First, a suggestion --- If you have previously catalogued your collection
in another database format, you can convert the data to Past Perfect or the
folks at Museum Software can do it for you. They have instructions at their
website, www.museumsoftware.com. That will save you a really big step.
As for your question about items you no longer have, if you have previously
catalogued them and are converting the catalogue from a previous format,
computer or index cards, what have you, you probably should convert over
every entry. Entering each and every item can be really valuable when you
re-catalogue from a previous format because it forces you to inventory as
well. If you haven't done an inventory recently, why just enter into Past
Perfect without checking to make sure everything is accounted for? Besides,
entering every item into Past Perfect allows you to maintain the integrity
of your collection history. You never know when someone will inquire about
something they or a relative had donated way back that you no longer have.
If you accessioned and deaccessioned properly and entered all the info into
your catalogue, Past Perfect or otherwise, you will be able to search the
item and know where it is or if it's even still in the collection.
We are currently doing a re-cataloguing to Past Perfect as well. The first
step has been to inventory everything. That let's us know what we have,
whether anything is missing, and let's us assess everything according to
what Past Perfect will ask for. I even rewrote our inventory item worksheets
to correspond directly with the entry screens in Past Perfect. This way, one
person (or group of people) can assess and inventory, and another person or
persons can do the data entry, since all the information Past Perfect will
be asking for will be written, in order, on the item inventory sheets. For
our archival collection, we copy the inventory data sheets and leave a copy
in the boxes with the items. The second copy is put into binders as a master
reference index. We put all the photograph collection data sheets in another
binder, and the object and textile collections go in separate binders as
well. I made a Past Perfect compatible inventory sheet for works of art as
well, but will be including those sheets with objects because of the
relatively small size of our artwork collection.
One good feature of Past Perfect is that it will allow you to note the
current status of each item entered. I think the defaults for this are OK,
missing, lost, deaccessioned, etc., (I don't have the program in front of
me.) There may even be a status of "on loan." As we inventory and then
catalogue, I tell my interns and volunteers to note the status of anything
they are looking at as OK. After all, if you see it, it's obviously still in
your collection. Obviously, you want to base your inventory on your existing
catalogue/inventory. That way you account for what is supposed to be there,
what is supposed to no longer be there, and identify what should be there,
but isn't. If you've tracked all deaccessions and maintained that
information in your catalogue, you will know the problems when you come
across them. The better your inventory/collections control the fewer those
"problems" there will be.
Past Perfect is a pretty powerful collection management tool and you really
need to use it right to use it to its fullest. It can track where an item
physically is located within your collection as long as you can keep up with
the data entry for this information when you move or loan something. In
addition, all incoming accessions and loans (temporary custody items) should
be entered into Past Perfect straight away. The less of a gap between
acquisition and accessioning/data entry the better. Also, the fewer people
that an incoming acquisition has to pass by the less the chances of
mistakes. Ideally, I would really like to see all of our incoming
acquisitions subject to an instant decision and entered directly to Past
Perfect while the donor is in front of me. That way, an accession and
collection ID number is assigned right away, key features and important
donor/provenance information is recorded while its fresh, and a deed of gift
and thank you are generated virtually automatically. There will be less
chance of the item being misplaced, waylaid or just forgotten about, there
will be no excuse for delays in acknowledgement, and no chance of thank
you's not being sent. It's all done at once.
That's how it should be done. But not how we do it, unfortunately. I keep
prodding the powers that be to find a way to streamline or shorten the
acquisition process. As it is now, donations can sit for a month or more
before the acquisition committee gets around to meeting to decide whether we
keep or reject something. Meanwhile, the needed acquisition data is in limbo
along with the item and the formal acknowledgement of the gift.
Because of how well Past Perfect can track items through the collection, you
probably do need to have a person whose sole purpose is to maintain the
catalogue and collection in Past Perfect. I wish we did. I'm currently the
only staff member who even knows how to use Past Perfect, along with two
volunteers who have been helping inventory and catalogue. I am not the
person responsible for collections management, though. So it is very easy
for communication problems and other mistakes to interfere with proper
collections management at our place.
Just my thoughts on the question asked and my experience with Past Perfect
in our museum/collections.
Scott D. Peters
Research Director/Archivist
Ocean County Historical Society
26 Hadley Ave., P.O. Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
(732) 341-1880
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
"Telling the Stories of Ocean County"
Historically Speaking
ALHFAM -FPIPN vice-chair for trivia, errata and miscellany
[log in to unmask]
"The ordinary distinctions in society are often vague, and imply no just
pre-eminence: rank and titles are
adventitious things and instead of designating merit or virtue, are
frequently the baubles of imbecility, or
the sparkling decorations of meretricious pageantry"
William Griffith, on behalf, and by order of the New-Jersey Society for
promoting the gradual Abolition
of Slavery, Twelfth Month (December) 20th, 1803
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Henri" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 15, 2002 5:59 PM
Subject: Question Re: Entering Missing Objects in Databases
> Hello Listers,
> We have recently started entering our collection records into the
> PastPerfect database, and I've hit a problem. I know it's something that
> others out there must have solved, whether you use PastPerfect or one of
the
> other software packages. We have many items that have left the collection
> over the years, whether by deaccession, transfer, or whatever. I'm
beginning
> to feel as though I should enter the records for these items, both to
> maintain the continuity of the database and to help my successors in the
> department. I'd love to hear how you've handled this problem, and what the
> pros and cons are.
> Thanks in advance for your assistance!
>
> Kathy Henri
> Collections Manager/Asst. Curator
> Ventura County Museum of History & Art
> 100 E. Main Street
> Ventura, CA 93001
> (805) 653-0323 x. 20
> [log in to unmask]
> www.vcmha.org
>
> =========================================================
> 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).
=========================================================
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).
|
