhibition
Conservation
Scope/Purpose of the Project: (Can be expressed in terms of number of
objects and/or any other information that will help to convey)
Duration: (e.g. Permanent, self contained/travel, cumulative/project
management)
Standards/Formats: (e.g. MARC, AAT, Nomenclature, Common Agenda)
Platform Used:
Hardware
Software
Type of Access:
In-house only In-house & Outside Researchers
General Public (gallery) Open Access (Internet)
You may return the completed questionnaire to the following address: MCN
Program Director, c/o MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA
02139 or fax to (617) 253-8994 or by email to [log in to unmask]
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