OK, you have my attendtion - If you have a PC instead of a MAC what would be the best choice????
Beverly Balger wrote:
> Diane,
> Thanks for the very good explanation of the difference between data
> bases and collections management systems. I found it helpful and
> interesting.
>
> One point of disagreement -
>
> >Why would any sane person want to spend so much time and energy developing a
> >system when there are very good systems already developed?
>
> I chose to hire someone to develop a database on FilemakerPro for me
> because I work on a Mac. While there are tons of wonderful options
> for PCs, when I went to AAM in Cleveland and visited every vendor
> there, there were exactly 2 options for us Mac users. One system was
> so well hidden that I couldn't find them (not reassuring when
> thinking about future support) and the other got very bad reviews
> from the users I polled. Well, come to think of it there was a third
> option, but no way is my small museum going to spend $20,000 on a
> collections database. One of the salespersons of the $20,000 system
> took me aside and suggested I get FilemakerPro.
>
> All of the concerns you state are valid, and shared by me. I once
> swore that I would never build my own database because it is so
> dependant upon the whims of the person who builds it. Over the past
> 10 years I've walked into three museums with databases no one knew
> how to use because the person who developed them had moved away.
> However, in my current situation, building my own system on
> FilemakerPro was the best choice. It's an off-the-shelf piece of
> software which we've modified very little. Anyone who's used
> Filemaker in any situation should be able to figure it out. There is
> lots of support for Filemaker here at Penn State, so even if my
> museum didn't have anyone who knows how to use it, there are people
> around who do. Plus, it's affordable. What we ended up with is
> clearly a database, not a collections management system, but it's a
> step towards a CMS and has helped tremendously in keeping track of
> the collection.
>
> Just my 2 cents from a small museum perspective.
> Beverly Balger
> Registrar, Palmer Museum of Art
> The Pennsylvania State University
> University Park, PA 16802
> (814) 865-7672
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).
--
Sally A. Cochran
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua
Norman, Oklahoma 73072
405/325-4713
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).
|
