We have recently invested in a system developed entirely out of MS Access
which has been in use for a year cataloguing the geology, natural history
and local history collections of a museum in England.

I am now adapting it to use in with a UK based military collection and I'm
finding it a joy to use.  It is designed to address the standards proposed
by our Museums Documentation Association and to allow great flexibility
whilst retaining a user - friendly feel.  Whilst I am loading terminology
appropriate to our collection, two volunteers, one fifteen and the other in
his eighties (computer allergic!) are sucessfully cataloguing.

We are very close to the developer but the technology he uses would allow
him to deliver and support the system abroad.  There is a price, the
structure of which may have to change for use in the USA but we are talking
hundreds of pounds rather than the thousands quoted for comparable systems
in the UK.

I am still discovering the possibilities offered and the developer has
willingly incorporated a number of our preferences.

I would suggest that anyone considering databases would find it worthwhile
to have a look at this one.

Frank O'Connell
[log in to unmask]