Robert MacKimmie <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>If I could interject one concern, while people/organizations may
>like particular interfaces or platforms, in terms of collection
>database applications, the most important aspect of the entire
>endeavor is the data that is created.

I would agree that these days the platform and software become
 almost irrelavent. We are developing a system for our government's
Heritage Branch using MS Access, but the core of the system is the
data structure (fields and tables) and the authorities lists. It could be
built on any system.

What I am hearing here is that we are starting to have enough knowledge
of the technology in our community that we don't have to rely
on turnkey applications - none can satisfy all our needs, and few are
flexible enough to be customized like an off-the-shelf database package can.

I would strongly promote the use of CIDOC standards for the construction of
the database and the fields and groups within it. Check out their WWW site at:
http://www.icom.org/CIDOC/

Cliff