I concur with suggestions made by the previous authors to consider using
the MARC format and such widely used authorities as LCSH and ATT. At
the Homestead Museum (Industry, CA) and the Chaffey Communities Cultural
Center (Upland, CA) we are striving to create a unified catalog for
objects, books, and archives to aid both collections management and
scholarly research. We are currently investigating a software program
called History Database, which is in use by several museums, historical
societies, and libraries in southern California. I believe History
Database has a website. You may wish to also view the MARC site at the
Library of Congress.
Max van Balgooy, Asst. Director
Homestead Museum
(818) 968-8492
Andrea Mugnier wrote:
>
> Museum-Lers-
> Marni Welch, Registrar at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California,
> asked me to post the following request for information:
>
> "We are trying to find an efficient way to integrate acessioning and
> cataloging documentation systems for what have previously been separately
> maintained archives, library, and museum object collections. Our goal is to
> be able to consolidate accessioning, cataloging, and inventory records for
> all our colllections on a single, unified local area computer network with
> an in-house proprietary software system. The obvious problems we are
> encountering involve the differneces in commonly accepted library, archival
> and registrarial documentation systems (i.e. do you catalog archives down
> to the object level or not, and/or do paper objects get individual
> accession numbers or just archival file numbers, etc.).
>
> "In 'Bridging the Gap', an article by Katherine Kane in Museum News (pp.
> 46-48; Nov./Dec., 1991) she describes the outlook necessary for curators
> and archivists to work together towards integrating records but does not go
> into the details of how it was achieved at the Colorado Historical Society.
>
> "Has anyone struggled with these issues in an attempt to integrate records
> and access systems? We would welcome any case histories, advice, anecdotes
> or suggestions."
>
> Thanks,
> Andrea M. Mugnier
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