Chris - I have been researching collection management software for
several months and would make two major recommendations:  1) look at
specialized museum software (such as SNAP or Regis for a small/medium
museum); and 2) don't program a home-grown system that you will have
to maintain for the rest of its, or your, life (e.g., FoxPro,
PC-File, etc.). I developed software for a living for 10 years and I
will not put together a system myself because of support problems. If
you reply privately to me, I will give you the names and number of
the vendors I have been working with.
 
You shouldn't need an inordinate amount of hardware for a 30,000
record system.  I'd personally  go with IBM-compatible because there is
only one commercial system available for the Mac (someone out there
will jump on me for that, no doubt). To keep up with software trends,
I'd get a MINIMUM of 8 mb of RAM, probably 16, and at least a
486DX-66 processor. To be on the safe side, a 500 mb hard drive would
be good and you should get an internal tape backup drive.
 
A Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 4P has a flat paper path suitable for cards
if you want to run them for backup. I would only run cards if access
to the information by people who can't get to the computer is an
issue. Just make sure you have a good backup system. Don't use an
inkjet printer. Although they are less expensive, the ink is not
waterproof and smears at the slightest provocation.
 
Karen Anderson, Registrar
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
WTAMU Box 967
Canyon, TX  79016
fax: 806-656-2250
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Karen W. Anderson, Registrar
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
WTAMU Box 967
Canyon, TX  79016
Phone: 806-656-2967
Fax:   806-656-2250
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