I feel your pain!  The curatorial staff and I have been going through the 
same process for the last year.  Our files are missing donor forms and 
information here and there, bits of cryptic papers, sometimes blank files, 
sometimes no files.  You name it, we had it - or didn't as the case may 
be.  It was all very similar to what you are describing.  I have items in 
the storage areas that do not belong or have no numbers.  It was a 
disaster!  I can't say if how we handled things will work for your place, 
but here's what we did:

We entered all donor files into the collection database (we use Past 
Perfect).  It took three of us working day after day on only that for a 
month and a week to complete.  Once finished, I printed out a complete 
record of objects.  Yes, it did take out a whole forest, but it was worth 
it!

We have 2 collections - art and history.  History is the larger of the two 
collections and we all decided to get it over with first. It took the 
three of us and 10 volunteers putting in over 70 hours (all together) of 
their time to get it all inventoried.  I made copies of the collection 
list for us to go by.  All we did was match numbers from objects to 
numbers on the list.  Every person had to initial next to the number, put 
down a condition status, and the location of the item.  Horror of horrors, 
we found that numbers from files were not the same as the numbers that 
were fixed on to items!  We chose to write down the numbers from the items 
and make the computer list correspond, so that we wouldn't have to go back 
and physically change numbers on items.  Its easier to do so in the 
computer.

The next step was to enter in all locations and number corrections in the 
database. (The notes we took while inventorying are kept in the permanent 
records for future reference.)

Then we inventoried our art collection.  Not as bad a nightmare has 
history, but it did have its moments.  It took us as week to inventory, 
and another three weeks to enter into the computer. 

Then we came across a print out of the collections from 1993.  It listed 
all items accessioned from the beginning of the museum in 1937 to 1993. It 
would have made things SO much easier if I had it in the beginning, but oh 
well......  We split the list among the three of us and checked each 
individual record against the list.  Anything on the list that was not in 
Past Perfect, we entered in as missing, and made notation that the only 
record of the item was in the 1993 catalog.

I still do not think our database is complete, but at the moment, it is as 
complete as it is going to get.  I am know working through the donor files 
and making a chart of what files I am missing.  From there, I will try and 
contact the donors for signatures.  I also have started an intern working 
on photographing the art collection, and attaching pictures to the 
database files.  All items that we still cannot match up to a record, the 
1993 list, etc, I have moved to a separate location and noted that they 
are not to be touched until further notice; then dated the sign.  They 
were entered into Past Perfect as a restricted loan, that way we could 
have a record on file of all the items.

I really do recommend you getting volunteer help, if it is available. 
Otherwise, yes, you will go crazy!  There is no easy way of going about 
this, but I highly recommend you inventory what you have first.  That way 
you know what exactly you are dealing with.  Having the list with numbers 
and items descriptions was a life saver more than it was a hindrance.  The 
inventory went much faster than having to write everything down as we went 
from shelf to shelf.

Please let me know if I can answer anymore questions for you.  I hope that 
your collection it isn't as bad as I am making ours out to be.
Good Luck!

Holly B. North
Curator of Collections/ IT Director
Distance Learning

The Grace Museum
102 Cypress Street
Abilene, Texas 79601
(325) 673-4587 ext. 113
[log in to unmask]

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