Hi Kirsti

We are just about to undertake a major collections move and are planning to use barcodes to help track things.   Modern barcode readers are really pretty easy to use, get one with a USB connection and it just works like it is your keyboard so you don't need a specific barcode module in your collections software, just put the cursor in the correct field and scan the barcode.

Printing barcode labels is what can be tricky.  Barcode Symbology 39 is the simplest one (as long as your collections software can do custom printouts for you). All you need to do is install a barcode 39 font, and have a field in your printout which has the value you want to be a barcode with an asterisk either side. So 2001.123.12 is printed as *2001.123.12* then change the font of that field to the barcode font.   The problem with code 39 is that if you include lower case letters (=extended code 39) then the bar code gets too long to scan very quickly (e.g the barcode for FURNITURE STORE 1 is about 3 inches long and scans well, the barcode for Furniture Store 1 is over 5 inches long and doesn't scan easily, if at all).  Other barcode symbologies produce shorter barcodes but they are more complicated to print as they either require the calculation of a check digit and/or they don't have a straight forward barcode symbol to character relationship.

Our collections system allows us to import location/movement information from an Excel spreadsheet so that is what we are scanning our barcodes into.  We are putting barcode labels on the outside of the packed objects (with a picture and human readable info as well).  If you are planning to barcode an entire collection I would think carefully about where you are going to put the barcode labels and how you are going to attach them to the objects.

Trevor Reynolds
Collections Registrar, English Heritage
tel: +44 (0) 1904 601905.  37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP


________________________________
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Giles, Kirsti A.
Sent: 05 October 2011 13:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bar coding collections

I have been asked to look into bar coding the Museum's collection. We currently use the PastPerfect database and we had been hoping to use the PastPerfect bar coding module, but it is too limited. We want to bar code not only the object, but the room, the box, the shelf and the person who is moving the object.  We are a university museum with about 22,000 artifacts.  From what I can find it is mostly larger museums that have done this level of bar coding. I am having difficultly finding an economical way to do this.  Based on what I have found so far, we would have to purchase a new, much more expensive Museum Collection Software or try to keep the bar coding separate from our database, using bar coding software which is not designed for Museums.

Does anyone have any suggestions on an economical bar coding method?  If you have coded your collection, was it worth it? What should we consider or avoid when choosing bar coding collection software? Also in my research RFID tags seem to be becoming more popular, do you think that bar coding is still the way to go or will RFID technology take over?

Thank you,

Kirsti


Kirsti Giles
Collections Manager
Reece Museum
East Tennessee State University
P.O. Box 70660
Phone: 423-439-4392
Fax: 423-439-4283
[log in to unmask]


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